Keep Private Data Safe From Web Snoops

The internet is vast web of connections which link personal computers, corporate networks, government servers and foreign organizations. When you connect to a particular website, the data that you enter and receive passes through a number of computers outside of your control. So, what prevents a user on one of those computers from intercepting your data and reading it? Nothing usually, but private data CAN be protected if you use something called "Secure Socket Layers" (SSL). This article isn't intended to explain the details of SSL. It is intended to make sure that you, a user of the internet, know how to determine if your data is safe. You don't have to know how a watch works to read the time.

First, you should never consider your information secure when using a computer that isn't your own. When you load your email, visit a banking site, or load any information that is considered sensitive, that information gets stored into the memory of the computer that you are using. If you're not the owner of that computer, you can't be sure that no one will obtain your sensitive info. It doesn't matter how secure your connection to the web is, your data is still stored locally. If you do not trust the owners of the computer you are using, don't load or enter any sensitive material. Buying something online with your credit card while using a foreign internet cafe computer is a bad idea, as the owners may be recording every keystroke you make.

Now, on to SSL. The concept is really simple: SSL protects your data from potential snoopers by encrypting it before sending. Your browser encodes your sensitive information using encryption, the coded data is sent, and the computer that you are connecting to decodes it. If someone in the middle intercepts your data, they will just see a bunch of gibberish codes. When you connect to a website using the "https://" instead of "http://" prefix, you are telling the browser to protect your data using SSL. The pictures here show a secure connection being made to gmail, so no one can read my email even if they intercept it! If you have a gmail account, just go to https://www.gmail.com instead of http://www.gmail.com if you want to try it yourself. Many other online mail systems carry this feature as well.

If a proper secure connection has been made, you should see a little picture of a lock in the lower right hand corner of your page. Hovering your mouse over the lock will show you the third party organization that has verified the website in question. Companies like IdenTrust and Verisign are common examples of companies that make this verification.

Bottom line... if you don't see https:// in your address bar, and there is no lock in the bottom right hand corner of your screen, don't enter or try to retrieve any sensitive information! Don't pay your bills online, don't do any bank transactions, and don't read sensitive material. However, if you do see the https://, the lock, and you're using a computer you trust, your data is secure.

Now, go practice. Check your bank's account and the sites you use to pay your bills online to make sure they are doing things right. If there's no https and lock, send a complaint. There is no reason that any website dealing with sensitive information should not be using this technology.

I'll trade you 4 IEs for 1 Firefox

If you run Windows it is very possible that you are viewing this page in Internet Explorer, Microsoft's pre-packaged web browser that comes with Windows (often called IE). To be sure, look in the upper left corner of the page. If you see a blue "e" icon, then you're using IE, and this article is intended to help you understand why you should try a different browser: Firefox. Maybe you're just fine with IE, or maybe it seems like too big of a hassle to change. Read on before you blow this off..

First, IE does a terrible job of interpreting web pages. An organization known as the World Wide Web Consortium creates standards on how browsers should display the files that are loaded when you visit a website. When the browsers are made to be compliant with the specifications of this organization, web designers can be assured that their pages will display correctly, no matter which browser is being used. Microsoft has ignored huge portions of these standards in developing IE, thus limiting many of the tools that would be available to web designers. It's kind of like trying to use a Phillips screwdriver on a proprietary screw that doesn't fit. As a web designer myself, I have pulled out my hair (which is why I am somewhat bald) trying to get my web pages to look the way that I intended them in IE. Web designers waste time figuring out how to "hack" their websites into working with IE. As a user, you get a less functional, less efficient browser using IE. Lame...

Secondly, IE is a lot less secure than Firefox. IE is closely built around the foundations Windows, making it much easier for a hacker or malicious user to use web pages to mess with your computer. Firefox, on the other hand, was built as a separate block, making security exploits much more difficult. I can guarantee you that your "spyware" scanner will find much fewer problems if you switch to Firefox.

Now, forget about the problems with IE, what's so great about Firefox itself? Firefox is very efficient; It uses less memory and displays pages very quickly. It has many user options which will allow you to navigate the way that YOU want to navigate. For example, don't you hate it when you click on a link and it opens a whole new window? You can set Firefox to disallow that, or have it open in another "tab" instead of a whole new window. There are all kinds of simple yet powerful options that you can set up in Firefox.



Firefox also has a great architecture for add-ons. Add-ons are little modules that you can install into your browser to make it do new things. For example, you can install an add-on called WeatherFox which will show you your local weather forcast in the corner of your broswer. Want to listen to music right inside your browser? Try FoxyTunes. Maybe you want a tool that will allow you to load photos and web content quickly to your family blog... Firefox has extentions for that too. Here's a page with tons of firefox add-ons that you can explore.

Firefox has a whole slew of security features that you can learn about if you search the web. It's built to last, very slick, and well designed. There is no doubt in my mind that it is the best web browser available today, and I know you'll love it if you try it out. On top of that, it is entirely FREE and always will be. Get it now for free here.