Holiday Shopping Countdown Tips - Day 3
Stay Out of Unlocked Rooms: A Quick Guide for Safe Journeys Online
How safe is your credit card information when you send it online? Some web sites are "secure" because they use encryption technology to protect your information. Although no technology is foolproof, here are three ways to tell if you are dealing with a "secure" site:
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Look at the top of your screen to see if the web site address includes https:// instead of http://. The "s," which means the site is secure, might not appear until you are on a page that requests personal information.
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Look for the unbroken key symbol.
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Look for the locked padlock symbol at the bottom of your screen. If the padlock is open, the site may not be secure.
Any of these signs means that private information, such as your credit card number, is more likely to be secure when you transmit it electronically to the company. Your information may still be vulnerable, however, if the company doesn't use encrypted storage as well as encrypted transmission. Check for the company's privacy policy on its web site to see if your information is protected in storage as well as in transmission.
