How can I tell if purchasing from a website is safe/secure and trustworthy?

There are tons of small companies I've never heard of selling products that I want on their website. What type of verification can I get to make sure the company is legitimate and trustworthy? Asked by AOK 59 months ago Similar questions: purchasing website safe secure trustworthy Computers > Internet.

Similar questions: purchasing website safe secure trustworthy.

Make sure it has a SSL Certificate Anytime you view a web site information is sent from your computer to the web server and from the web server to your computer. The transmission of this information is normally sent in "plain text", meaning anyone would be able to read it should they see it. Now consider this.

Each piece of information transmitted traverses many computers (servers) to reach its destination. Try it! - Windows Users, to see just how many machines your information traverses, follow these steps: 1) On your computer, click Start, then Run 2) Type "cmd" and click "OK" (or press Enter) 3) Type this in exactly: tracert ssl.com 4) Press Enter Each listing in the window is a different computer/router/switch (a "node" in networking terms).

Each "node" represents a point at which any data you send might be recorded! It is not uncommon to see 20-30 listings. Big deal, right?

Consider this the next time you type in a password or your credit card number. Ah! Therein lies the problem.

The solution to this problem is to encrypt this data for transmission. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) was created for this very purpose. SSL uses a complex system of key exchanges between your browser and the server you are communicating with in order to encrypt the data before transmitting it across the web.

A web page with an active SSL session is what we mean when we say a web page is "secure". ALL WEB PAGES ASKING YOU FOR SENSITIVE INFORMATION SHOULD BE SECURED USING SSL! How can I tell if a web page is secured?

There are two general indications of a secured web page: 1) Check the web page URL Normally, when browsing the web, the URLs (web page addresses) begin with the letters "http". However, over a secure connection the address displayed should begin with "https" - note the "s" at the end. Try it!

- Visit our home page (http://ssl.com). Note the URL begins with the "http" meaning this page is not secure. Click the link in the upper-right hand corner to "Log in".

Notice the change in the URL? It now begins with "https", meaning the user name and password typed in will be encrypted before sent to our server. 2) Check for the "Lock" icon There is a de facto standard among web browsers to display a "lock" icon somewhere in the window of the browser (NOT in the web page display area!) For example, Microsoft Internet Explorer displays the lock icon in the lower-right of the browser window: As another example, Mozilla's FireFox Web Browser displays the lock icon in the lower-left corner: THE LOCK ICON IS NOT JUST A PICTURE!

Click (or double-click) on it to see details of the site's security. This is important to know because some fraudulent web sites are built with a bar at the bottom of the web page to imitate the lock icon of your browser! Therefore it is necessary to test the functionality built into this lock icon.

Furthermore, it is very important to KNOW YOUR BROWSER! Check your browser's help file or contact the makers of your browser software if you are unsure how to use this functionality. Try it!

- Visit our home page (http://ssl.com). Click the link to "Log in" to initiate a secure session. Note the lock icon display in YOUR browser.

Click the icon, or double-click (varies by browser), and examine the security information displayed about the web site. If there is no display at the bottom of your browser try clicking "View" in the main menu and make sure "Status Bar" is checked. Other Indicators of a Secured Web Page Many SSL Certificate vendors (Verisign, GeoTrust, SSL.com, etc. ) also provide a "site seal" to the owners of these web sites.

Common characteristics of these site seals include: gh Visibility - Online merchants want you to see these site seals. They want you to know they have made every effort to make their site a safe shopping experience. Therefore, the site seal is usually located where you, the customer, can easily see it.

Difficult to Duplicate - The site seals are designed to be difficult for thieves and scammers to duplicate. Many times the site seal will have a date and time stamp on it. Verification Functionality - The site seal should have some functionality whether by clicking on the seal or by hovering your mouse over the seal.

The functionality should display detailed information about the web site you are visiting. These site seals should not necessarily be trusted on their own, but should serve as a reminder to "investigate further"... 1) Check for that "https" in the prefix of the web page address. 2) Click on that "lock icon" in the status bar of your browser.

If everything looks good, the company or individual(s) running that web site have provided you with a safe means of communicating your sensitive information. The web page is "secure". Browse Safely!

Sources: http://info.ssl.com/article.aspx?id=10068 .

A little web research beforehand goes a long way One of the best places to check for web based company history is Reseller Ratings. If you go to that site and search for the vendor you’re thinking of using you’ll be able to get a good idea of the reliability and security of the store, along with ratings on its customer service and past customer experiences. As an example, here’s Amazon’s rating.

If you want to ensure that a site is using secure encryption for your transactions then you need to check the site’s web certificate. These are ’key files’ issued by central authorities such as Thawte that guarantee the web site’s authenticity. Your browser will let you know when you’re using a web site which supports secure communication using certificates.

Typically secure sites will use the https protocol rather than straight http. As a test, open your browser and go to https://amazon.com. Both Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox will show a padlock in the address bar.

