Just because it says: Secure..

We all know that the internet is filled with plenty of bad guys trying to steal our money. So, imagine this scenario: You click a link in an email that appears to be legitimate and as the webpage loads in your browser you see the green word “secure” light up. Does this mean it’s safe to login to this site?

No. Why? The green padlock or the word “secure” does show your connection to the site is secure but it doesn’t mean the site is legitimate. It may be a site setup simply to steal your credentials. Read what Google says about these secure indicators here.

How do you know if it’s really safe? Here are 3 things to take note of:

1. Don’t rely on links in emails or other webpages to go to a login page, it could be fake. Instead, type the address into your browser or use a bookmark you setup yourself.

2. Examine carefully the website address of the page you are visiting. Just because it contains, for example, the word ‘PayPal’ doesn’t mean you are on the official PayPal website.

3. Use good security habits to avoid being caught. If, for example, you have 2FA (See – Why do I need 2FA?) enabled on your internet accounts, even if your login is stolen, the bad guys still will not be able to login to your account.

We want you to be safe so have written extensively on this subject. Please review these articles:

Do you SSL/HTTPS? You should. Find out why

Has your password been stolen?
Overwhelmed with passwords?

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