Secure Website Certificates
What does "Website Certified by an Unknown Authority" mean?
If you click on a link and the new window opens with this:
That's ok! Just click one of the two "Accept this
certificate" options and then click the OK button. There's no problem
- this is a US government website, and it is safe!
What is a Website Certificate?
A "Web site certificate" states that a specific Web site is
secure and genuine. It protects against other Web sites assuming the identity of
the original secure site. A secure encrypted connection (i.e.. https:// instead
of http://) between the your computer and the web site protects against hackers
interfering.
You can easily see if you are using a secure connection, as in the address bar
there will https:// (with the 's' meaning secure) and your browser will display
an icon of a padlock. Newer browsers will also change the background color of
the address bar to a pale yellow.
If you want to learn more about site certificates, then start with clicking on
the “examine certificate” button, and read about what the certificate contains.
This page
has a very good explanation of the uses of a website certificate and a secure
connection.
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