One of the most painful lessons, for anyone surfing the internet, can be when an individual is unaware if a website is secure or not. When that individual still proceeds to make a purchase through a website that is not secure the results can be devastating. Purchasing from secure websites is extremely important.
A website that is secure will use the https:// prefix. The ‘s’ is only a minor addition to the normal prefix for a webpage, of ‘http’, but the ‘s’ is very important in this instance as it stands for secure. There should also be a security lock symbol visible before the https:// prefix.
If you see even a website that has a good reputation, and it’s a site you want to purchase something from, still check if the https:// prefix is present. If it’s not then you are taking risks that you shouldn’t be taking. Even if friends have ordered items from the same site, by using their credit card or an online bank account, that doesn’t mean that you are going to be as fortunate, and make a purchase without consequences.
A site that sells items and doesn’t use https:// can be a totally reputable website, but it is just slack when it comes to things such as security. It certainly won’t welcome its site’s security being easily breached. Any website that sells products online, but has suffered instances where customer’s information has been stolen, will quickly gain a dreadful reputation.
When visiting sites that use https://, you will sometimes see the web address on your browser in green. That is just an additional example of a website telling you: “We’re safe.” Though still check for https:// at the beginning of the relevant address.
One of the ways an internet user may be tricked into entering a non-secure site is through phishing. Any email that claims to have been sent from your bank can be easily checked if it is legitimate or not. Rolling a mouse over the links in the email will determine whether the links lead to your bank’s website and not some website you’ve never heard of. Many types of phishing emails are poorly written, and contain spelling errors, but some can look disturbingly authentic – until you check the links.
Though the signs of whether a website has a valid security certificate are easy to spot, through the https:// prefix and the security lock symbol, your browser will advise you on the secure nature of some websites. It may warn you if you are about to enter a site that it deems to be insecure. This can sometimes be a case that the browser is being over cautious, but it’s best to take notice of that caution.
A site with a valid security certificate regards your security as paramount. These sites will make sure that your details are encrypted, and consequently you have the peace of mind knowing that your information is secure.
