The World Wide Web is vast. You can find anything and everything on the internet. In addition, the World Wide Web has made life so much easier. From online banking to purchasing things online, you have it at your fingertips.
With the holiday season approaching, you and many others are probably looking for the perfect gift to order for your loved ones. Since the internet has made purchasing and paying online convenient, this is when hackers and scammers are waiting for their victims.
But, who is the right victim? The right victim is someone who firstly does not have a secure internet connection. Xfinity is not only the largest cable provider in the U.S. but also provides a secure gateway for all its customers. Moreover, Xfinity Internet speed is much more reliable than most of its competitors, ranging from 75 Mbps to 2000 Mbps. Check Xfinity Customer Service!
Let’s say you have a secure internet connection; will you be safe from the many hackers online? Well, unfortunately not. You still need to remain vigilant at all times when you are using the internet.
Lucky for you, we have decided to share some basic things you need to look out for if you want to ensure that you are on a safe website. It’s important that you make this a habit if you want to protect your identity and information while online.
Check the Website Address
This is by far the easiest and simplest way to tell if you have landed on a safe or unsafe web page. Most web addresses are usually similar to one another. Of course, we are not saying that YouTube has the exact same address as Google.
What we are trying to imply is that most web addresses are in the same format. Web addresses tend to start with “https”. So, if you came across a web address that started with “http”, you might just have landed on an unsafe web page.
HTTPS refers to Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, which is specifically designed to transfer data and communications in a secure manner, which HTTP isn’t made for. Although not every website that starts with HTTP is considered to be unsafe, most unfortunately is.
In addition, if you came across a web page that has “0ffice box” instead of “office box” it could be a bogus website since the spelling error looks intentional. Therefore, it’s a good habit to always look at the web address before you do anything further on the website.
Lock Icon Before the Website Address
Have you noticed the tiny lock icon right before the web address begins? You are probably looking for it right now. All secured web pages have a lock icon that deems the website to be a safe landing page.
This revolved around the security offered by HTTPS. So, what does this actually mean? Let’s break it down for you. When a browser has the lock icon, it means that the website is using a Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure.
However, if there is no lock icon present, or shows an alert symbol, you have probably landed on an unsafe website. Does this mean that all websites with a lock icon are to be considered safe?
Not exactly, but most are. That said, you should still remain vigilant, and if you still find the website a little dubious despite the lock icon, close the website immediately.
Look Through the Website
Let’s say that the particular website you are using uses HTTPS and also has a lock icon, is it actually safe to use it without anything to be worried about? Although most of these websites are considered to be safe, there’s still a slight chance of it being unsafe.
This brings us to our last point – looking through the website. If it’s a new website that you have never used, it is a good habit to scan through the website. First and foremost, you should scan through for spelling errors, especially if they seem intentional.
Most, if not all professional websites have a content team and web designers that specifically check for any content-related errors. Next, see the product and service prices on the website. If you find the prices to be ridiculously low and unreal, it is a major sign that the website itself is a scam.
Some of the other things that you should look out for within the website are low-quality images, erratic posts, web page loading time, and poor design. All of these indicate that the web page is indeed unsafe.
Wrapping Up
That’s about it. We believe there are many other things you can look out for that would indicate that a web page is unsafe, but we have shared the three easiest and effective ways. Check the web address, the lock icon presence, and the website itself.
These should help you figure out if you should stay on the website or close it.
