To view the first part, which deals with 1) phishing and 2) encryption and your Web browser, click HERE.
3. SECURE SOCKET LAYER AND CERTIFICATE AUTHORITIES
While banking online, it is important to check whether your bank has an SSL certificate on its website. SSL stands for secure socket layer and is the industry standard technology that allows your computer to communicate securely with a server or another computer over the Internet. Most, if not all, banks will have some level of SSL certificate. There are two kinds of SSL certificates, and several levels for each kind of certificate. The first is a self-signed certificate and the second is a trusted certificate. Trusted certificates are the preferred kind as they are backed by a CA (certificate authority). A certificate authority is a private company that guarantees that communications between you and one of their customers will be secure and they charge a lot of money for this service to websites, not consumers. Anyone who has advanced computer knowledge can be a CA, hence the self-signed certificate I talked about earlier. The top three commercial CAs in market share are Verisign, Geotrust, and Comodo.
You are probably asking yourself what all of this CA and SSL stuff means to you, and why it is important. It’s important because SSL is the secure communications standard for the Internet and it is used in online banking for encrypting your account information. There are two ways to tell if a website is using SSL and what level certificate the server has. The first is to look at the address of the website in your browser’s address bar. If the address starts with “https,” then the website is secured by SSL. If it starts with “http”, it is not secure. The second way is to look for an icon of a closed padlock which is located on your browser’s tool bar or task bar, either at the top or bottom of your screen, depending on the browser you are using. If there is no padlock icon, or the padlock icon is unlocked or open, then the website is not secure. If you are having trouble locating this icon on your specific browser, consult with a computer professional.
4. MALWARE
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you must make sure your computer is free of malware. Malware can be a combination of viruses and/or spyware and usually is accompanied by negative consequences to your computer. Some of the symptoms of malware include: a slower than normal computer, weird search engines loading no matter which website you visit, lots of popup windows, ads for products/services you don’t need, and many more. If you believe you might have malware on your computer, consult with a computer professional.
Coming next – “The Pitfalls of Social Networking”
Andrew Delson has 15 years of work experience in the IT industry. He has worked for Mildred Elley Business School and RPI, both as an instructor and in the IT departments. He has a degree in information technology from UAlbany and holds CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Administrator) and A+ certifications. Delson is the proprietor of a computer consulting company, The PC Guy. He can be reached at http://www.pcguyny.com/contact
