How to recognize a secure connection while browsing

When you log in to online banking or submit an order in an online store, you enter sensitive information on the provider's website. Naturally, you want to be able to trust that your data reaches the right destination.

That is why you should know how to recognize secure data transmission. 

When confidential information—such as your credit card digits—is entered into a form, there are two potential risks. 

1. Criminals may be behind the website and redirect you to a fake but realistic-looking website of the provider, such as a bank or online store. This happens, for example, with phishing.
2. The data you enter, in this case your credit card number, may be intercepted and read while traveling over the internet from your computer or smartphone to the provider's server. The information then ends up unnoticed in the hands of criminals.

Check whether the data traffic between your web browser and the provider's server is secured with a certificate and whether the certificate is current. It is similar to a document's certificate of authenticity. It also provides the basis for encrypted communication. Data is not transmitted in plain text but is encrypted. SSL is used for this purpose.

These signs indicate that a website is trustworthy:

• Check the address bar in your web browser. For a secure connection, it displays „https“ instead of „http“.
• Your web browser also indicates an encrypted, and therefore secure, connection with a lock icon in the address bar. In addition, some programs indicate such a connection with green coloring or the notice „secure“.
• Click the lock icon to view details about the connection and the certificate used. You will also find information about the security level and the type of certificate. 

If these indicators are missing from your web browser, the connection between your computer and the provider's server is unencrypted. In this case, do not enter any confidential information.

What you need to know about certificates

Certificates are issued by authorized organizations. Your browser stores the issuer certificates ("root certificates") of approved companies. It can then check whether a website's certificate is valid and correct. 

Website certificates come in different security levels. They indicate how extensive the verification process is before a certificate is issued.

The highest level is "Extended Validation" certificates. These certificates verify, among other things, the commercial register and the company's registered office. When you encounter one of these certificates, your browser shows not only a secure connection but also the company name in the address bar.

The second-highest level is "organization-validated" certificates. They are issued only to applicants registered in the commercial register. This gives users reliable information about who operates the websites. 

The lowest level is "domain-validated SSL certificates." Applying for one involves fewer bureaucratic requirements. The verification checks whether the certificate applicant has technical access to the server.