Tech Table
Monday, September 23, 2013
September 23, 2013
Justin: Welcome to MPA’s “Tech Table” I’m Justin…
Diana: And, I’m Diana…
Justin: …and we’re your hosts. We’ll be serving up a heaping spoonful of all things tech.
Diana: We promise it’ll be easy to digest!
Justin: Well, it’s Monday here at the Tech Table, and it’s Mail Monday, so we get to look at our inbox. You’ve sent us some questions. What’s that email address, Diana?
Diana: questions@askmpa.com
Justin: Absolutely. So, feel free to send us your questions. Today, Loretta wrote in and she asked ‘How do I know if it’s safe to use my credit card online?’, and that’s a tough one. There are a few ways, though, to know that it really is safe. I use a credit card a lot online, and most people I know, these days, do that sort of thing online. There are some ways to check and see. Number one: you need to check and make sure that your web browser is in Secure Mode, because there are secure and unsecure modes for web browsers. When it’s in insecure modes, most browsers display a padlock icon in the top left, so if you don’t see a padlock icon up there by where you put in the web address, do not enter your credit card information, because that means it does not have a secure connection. It is not encrypted. The data won’t be encrypted as it is sent or processed, and that is not a good thing. So, if you don’t see that padlock, don’t use that website.
Diana: So, who could access that, if it’s not in secure mode?
Justin: Really, anyone that wants to do something bad to you, basically. There are a lot of bad people out there. I want to point out that that is not necessarily to say that the website is bad itself. There are some shopping websites, small companies especially, that haven’t paid to get a secure connection, and they don’t have that secure connection. That doesn’t mean they’re a bad company. It means you probably shouldn’t shop online with them. Call them for your order or send them a mail order like we used to do back when I was a kid. Those are the things you should look for. It doesn’t mean the company’s bad, though. Now, sometimes there are websites that are bad and you will get an email from a bank that you do business with, or even one you don’t do business with, asking you to follow a link and enter in information, personal information. Never, ever, ever, ever click on that link, and never, ever, ever, ever put personal information in something like that, because most of the time, it is not safe. Your bank will never email you and ask you for information that way. If you do get an email from a business, a bank or something that you do business with, call them. Don’t use a number on that website or that email, but use the number that you know will get you to that bank.
Diana: Right. Look at your bank statements.
Justin: Absolutely, and double-check that way. That’s one of the ways to be safe. Just, due diligence. Make sure that you check things out and be a smart consumer.
Diana: Right, because the page might actually look absolutely real, but another way to double-check that is look up in the URL, that’s where you type the web address at top, it’s that box, look at that and make sure that that is the correct address. If you’re looking for paypal.com, it should just say paypal.com, not paypal.googlygoo.com.
Justin: Right, exactly, absolutely. There are ways to be safe out there, and you absolutely can use your credit card online. Just make sure you look for the padlock in your browser and a secure connection and you should be safe. And, that does it for today’s Mail Monday, so send us an email in, and until next time…
Diana: …take care!
Justin: Tech Table is brought to you by MPA of Bloomfield, Iowa, and God’s Country Radio. You can visit us online at askmpa.com.
Diana: If you have questions or comments, please send them to questions@askmpa.com.
Justin: And, thanks for listening!
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