As we all know that the internet is now useful and important in an everyday job, I would like to share the best tips to know if the website you are visiting or surfing through is safe or not.
I have been performing these checks every time for a long time without even noticing it.
Here are the website issues you should run away from:
1. The website is sending a file to download which you didn't ask for
Avoid these kinds of websites at first. Never save anything you don't ask to download on your computer. Now if you want to download something: Check the extension of the file to know if you are not trying to download something to install on your computer, avoid any if not related to what you asked to download.
If you are looking for an image check the extension is “.jpg” or “.png”, etc there are also many image list you can search google with this keyword: “image extension list” for other extensions. Same for a video, check the extension and google search “video extension list” if needed. Check the file size, if you are looking for a complete movie, for example, don't download a file of 1Mb. If you have no idea of what should be the size of the file you are looking for, try to have an estimation.
2. If the Website has Massive and Aggressive Ads
Be aware of the quantity and quality of ads running on the website you are visiting. I would not recommend a website that has too many ads, or too aggressive ads, or even worse with both. These days, ads are made to trick you so that you click on them no matter what. Some of them will say that you have viruses on your Android/computer and that you need to click on it to get rid of them for example, don't trust these pieces of information as have once clicked on it and download and detected what have downloaded is harm to my PC.
Another example is when you're trying to download something. When you're actually asking for a file to download, there will be fake download buttons everywhere which are actually ads, and malware or virus can be contacted through them. Just look well and pick the correct download button.
3. The Design Makes You Wonder if you are in a Safe Website.
Most of the old websites have a dull design. I am absolutely not saying “old ones are websites you should not trust”. I would recommend that you pay a little more attention to old looking websites. Look at the content, is it rich and containing valuable information? If not you should begin to become suspicious. Why? Think of the guy who created the website, he could have thought “I don't mind the form of my website, I will focus on the content”, but if the form is bad and the content is poor, then what is the importance of the website? Let's just be careful with old-style websites.
4. Is the Website You Are on Well-Known?
As we know nowadays Google Search brings out results best on the best-known websites, but there could be some ambiguous cases where websites need to run scripts on your computer or install plugins where the script may have been created to collect your data or passwords. In these cases I would recommend you think is the website well-known? If it is, trusts it, you can trust Facebook, Twitter, Google, and other popular websites, there will malware or viruses on them.
If you are uncertain if the website is Popular or not, visit Google and search for the website details, try to find reviews or talking about it, and make your own opinion. If you are pretty sure it is an unknown website (even when search engines don't know it), then be suspicious and careful about it.
5. Is the Website Safe for Purchase?
Are you an Online Marketer or you like purchasing online? You will usually be asked for a password before you make an online payment. This is to help keep your personal details private. Make sure you use a strong password – one that is a combination of letters (upper and lower case), numbers, and symbols but if no password is involved the website seems not to be safe. Also, avoid making online purchases when you are in a public place. When you are using a wireless internet service (also known as ‘Wi-Fi') in public, you cannot guarantee that the network is secure. This applies even if you have been given a password to use.
