Title: Rigorous statistical analysis of HTTPS reachability,
Abstract: The use of secure connections using HTTPS as the default means, or even the
only means, to connect to web servers is increasing. It is being pushed from
both sides: from the bottom up by client distributions and plugins, and from
the top down by organisations such as Google. However, there are potential
technical hurdles that might lock some clients out of the modern web. This
paper seeks to measure and precisely quantify those hurdles in the wild. More
than three million measurements provide statistically significant evidence of
degradation. We show this through a variety of statistical techniques. Various
factors are shown to influence the problem, ranging from the client's browser,
to the locale from which they connect.