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When I use Google Talk over https://gmail.com can anyone read (sniff) my messages?

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as it's using https, no. not without cracking the ssl encryption, which in this context isn't feasable. – Sirex Aug 17 '11 at 9:06
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No.

Whenever you're using a HTTPS connection with a valid certificate to connect to a server you trust, every bit of content sent over this channel is encrypted using SSL/TLS.

If you are on a channel where it is easy to sniff the sent data, i.e. on a switched LAN or on an unsecured WiFi network, an attacker could only see the encrypted data and not the plain text you are sending.

Take a look at the security information your browser shows you:

enter image description here

Here are the relevant bits:

  • The certificate is valid and signed by a well known authority (Thawte)
  • The connection is encrypted with TLS 1.0, however it loads some unsecured content as well (for example these could be static images like the Gmail logo)
  • The connection is encryped with 128-bit, which can't really be compromised as of today
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So, can attacker or a software crack encyrepted datas or can a firewall monitor messages which that works on LAN? – Kerberos Aug 17 '11 at 10:46
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No. The encryption method used is too strong to be cracked. The only thing you should care about is whether you can trust the certificate of the site you're on. – slhck Aug 17 '11 at 10:50
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+1 for a great answer. In addition to this, Google (like many other online communications services companies) "may retain your communications" -- see the "User communications" point in Google's Privacy Policy document for the list of conditions (it doesn't specify how long they will retain information, which is also common): google.com/privacy/privacy-policy.html – Randolf Richardson Aug 17 '11 at 10:50
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Thanks for adding that, @Randolf -- I was talking about the more general case here, but it's interesting to have the official Google policy here. – slhck Aug 17 '11 at 10:51
Thank you very much. – Kerberos Aug 17 '11 at 11:59
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