How safe is my credit card information with an online store?
Your credit card information is safer online than at your local gas station, convenience store, or restaurant at least if the online store uses a secure server for your order. A secure server is a computer that uses software that protects your personal and credit card information. Just make sure that you have gone to a secure site before you hand over credit card info. How can you tell? Well, every time you leave a “nonsecure” area and go to the “secure” site, you are notified with a little pop-up window, saying, “You are about to view pages over a secure connection” (unless you have told your browser to stop showing you this little message). Although this alert sounds like a warning, it is actually a reassuring signal that your transaction will, in fact, be private. Other good signs: the address line changes from http to https, meaning you are using a secure site. Also, in Internet Explorer you see an icon of a lock in the status bar at the bottom of the screen; or in Netscape Navigat
