Monday, April 1, 2013

How do I know that my online transactions are safe?


When making an online purchase, you want assurances that your transaction is safe.  There are a couple of things you need to look for when making your purchase to ensure that the data transfer is encrypted so that it cannot be used by anyone other than the intended merchant.  At the very least the site must use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates.  This is easy to verify as the URL will begin with https:// instead of http:// (note the "s" on the secure site).  Most browsers will also display a locked padlock icon. 



A second item to look for is known as as the Extended Validation Certificate (EV).  This serves to show an extended level of validation of the site and appears before the URL in the browser in green lettering or shading with the sites domain name.




More information about the sites level of security can be obtained by clicking the EV text.  For example, on the Epoch site you will receive the following information:   Epoch uses High-grade Encryption (Camellia-256, 256 bit keys).

Finally, be sure you are using an experienced payment service provider.  Epoch has been processing transactions since 1996 and security of data is our number one job.  You can be assured that your transactions with Epoch utilize the highest levels of security available anywhere.