According to studies, there are over 20 million unsafe websites on the internet at any given time. These websites are either designed to defraud people online or have been infected with malware. With so many fraudulent website pages on the internet, visitors must evaluate whether a website page is safe to access.
Check if a website is safe to visit.
Double Check the URL
I recommend carefully reading the URL and double-checking the spelling.
Scammers strive to create a webpage that seems just like the legitimate ones to deceive users. However, you should be aware that they can duplicate the layout of a webpage but not the URL. That is why they always attempt to obtain a URL that is misspelled yet appears to be identical to the original.
Cross-checking the URL is our responsibility. Also, never directly click on any link. You have no idea where that link will lead you. Instead of clicking immediately on the link, it is preferable to type it into the browser.
Check Google Transparency Report
Nobody knows more about the internet than Google. It is the company that crawls the entire internet and does over 3 billion searches per day. Google implements the Safe Browsing guidelines to make online browsing safer.
The Safe Browsing status of any website can be easily determined using the Google Transparency report, as follows:
- Go to Google Transparency Report in your web browser.
- You’ll see a search box with the statement Check site status.
- Enter the address of the webpage you’d like to examine. Google will examine its database for a few seconds before displaying the current status.
It is one of the most effective methods for determining the validity of any website.
Check if a site’s connection is secure
The HTTP protocol was used to connect websites in the early days of the Internet. HTTPS was later added for increased security. The letter ‘S’ stands for secure in this case. HTTPS is used by almost every legitimate website on the internet. Follow the steps below to see if a website’s connection is secure.
- In your browser, go to a webpage.
- Type your address in the address bar. Look to the left of the URL you just visited. A padlock will appear if the website is secure.
- To receive more information, tap on the padlock icon, which will bring up a box with information about how secure the connection is. You can also look up whose entity issued the security certificate by clicking on the Certificate.
If a website is not secure, instead of padlock, you will see an info icon (ℹ) with a Not secure message or a warning (⚠️ ) icon with a Not secure or dangerous message. You must be careful while entering any personal or payment-related details on such sites.
It is simple to verify the legitimacy of a website. Most of the time, simply reading the URL will give you a good notion of what the site is about. If you have any doubts, check the site’s current status using the Google Transparency report.
