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  • SERVICES
    • Help Desk and Onsite Support
    • Computer Security
    • Consulting and strategy
    • Cloud computing
    • Data Backup and Disaster Recovery
    • Communication and Collaboration
  • OUR METHOD
    • TECHNOLOGY CONSULTING
      • Dedicated vCIO
      • Technology summaries
      • Design desk
      • Budget planning
      • Business impact
    • NETWORK ADMINISTRATION
      • Dedicated net admin
      • Technology checklist
      • Best practices
      • Central services review
    • PROACTIVE MANAGEMENT
      • Remote management
      • Monitored backup
      • Managed antivirus
      • Network monitoring
      • Patch management
    • REACTIVE SUPPORT
      • Help desk support
      • On-site support
      • Problem isolation
      • How-to questions
      • Customer portal
  • ABOUT US
  • JOBS
  • BLOG
  • CONTACT US

Computer Support News

Alachua, Gainesville, Lake City, High Springs computer support
March 7, 2018 In Blog

The importance of HTTPS

Very few internet users understand the meaning of the padlock icon in their web browser’s address bar. It represents HTTPS, a security feature that authenticates websites and protects the information users submit to them. Let’s go over some user-friendly HTTPS best practices to help you surf the web safely.

HTTPS Encryption

Older web protocols lack data encryption. When you visit a website that doesn’t use HTTPS, everything you type or click on that website is sent across the network in plain text. So, if your bank’s website doesn’t use the latest protocols, your login information can be intercepted by anyone with the right tools.

HTTPS Certificates

The second thing outdated web browsing lacks is publisher certificates. When you enter a web address into your browser, your computer uses an online directory to translate that text into numerical addresses (e.g., www.google.com = 8.8.8.8) then saves that information on your computer so it doesn’t need to check the online directory every time you visit a known website.

The problem is, if your computer is hacked it could be tricked into directing www.google.com to 8.8.8.255, even if that’s a malicious website. Oftentimes, this strategy is implemented to send users to sites that look exactly like what they expected, but are actually false-front sites designed to trick you into providing your credentials.

HTTPS created a new ecosystem of certificates that are issued by the online directories mentioned earlier. These certificates make it impossible for you to be redirected to a false-front website.

What this means for daily browsing

Most people hop from site to site too quickly to check each one for padlocks and certificates. Unfortunately, HTTPS is way too important to ignore. Here are a few things to consider when browsing:

  • If your browser marks a website as “unsafe” do not click “proceed anyway” unless you are absolutely certain nothing private will be transmitted.
  • There are web browser extensions that create encrypted connections to unencrypted websites (HTTPS Everywhere is great for Chrome and Firefox).
  • HTTPS certificates don’t mean anything if you don’t recognize the company’s name. For example, goog1e.com (with the ‘l’ replaced with a one) could have a certificate, but that doesn’t mean it’s a trustworthy site.

Avoiding sites that don’t use the HTTPS protocol is just one of many things you need to do to stay safe when browsing the internet. When you’re ready for IT support that handles the finer points of cybersecurity like safe web browsing, give our office a call.

Source: tech

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Industries served

We service the healthcare, educational, municipal, local government, business, and non-profit markets. We provide complete on-premise servers, cloud hosting, AWS integration, virtualized environments, and more.

We service clients in Gainesville, Lake City, Live Oak, Cross City, Mayo, Perry, Newberry, High Springs, and surrounding cities.

About Emerald Data Partners

A full service IT service company located in North Central Florida, we service clients in the Gainesville, Lake City, and Live Oak areas complete computer support, network monitoring, disaster recovery, cloud computing, server repair, and more, for a fixed, monthly price. We are locally owned small business operating out of our High Springs, Florida offices.

Finding our office

Our offices are open Monday - Friday 8am-5pm. We are closed all federal and most state holidays.

We are located in the First Avenue Center in High Springs, FL next to the Smoke Fried Barbeque Restaurant. Search for "Emerald Data Partners" on Google Maps and we'll come right up. Our offices are considered secure and are not open to the public so we suggest you call before showing up.

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