diff --git a/lib/spack/spack/cmd/create.py b/lib/spack/spack/cmd/create.py
index 6c68617acd6..e66be93bdc1 100644
--- a/lib/spack/spack/cmd/create.py
+++ b/lib/spack/spack/cmd/create.py
@@ -454,7 +454,7 @@ def __call__(self, stage, url):
         the contents of its archive or the URL it was downloaded from."""
 
         # Most octave extensions are hosted on Octave-Forge:
-        #     http://octave.sourceforge.net/index.html
+        #     https://octave.sourceforge.net/index.html
         # They all have the same base URL.
         if url is not None and 'downloads.sourceforge.net/octave/' in url:
             self.build_system = 'octave'
@@ -567,7 +567,7 @@ def get_url(args):
     """
 
     # Default URL
-    url = 'http://www.example.com/example-1.2.3.tar.gz'
+    url = 'https://www.example.com/example-1.2.3.tar.gz'
 
     if args.url:
         # Use a user-supplied URL if one is present