MIT- Harvard did a survey and found that 36% of test subjects would continue to log into their bank even after getting a security pop-up stating that the website was insecure and not the https site they were looking for.
So what is SSL?
SSL is a technology that helps verify identities of websites signed by a trusted certificate authority. When you are logging into a website, check to make sure it’s a secure site signed with an ssl certificate, meaning it has https in the beginning of the address except for http. So the next time when you receive a link or go to a website check to see if it’s using https to make sure you are visiting the website you think you are visiting and not a fake website made to steal your credentials.
A Word on Email Security That Might Save Your Computer
When you receive emails with links or attachments it is always a good idea to verify the person you received it from actually sent it. Emails can be spoofed using other email accounts listed in your mail server.
When you receive an email from an unknown user with attachments or links and you are not expecting it DO NOT OPEN IT! It can contain malicious documents in the form of safe documents for example: .doc .pdf .xls etc. It is very important to not open known executable attachments as well ex. .exe .com .bat .vbs .vbe .js .jse .hta .html .reg .shs etc. If you do not recognize the attachment or the user sending the attachment please disregard the email or forward it to your IT company for analysis and they will be able to tell you if it’s safe/spam or malicious.
As a good rule to follow, when you receive an email stop to think about if you know the sender and are expecting attachments or links from that sender and think smart before clicking or opening any attachments.