This means that all communications with that site are sent through something called the Secure Socket Layer, which ensures that all data passed through it is encrypted. Whenever you see a padlock symbol in your browser address bar it means that site is using secure communication. Hope this helps.

Sources: http://www.resellerratings.com, http://www.bcwebsolutions.com, http://www.thawte.com, http://www.windowssecurity.com Mindwarp's Recommendations Administrating Web Servers, Security, & Maintenance Interactive Workbook Amazon List Price: $58.65 Used from: $11.00 Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 (based on 1 reviews) Mindwarp's Recommendations SSL & TLS Essentials: Securing the Web Amazon List Price: $39.99 Used from: $69.54 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (based on 7 reviews) Web Security, Privacy and Commerce, 2nd Edition Amazon List Price: $44.95 Used from: $24.95 Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 7 reviews) .

Telling if your transaction is secure is easy Knowing if a site is trustworthy or not is a different matter. For the most part, I've found that most sites are completely legitimate. They're just people trying to make an honest buck.

Sometimes they'll have a little "TRUSTe" banner at the bottom of the page. You should click it and make sure it returns a valid response from this site:truste.org/But just because it doesn't have that banner doesn't mean it's not trustworthy. If you have any doubts, you need to ask around at some forums (like this one) to see if anyone has ever used them before and if they had a good experience.

Bad sites will quickly develop a bad reputation. Now finding out if the transaction is secure is much easier. There are two general indications of a secured web page:1) Check the web page URLNormally, when browsing the web, the URLs (web page addresses) begin with the letters "http".

However, over a secure connection the address displayed should begin with "https" - note the "s" at the end.2) Check for the "Lock" iconThere is a de facto standard among web browsers to display a "lock" icon somewhere in the window of the browser (NOT in the web page display area! ) For example, Microsoft Internet Explorer displays the lock icon in the lower-right of the browser window. As another example, Mozilla's FireFox Web Browser displays the lock icon in the lower-left corner.

THE LOCK ICON IS NOT JUST A PICTURE! Click (or double-click) on it to see details of the site's security. This is important to know because some fraudulent web sites are built with a bar at the bottom of the web page to imitate the lock icon of your browser!

Therefore it is necessary to test the functionality built into this lock icon. Furthermore, it is very important to KNOW YOUR BROWSER! Check your browser's help file or contact the makers of your browser software if you are unsure how to use this functionality.

Other Indicators of a Secured Web PageMany SSL Certificate vendors (Verisign, GeoTrust, SSL.com, etc. ) also provide a "site seal" to the owners of these web sites. Common characteristics of these site seals include: * gh Visibility - Online merchants want you to see these site seals. They want you to know they have made every effort to make their site a safe shopping experience.

Therefore, the site seal is usually located where you, the customer, can easily see it. * Difficult to Duplicate - The site seals are designed to be difficult for thieves and scammers to duplicate. Many times the site seal will have a date and time stamp on it.

* Verification Functionality - The site seal should have some functionality whether by clicking on the seal or by hovering your mouse over the seal. The functionality should display detailed information about the web site you are visiting. These site seals should not necessarily be trusted on their own, but should serve as a reminder to "investigate further"...1) Check for that "https" in the prefix of the web page address.2) Click on that "lock icon" in the status bar of your browser.

If everything looks good, the company or individual(s) running that web site have provided you with a safe means of communicating your sensitive information. The web page is "secure". Sources: http://info.ssl.com/article.aspx?id=10068 .

Shopping One of the main things I look for is an actual street address and phone number. Sure, they can be made up, too, but at least that’s a start. You can always Google that address and see what comes up.

If you are making a credit card purchase, make sure that when you are in the shopping cart area that the little lock shows up at the bottom of your screen and that they url starts with https, also. It can't hurt to make a phone call to the business to ask a question, just to be sure of whom you are dealing with. You can also check the "who is" of a website.By doing that, you can see who actually owns that url.

To check this, I go to any domain name registrar, like godaddy.com, and enter that name and it will tell me who owns that domain, their contact info, and exactly when it was registered. (you don’t necessarily want to deal with someone who has just recently put their website online). I also look for "professionalism" on a website--are there alot of typos and misspellings?

These can be a sign of a "fly by night" type operation. If they are unprofessional enough to not use spellcheck or have someone at least look it over, how will they treat your auction? I kind of prefer shopping with paypal on sites like this as that way they don’t get my credit card numbers, also.

Paypal can act as my middle man and if there is a problem Paypal will take care of it immediately and also offers buyer protection. Always remember--if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!.

Look for the "secure" sign. On the URL, look for "https" instead of "http" - that means that it is secure. Another way, for some browsers, is to look at the bottom left corner of the window, and if there is a locked padlock, then the site is secure..

I have no connection to the internet other then in safe mode.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.