Shopping with HTTPS

Being that it is the holiday season and if you are reading this fine tech blog you have no doubt shopped online, and chances are you have probably noticed, or been told to look for, certain indicators that you have a secure Web connection.

For many years, the primary indicator was a padlock at the bottom of your browser screen. Now, the padlock is likely to be found in the address bar up top. Sometimes the address bar itself will turn a different color (usually green) when you enter a secure website.

The "http" prefix on the website, if it's visible, will change to "https" The "s" stands for "secure."

Learning to read these browser indicators is an important way to avoid becoming a victim of cybercriminals.

What is HTTPS Anyway?

Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (https) is a communications protocol for secure communication over a computer network, with wide adoption on the Internet. This security level is the result of layering the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) on top of the SSL/TLS protocol, which adds the security capabilities of SSL/TLS to standard HTTP communications.

If you do not see that a site is using the HTTPS protocol always avoid providing any personal or financial information.