There is increasing amount of fraud, involving misuse of credit card information from third parties, occurring over the internet these days. Therefore, Royal Present Embroidery, valuing integrity of our customers, constantly upgrades levels of security of the services.
This post is dedicated to detailed explanation of security protocols, commonly used by e-commerce sites. We will share some tips on how not to be caught off guard while making internet transactions with your credit/debit cards. Hopefully, after you’ve read this information you will be more protected in this regard.
Let’s start with SSL security certificate and what it actually means.
SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer, an intricate mechanism, protecting data-sharing between websites and their browsers a.k.a. “users”. In simple words, sites, protected with SSL certificate offer you guarantees that your personal data (passwords, log-ins, credit-card info etc.) will not be intercepted or misused in any harmful for you way.
As all good things, a proper SSL certificate is quite expensive, so not all sites are willing to make such an investment. Only companies that truly value safety of their customers’ data and look after their reputation will make these sorts of efforts.
How to know that a website is protected with a credible SSL certificate?
First and most obvious signal is when upon entering a website, a table pops up, saying “The site’s security certificate is not trusted”. This means that either you are being defrauded or a SSL certificate of this site was provided by a company, not classified by your computer operational system as “credible”.
This sign, which might look differently depending on the browser you are using, is a standard precaution of the system. It does not decide upon trustworthiness of the website, which you’re about to enter. It only warns you that something might be wrong with the site, leaving the final decision up to your discretion. On this wise, if, having been to the page for several times already, you see such sign popping up, think twice before proceeding, for it might grant access to your personal information to some identity thieves.
However, a notice of such kind could mean other things too. Some time ago, our customers might have seen such a sign coming up when opening our page. The period we invoke was when we were moving the account of our site from the previous domain to the current one. With the SSL certificate being installed and activated at all times, still the inconvenience occurred. To avoid anything like this in future, we have upgraded our security protocols. Now we have not only standard Domain Validation, but also Organization Validation certificates, done by ECWID. These measures guarantee our customers 100 % safety in regards to the personal data they share with us.
Padlock, https:// and green color – means safety!
Now that the details of SSL certificates and their importance are explained, let’s analyze, how these things actually “look” on your screens.
NOTE: a trustworthy website has a padlock, and its domain name begins with https:// all colored green (as seen in the picture below)
SSL security certificate
These signs mean that information that you share with the site is safe and could not be misused by any “third party”.
You can further check the details of the site credibility by clicking on the padlock sign.
Now let’s see how similar details of an uncertified site’s look like. Remember that working with, buying from and just entering such sites could be potentially dangerous, for your personal information is not protected by them.
SSL security certificate
Notice that there is no padlock sign in the beginning of the domain name. The lettering is not green and there is no letter “s” (meaning “secure”) in their prefix, i.e. it looks like http:// (not like https:// as in websites with SSL certificate).
Even if you have been buying from such e-shops for some time now, there is a substantial chance that next time your credit card details could be intercepted by hackers or identity thieves.
If you click on the sign in their domain name (usually colored gray) the following will appear:
SSL security certificate
We hope that this information was helpful for you and all your future internet transactions bring only positive results. Be vigilant, for even the smallest of details could prevent possible unwanted mishaps.
Stay safe,
Respectfully yours, Royal Present Embroidery Team.
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Author: Ludmila Konovalova
My name is Lyudmila Konovalova, and I lead Royal Present Embroidery. Embroidery for me is more than a profession; it is a legacy of my Ukrainian and Bulgarian heritage, where every woman in my family was a virtuoso in cross-stitch and smooth stitching. This art, passed down through generations, is part of my soul and a symbol of national pride.
Date: 21.05.2017