If you are on a secure site, the url in the address bar will start with HTTPS and it is already encrypted.

I wonder if anyone else noticed that this website isn't secure? It has hppt:// in the header, not Https://

That should have been http://, not hppt://. The awe sh*t button isn't working on my computer.

I checked several other sites and most don't have the httpS://. Guess the internet isn't as secure as I thought it was.

Why would this site need to be encrypted?

Encryption is needed only when you are dealing with personal information such as .. banking and the use of credit cards for online purchases.

When you're surfing the net or posting in forums .. you're not giving out that information .. (At least, I hope you're not)

Hmmm...mine doesn't say https: on Amazon, either. Back to the OP's question...how do you know and how if it's secure and how to make it so?

Yes, I thought the 'https' meant 'secure'. The Gardenweb only has 'http'. Because I hear so many horror stories about hack/online theft I quit buying anything quie awhile ago. To those of you who know computer security up and down, what could possibly harm us by just surfing??

if you are on a site where you would be doing the actual ordering the input of your info which is one of the last steps of ordering those pages should always be https:// and should show up as green in the url address line if it does not show https:// do not put your info there. All banking sites should be, sites that are asking for input of any type of financial or personal info should be.
A regular page on a website will rarely ever be https there is no reason for them to have it be encrypted.

Some email programs now offer https:// for the email, that is a good move in my opinion. However many still are not, but if you want to try it go ahead and type in the address using the https:// in place of http:// and you may be surprised to see that it will have that option, on many you just have to selectively type in the s on the address.

the main thing I do that I recommend doing is to block 3rd party cookies in your browser, the others I do not bother with.
Can you be tracked by your usage yes you can, should you be overly concerned not so much, they do it mainly to try to do targeted marketing which would be of the most interest to you.

I do not do social networking at all period.

What are third-party cookies?
that is a very good site to help you understand cookies etc.

What is HTTPS? What does HTTPS Stand For?

ilmbg-
Your post suggests a general set of concerns that seem to be affected by scary stories about Internet use. In my experience, the likelihood of having a problem with an Internet purchase is less than that of using your card in a restaurant and having the waiter steal the number. Yes, something bad can happen in either situation...but usually not. I have made hundreds of Internet purchases on eBay, Amazon, and other sites for at least 15 years. I do banking and bills online. I even refinanced my mortgage online. Never have I had a problem. I consider prudent Internet transactions as safer than putting a check in the mail.

However, I do exercise a few precautions: I have a different username and password for every site, so that if one was compromised it wouldn't allow someone to get in to another site. And I do keep my antivirus up-to-date and run Malwarebytes and SuperAntispyware every couple of weeks.

As for people keeping track of you via your email, or other means, it's not really a practical concern. The idea that someone would be monitoring your moves so they could break-in to your house has about the same likelihood as getting struck by lightning. I don't know what story you read, but are you sure it wasn't that smartphones keep track of a user's whereabouts?

It's true that problems occur on the Internet...like if you go to questionable web sites and get a virus; or you click on links from unknown senders in your email; or you respond to an email telling you that you have $17 million dollars waiting for you in an account in Nigeria; or you don't keep your antivirus updated; or you do banking at an Internet cafe, rather than at home; or you imprudently share personal information on sites like Facebook.

But, in general, you should simply be cautious, but not hyper-nervous. If all the things you are worried about happened frequently, no one would use the Internet for transactions or email.

How about PayPal? I received a refund and was forced to open a Paypal account to collect. It asked for my credit card info and my bank account #. I didn't open the account. They can keep the lousy $5.00. They won't mail a check without opening an account.

Jane

KD9,

Copy your post and save it. There is nothing I can disagree with. Nor could I add or change anything. The topic will come up again, and your highly accurate report will be needed. Excellent post.

Again as I posted on another thread, take a read of the current issue of Consumers Report as to personal security.

The sky is not falling. For all the potential pifalls that are out there, Users themselves are their own worst enemy.

DA