Nowadays it is an important feature to know if a website is secure or not? Many phishing messages lure the victim to a fake and often dangerous website. We present some tips but also tools that can help you to check the security of a website.
Checking the security of external websites
As a general rule, you should be skeptical about the Internet and not disclose any information until you are satisfied that the website is secure. There are several small tips that help you to quickly check the security:
- Use security tools in your browsers:
The common Internet browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) all offer different security tools and functions. An example for the Chrome browser is the Safebrowsing Engine. Ad blockers can also provide security, as a popular vector for attackers are advertisements. Under the following path you will find the security settings for your browser:
Chrome: Settings > Advanced > Security and Privacy
Edge: Settings > Advanced settings
Firefox: Tools > Settings > Privacy & Security
Safari: Preferences > Privacy - Check each domain twice:
This tip sounds very simple but is all the more efficient. The majority of dubious websites can already be recognized by the domain. You should make sure that the domain is checked letter by letter, because attackers often try to hide their domain with “letter twisters”, for example: https://www.gooogle.com/
You should also make sure that the protocol used is https. This will encrypt your communication with the server. It should be noted, however, that a phishing website can also use https. - Do not trust any displayed content without checking it:
Every website can display various fake seals or other images. The goal is to gain the trust of the victims through these pictures. On this website many such pictures are offered, which you can put on your own website:
By clicking on such pictures you should get the authenticity guaranteed. However, sometimes serious sites use these pictures without guaranteeing their authenticity. In such cases, you should search the Internet for search terms such as: “Is the online shop XYZ reputable?
Is your own website secure?
In order to be able to guarantee customers or other visitors of your own website a secure connection, it is worthwhile to examine your own website and thus determine whether it is displayed as secure. To make this process easy, there is an offer called siwecos.
“Siwecos is a service offer that emerged from the Initiative-S, which is supported by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy within the framework of the initiative “IT Security in the Economy””(Source: https://www.it-sicherheit-in-der-wirtschaft.de/).
After you have registered for free on the site, you can have your own website tested and will then receive a notification if the website has already been linked to malware.
