That’s because, without HTTPS, they are sent as unencrypted text. If you don’t have full-session HTTPS turned on for your webmail, anybody on your WiFi network could read any of the emails you write and receive using a tool like FireSheep, as they are transmitted from Yahoo to your browser. Yahoo Mail has lagged behind competitors such as Hotmail (in the process of being rebranded ) and Gmail by not allowing users to access their email through HTTPS. It has taken Yahoo a ridiculously long time, but it is finally rolling out an option that will help protect users’ privacy when accessing their web-based email – HTTPS.