Oct
22

How to Check if Your Online Shopping Cart is Secure

Whether you’re shopping online or offline, you want to be careful about the security of the private information you are providing to the company. The good news is that if you’re shopping online there are some visual cues you can look for to determine if you are using a secure site. There are also some other tips that can help you do more to protect your identity.

Visual Cues of a Secure Shopping Cart Online

Because of past problems with weak security, today’s web sites are shown to be secure thanks to clear visual cues. These cues include three primary things you need to check for. Do NOT give out your financial information on any site that does not demonstrate these security cues.

• URL – First, check the URL that appears in the address bar at the top of the page. Normally, the URL begins with “http:” but on a secure site you should see “https:” If you do not see that extra “s,” you should not consider the page secure.

• Padlock – Second, any secure page should be marked with a small padlock. If you are using Mozilla Firefox as your browser, the padlock will appear in the lower right hand corner of the screen. If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer, you will see the padlock next to the address bar.

• Color Change – One of the newer innovations in Microsoft Internet Explorer for checking the security of the page is the color change in the address bar. When you go from an unsecure to a secure page, the bar where the URL is located will turn green.

Other Security Factors

When you switch from insecure to secure pages, you may also receive a pop up message warning you of the transition. Some people worry about that message because they think it may be warning them about a potential danger or something they have done wrong. In fact, the message is actually just there to alert you that you are getting ready to move onto an unsecure site so you don’t want to give out any financial information.