In a world of social engineering, and cyber-attacks happening by the second, people must now use ways to legitimize a website before clicking on a link or even copy and pasting a URL. Kevin Mitnick, ex-hacker turned educator, advises that there must be a secondary source that can warn people about potential dangerous avenues. Along with security awareness training and a myriad of alternative protective mechanisms, people can see for themselves what they're really dealing with. We've come up with this small check-list of items to help you determine if a website is legitimate and safe.
1. Call, write, or email - Communication is the surest way to make a website visit safe. Most websites have contact information and you should use it. Be skeptical if a contact number or email bounces back or reaches a recording. Even more imbalanced is a number not in service or no answer at all during normal business hours.
2. Visit the Whois.com website - The website Whois.com was specifically designed to test internet sources to validate and examine the company's registered information. Users can simply enter the website URL and click €Go€ to access the results page. This repository contains everything there is about the website, including when it is said to expire. This tool is free and extremely useful.
3. Click on various links throughout the website - It's important to remember that within a single website there exists several landing pages that can take users to a different online location. It is useful to examine and click on as many links as possible to make sure they all connect to a real, live webpage. If a large portion of the links are broken or lead to errors that should raise a red flag.
4. Click directly on existing logos - Various logos can be found on webpages that are often acclamations, certifications or awards. These logos or images should take you to a new page that correlates with the logo, company or achievement. All the links associated with company logos should be live. Be cautious if awards and images are not clickable.
5. Look at content and photos on the website - Sometimes the copy on the website itself will put the writing on the wall, no pun intended. Reputable companies hire professional copywriters to construct their material and it shows. If you visit a website that reads like a 5th grader that should be a red flag to the credibility of the website and organization. Also look at the content logically and make sure the information makes sense and correlates with the business, product or service.
6. Look at the website address in the address bar - The main message here is to make sure your internet browser takes you to the appropriate website and not an unidentified target. Redirects are an automatic red flag because real websites contain links that are within the platform of the webpage.
1. Call, write, or email - Communication is the surest way to make a website visit safe. Most websites have contact information and you should use it. Be skeptical if a contact number or email bounces back or reaches a recording. Even more imbalanced is a number not in service or no answer at all during normal business hours.
2. Visit the Whois.com website - The website Whois.com was specifically designed to test internet sources to validate and examine the company's registered information. Users can simply enter the website URL and click €Go€ to access the results page. This repository contains everything there is about the website, including when it is said to expire. This tool is free and extremely useful.
3. Click on various links throughout the website - It's important to remember that within a single website there exists several landing pages that can take users to a different online location. It is useful to examine and click on as many links as possible to make sure they all connect to a real, live webpage. If a large portion of the links are broken or lead to errors that should raise a red flag.
4. Click directly on existing logos - Various logos can be found on webpages that are often acclamations, certifications or awards. These logos or images should take you to a new page that correlates with the logo, company or achievement. All the links associated with company logos should be live. Be cautious if awards and images are not clickable.
5. Look at content and photos on the website - Sometimes the copy on the website itself will put the writing on the wall, no pun intended. Reputable companies hire professional copywriters to construct their material and it shows. If you visit a website that reads like a 5th grader that should be a red flag to the credibility of the website and organization. Also look at the content logically and make sure the information makes sense and correlates with the business, product or service.
6. Look at the website address in the address bar - The main message here is to make sure your internet browser takes you to the appropriate website and not an unidentified target. Redirects are an automatic red flag because real websites contain links that are within the platform of the webpage.
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