Quote:
Originally Posted by Yourup
By the way, how do we know these pages are SSL'd? Do we just take their word for it?
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SSL was primarily developed to cater the needs of securing a page.
There is a de facto standard among web browsers to display a "lock" icon somewhere in the window of the browser (NOT in the web page display area!) For example, Microsoft Internet Explorer displays the lock icon in the lower-right of the browser window:
As another example, Mozilla's FireFox Web Browser displays the lock icon in the lower-left corner:
THE LOCK ICON IS NOT JUST A PICTURE! Click (or double-click) on it to see details of the site's security. This is important to know because some fraudulent web sites are built with a bar at the bottom of the web page to imitate the lock icon of your browser! Therefore it is necessary to test the functionality built into this lock icon. Furthermore, it is very important to KNOW YOUR BROWSER! Check your browser's help file or contact the makers of your browser software if you are unsure how to use this functionality.
Try it! - Visit ssl's home page (
http://www.ssl.com). Click the link to "Log in" to initiate a secure session. Note the lock icon display in YOUR browser. Click the icon, or double-click (varies by browser), and examine the security information displayed about the web site. If there is no display at the bottom of your browser try clicking "View" in the main menu and make sure "Status Bar" is checked.