HTTPS doesn't just encrypt the data securing it, it also uses certificates to prove that the site is who it says it is. That's probably more important even if just reading data and that no-one is impersonating the site.
If you use a proxy, especially at work, they will install certificates in the browser so the proxy can intercept, decrypt, inspect and rerecrypt on without warnings but generally if the certificate doesn't match or isn't issued properly you browser should warn you. What is causing pain now are the alternate DNS names being enforced on the main name where previously only needing for additional names. This is where you may use variations in name to provide different services but only want one certificate, e.g.
www.bbc.co.uk, news.bbc.co.uk (yes I know they do it different now) can all have one certificate, used to be
www.bbc and then new.bbc etc in the alternate names, now also have to have
www.bbc in the alternate names.