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FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | APRIL 2019 9 By Sandra Butler-Roberts Internet privacy and security are important in today's web-based world, but these terms can be confusing. We are becoming more and more dependent upon using websites, and we all must be vigilant to be safe and protect our information. If you've ever experienced identity theft or had your computer hacked, you will understand how important due diligence can be. I will break it down here: BROWSER In order to access the Internet, we must go through a web browser such as Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge or Opera. You use a browser to access a website on the World Wide Web, also known as www. WEBSITE Websites are pages on the World Wide Web developed by individuals, businesses, organizations, etc., to make their information available to users when they search the Internet. To get to a website, you use its address, or URL, which means Uniform Resource Locator. Many websites are categorized by their domains, such as .gov for government agencies, or .edu for educational institutions, or .org for nonprofit organizations, or .com for commercial websites. ENCRYPTION To secure communication on the web, most network connections use SSL, or Secure Sockets Layer, which is the standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. When your browser goes to a web page that is secure, it will have https:// in front of its address, and it will send its public key with its certificate. The browser then checks that the certificate is valid and was issued by a trusted party. This trusted encryption means that it is protecting you from unintended users of the Internet spying on your Internet activity and they will not be able to access your personal information that you may be sending to that website. So, if you use websites that request your passwords, credit card information, personal information, etc., be sure to check that the website is secure. It will have HTTPS in its address (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) and a graphic of a padlock in front of the page name in the address bar. If it just says HTTP, without the S for secure, then it is NOT a secure website. PRIVACY Privacy is up to you and how you use your privacy settings. You can set your privacy settings on your browser as well as programs such as Facebook, and you can limit how much personal information you reveal. Privacy requires diligence and care in what information you allow on the Internet, how much personal information you share, as well as your choice of passwords and how you keep them safe. SECURITY Security means protecting your sensitive information on websites from spies, phishing programs, or hackers. Using secure websites encrypts the information between your browser and the server so it is almost impossible to spy on potentially sensitive information. Never reveal passwords or credit card information on any website that is not secure with https and a padlock. Our website, fourseasonsbeaumont.org, has several pages that use an SSL certificate. You will see the padlock in front of the page name. Some of our pages are open to the public, such as the movie schedule, but most of our pages require a resident password to access. Anyone with a password may access our secure pages, so these pages are not private, but they are secure, because of the https, so while you are using the website, hackers or other Internet intruders cannot see what you are doing from your browser. In summary, be careful to protect your privacy. Do not use websites that are not secure to share any personal information. When you are using the Internet, do not click on anything that is not secure. There are many imposters out there waiting to get your passwords and other private information. Internet Privacy vs Security "If you use websites that request your passwords, credit card information, personal information, etc., be sure to check that the website is secure. It will have HTTPS in its address (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) and a graphic of a padlock in front of the page name in the address bar. If it just says HTTP, without the S for secure, then it is NOT a secure website."

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