I just want to remind or inform you when you're on the Internet and you're getting ready to put your credit card number in or other sensitive information to make sure of the following:
1. you see "https:" the s stands for secure (see for more info: http://ask-leo.com/is_an_https_connection_really_all_that_safe.html)
and/or
2. you see an icon that looks like a padlock somewhere on your screen. It could be on the top line next to the web address or it could be at the bottom of your screen. It represents secured mode.
Why am I telling you this?
Well last Friday I had a voicemail to preregister for my mammogram appointment for Monday. The vmail said I could register at a website. So I got out my trusty dusty laptop and started putting my contact info and medical stuff as to what I was preregistering for. From the yearly privacy training we get at work about medical information and from shopping on the Internet I have pretty much trained myself to look for signs of security.
So I started looking. I didn't see https nor a padlock icon. This website was unsecured!!! So I backed out of the website, called the number on the vmail and preregistered on the phone. I told the lady on the phone what happened and she said she would pass it along. I checked again Monday morning and it was still unsecured.
So at Presby I told the gentleman who was having me sign my life away what happened. He proceeded to tell one of the ladies at the front desk what I told him. I could turn around and see her and no one had any problems hearing her. She proceeded to say to him that website was secured and blah blah blah. He came back, I told him I heard what she said. We chatted some more, and he said he would follow up. He wasn't aware to look for those signs of security when on the Internet.
When I got to work that a.m. I went back on the website looking for a phone number and found one. The lady transferred me to someone in Information Technology (IT) department. I left him a voicemail. Later in the day he called and I was able to take the call. He thanked me soooo much. Apparently they were testing last week or something like that and forgot to turn the security back on.
I knew about the padlock from buying off the Internet like at Amazon.com. I found out about https because I called a place once when I didn't' see the padlock and they said the "s" means it's secure.
This also happened to me twice before a couple of years ago when shopping on the Internet. Seemed like a similar story, they were testing and forgot to turn security back on. We have to be very careful these days with identity thefts and such.
Consider yourself informed! *(:o)
11 years ago
