Surfing the WebSecure Communications, Shopping and BankingIf you want to do banking or purchase products over the web, you need to be sure you are using a secure connection and 128 bit encryption strength. Using Internet Explorer check the lower left hand side of the screen for a Padlock that indicates you are using a secure link. Never give out credit card or other personal information on the web unless this symbol is present to indicate a secure connection. See Figure 3-03.  The other thing to check is the Encryption Strength you are using. Go to the Internet Explorer toolbar and click on Help > About Internet Explorer. This will bring up a screen as shown in Figure 3-04. Today's standards require you to use 128 bit Cipher Strength. If you are using the older 64 bit Cipher Strength, many sites will not allow you to connect to them. This is especially true for banking sites.  If you are using a secure site and 128 bit Cipher Strength, the web is much safer than in person or over the phone credit card transactions. We all know when you use a credit card at a store, it is easy for someone to make a copy of your credit card number and signature. Likewise almost no one other than certain government agencies use encrypted phone connections. But your Internet connection can be encrypted at 128 bits. Likewise the data that is given to the company or bank is also encrypted. Today you can feel much safer banking and purchasing product on line (from known companies) than using mail or the phone. All major stores (Sears, K-mart, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, etc.) have on line sales sites. In addition there are on line only stores such as Amazon and Dell. Also most major brands (most auto makers, airlines, electronic companies, and computer companies) have web sites. Often they offer items at lower prices than you can get at their stores. This is especially true of airline tickets. |