How to know if your website connection is secure

Published on October 17, 2014

We take lots of measures to help keep your files safe when they’re being sent or stored: From SSL, to HSTS, to certificate pinning, and perfect forward secrecy. And while we’re taking these steps, here are a few you can take to ensure you’re safely transmitting your important information online — like photos, usernames and passwords or bank information — on or off of Dropbox:

Step 1: Check the URL

Standard websites use the prefix “http://”, but secure websites will use “https://” - that extra ‘s’ means your connection to the website is encrypted.

Step 2: Check for a lock

Depending on your browser, when a site is secure, you’ll see a padlock displayed either in the address box or bottom right corner of your browser window.

Step 3: If you get an SSL warning, don’t click through

If your browser (i.e. Chrome or Firefox) believes that the site you’re connecting to isn’t what it should be, a warning will be displayed about the site’s security certificate being untrusted. To be safe, you shouldn’t proceed unless you know and understand the technical reason why you’ve received the warning.

This post is part of our National Cybersecurity Awareness Month blog series, where we're sharing simple steps you can take to protect your accounts. We encourage everyone to be proactive about their security online.

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Work Culture

The Author

Devdatta Akhawe

Step 1: Check the URL

Step 2: Check for a lock

Step 3: If you get an SSL warning, don’t click through

The Author

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