You will probably have used a site that uses a security certificate or SSL (secure sockets layer) – basically anytime that you have paid for something online you will be using a secure website
or I certainly hope so!!
What does it do?
In the simplest terms the SSL protects the data that you enter in when its past over to a payment server or a website
It this using a form of encryption – do you need to know how it does it – well not really! BUT you do need to know to keep an eye out for it.
Depending on which browser you use (Chrome, Firefox, IE, Safari) they all display it slightly differently (how nice!) but the essence is that you should either see
https:// in the url bar
a gold padlock in the URL bar or bottom bar for IE
A blue/green bar over the www part
If you click any of these parts you should then be able to pull up the secure details – ie company name – what domain name its used for etc etc
What should you do if you cannot see any of these and you are being asked to enter in your credit card details?
LEAVE
Seriously leave and if you know the company email them saying I think your site SSL has expired or there isn’t one!
Always always protect yourself when online – that is not just your privacy but also your money too!
thanks
Sarah
