INTERNET SECURITY
HTTP:// & HTTPS://
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Keep this in mind!! Especially those of you who order online. This is how hackers get your information.
Do you know the difference between http:// and https://?
I don’t know how many of you are aware of the difference, but it is worth sending to anyone who does not.
The main difference between http:// and https:// is it’s all about security.
HTTP stands for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (unsecured).
The “S” stands for “secure”.
If you visit a website or web page and look at the address in the web browser, it will likely begin with the following: http://
This means that the website is talking to your browser using the regular “unsecured” language.
In other words, it is possible for someone to “eavesdrop” on your computer’s conversation with the website.
If you fill out a form on the website, someone might see the information you send to that site.
This is why you never ever enter your credit card number in an http:// website!
But if the web address begins with https://, that basically means your computer is talking to the website in a secure code that no one can eavesdrop.
If a website ever asks you to enter your credit card information, you should automatically look to see if the web address begins with https://.
If it doesn’t, you should NEVER enter sensitive information such as a credit card number, Ontario Health Card #, SIN #, etc.
http:// UNSAFE
https:// SAFE/SECURE
PASS IT ON
You may save someone a lot of grief!
Reg R.
It is becoming more and more difficult to distinguish authentic from fraudulent. Examine the following and see if you can spot the fraudulent URL addresses:
