Yeah, I would disagree with this as well - they're supposed to provide more reassurance, but all the studies of user awareness of this - and security UI in general - generally conclude that almost nobody has a clue what these mean or even noticed their existence:

- http://www.securityfocus.com/print/columnists/405 - read the linked PDF, if you haven't already - it's pretty eye-opening. - http://i.imgur.com/u7PFH.jpg - this turned up on reddit the other day.