Not to worry Gmail users, Google has got your back against internet thieves, hackers, and the US government. This week Google has tightened protection for Gmail using Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure or HTTPS.

In the past, Gmail users had the option of encrypting their Gmail sessions by manually enabling the HTTPS mode. Google's CEO and engineers have taken away that option and made it permanent to protect its users. This is perhaps due to recent reports of NSA spying, and Edward Snowden revealing some of the US government's spying techniques, and secrets.

Gmail Security Engineering Lead, Nicolas Lidzborski stated in an official Google Blog post that now Gmail will always use an encrypted HTTPS connection when the user checks or sends his or her email, PC World reported.

Lidzborski added that this is Google's top priority given last summer's revelations. Some believe that the revelations Lidzborski was referring to was Snowden's allegations about the US, NSA, and Britain's Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) spying on its citizens, the RT reported.  

There are two major benefits for having HTTPS permanently.

First, no one can get access to your messages as they go back and forth between you and Gmail's servers, and it does not matter if you're using public WiFi or logging in from your PC, phone or tablet.

Second, all messages sent and received by Gmail users will remain encrypted while moving among Google data centers. What this means however, is that your messages will only be protected within the Google system, it will not work from Gmail to Yahoo or Microsoft.

Since Google has started with their protection, Microsoft is working on theirs as well, CNN Money reported. It has also been reported that Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is working on encrypting information that moves between Yahoo servers and its users, but Mayer has made no mention of working with outside email providers.  

While Google's protection is not exactly NSA proof, this is the company's way of trying to limit the abilities of the U.S. government, such as the so-called secretive PRISM Program, a program that can spy on citizen's communications. In November, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt called the NSA snooping operations outrageous, and even illegal. The idea does sound downright Orwellian, but the NSA insists that their tactics were done with the companies direct knowledge, meaning that perhaps Google and Facebook knew.  

The protection and sharing of our digital information is vulnerable through social media, and now even email, but at least the friendly neighborhood Gmail provider can protect you from digital robbery.