The latest attempt by Google to address security focuses on the company’s flagship product – its search engine. On Friday Google announced its new SSL (secure sockets layer) encrypted search site, which it has rolled out in a beta version.

Google said that the SSL encryption would prevent search results from being viewed by third parties on a user’s network and highlighted its previous efforts to provide similar security features to its Gmail and Google Docs services.

“Searching over SSL doesn’t reduce the data sent to Google – it only hides that data from third parties who seek it”, said Evan Roseman, a Google software engineer. On the company’s official blog, he cautioned Google users to expect a slightly different search experience, as the beta version does not currently support image searches or the Google Maps service.

Roseman also warned that searches may be a bit slower due to the additional time needed for encrypted SSL connections. Google plans on providing additional encryption for its other search options in the future.