How to Verify if a Website is Secure

We all use the internet to purchase goods and services using our credit-card from time to time. When you consider the fact that there are an estimate 350 million people on the internet, all are able to order goods by credit card, it makes you wonder how we can be sure that the credit-card information that we send will reach the right person at the end of the line and even if it does as intended, will they deliver the goods? All transactions conducted over the internet should be encrypted; therefore, no one can view them aside from yourself and the recipient.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• An eye for details.

1. 
    
   What to look for on secure Webpages.

   To verify that the site you are ordering from is encrypted, check the WebPages requesting your personal information by looking at the bottom right hand corner of your browser, or to the right of the address bar. You should see either a small key or padlock icon if the page is encrypted.

2. Another way to know is to check the address bar. Please note that secure pages will have HTTPS:// while unsecured pages will just have HTTP:// (note: the "S" is missing). If you do not see either of these seals you should avoid ordering from that particular site, because although the chances are remote, somebody may steal your credit card details in transit.

3. Pertaining to buying goods online, a very good practice is to review the store(s) that you are or intends to purchase from. This can be done relatively easy through a search engine such as, Google, Yahoo MSN etc. (e.g. Wal-Mart store ratings and reviews)

4. Having said all that, some of the older encryption technology is fairly simple to crack, so always ensure you have the most up-to-date encryption and security certificates available for your web browser. Most popular ones are: (e.g. Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer or Firefox).

Tips & Warnings

• Without going into great detail, when active, the encryption technology used in today's browser is extremely secure and the possibility of anybody cracking the code is so remote that it isn't worth considering in a practical environment.
• Most stores require a few things from the purchaser that only the card holder should know, such as the CVV/CVC number and shipping address. Protecting this information can also increase your credit card online security.

[Crabcakes]

on 1/29/2009 Exactly what I teach in my internet security class! Excellent advice! 5* RRR

[miasavc]

on 1/27/2009 We need to pay attention to this since it is becoming more convenient for us to shop online. Very good information!