Tech View: Is ‘https’ good enough to avoid getting hacked?

More and more we hear stories of folks being victimized by hackers who steal information seemingly out of thin air. The good news is that there are a few things the average Joe can do to minimize their exposure to such dangers.

Basically, there are three places your data can get stolen. These are your own PC; an internet server you access that houses your data, such as a bank, insurance company or even shopping sites; and in transit between the above two locations. As folks have become more comfortable with working remotely, many find themselves using public and semipublic internet connections such as shared office spaces, hotels, airports, coffee shops and the like.

Care starts with the user. The internet is not inherently safe, but it can be navigated safely. Akin to looking both ways before crossing the street, folks need to pay attention to what is happening on their screens. Be aware of anomalies such as misspelled domain names. Does the site look different from the last time you were on it? Is it asking you for data that you think is unnecessary? Stop and think before charging ahead.

The truth of it is that every reputable website can be communicated with in a safe and secure manner, regardless of where you’re connecting from. Look for the leading “https” in the URL. Note that some browsers require you to actually click on the URL to see this notation. The “s” in “https” stands for “secure” and indicates that data is encrypted from end to end, from your computer to the service with which you are connecting.

In this sense, relying upon https is “good enough” but requires you to exercise care every time you hit a website.

A more secure option for many smartphone users is to use the phone as a personal hot spot. This way, your data traverses over the phone company’s digital network, which is about as secure a network as most folks will need. Of course, this comes with a cost; your data plan will take a hit.

A very secure option is a commercial VPN. You load a client on your computer (most VPN vendors support a multitude of devices, including Windows PCs, Macs, Chromebooks and smartphones) and then connect to a VPN server. The VPN server then connects to whatever web service you want to access.

A VPN typically uses advanced encryption to prevent everyone along the way from seeing your data. This includes your ISP. To the rest of the internet, it looks like your traffic is coming from the VPN server.

The downside to Hawaii folks is that most commercial VPN providers do not have servers here. This means that the nearest server is typically located in California, which could add delay to your connection. A couple of exceptions among the major players are hidemyass.com and privateinter netaccess.com, which claim server locations in Hawaii. Keep in mind, though, that no matter the location of the server, there is inevitably a delay because your traffic goes through a secondary server. Other popular options include SlickVPN, ExpressVPN and NordVPN. All have monthly plans, typically less than $10 per, and annual plans, which can cost as little as $50.

Commercial VPNs might have a bad rap because they are often used for nefarious purposes. This includes downloading torrents or getting around geofences. Many sporting events, for example, are blacked out in Hawaii.

With a VPN, all you need to do is connect to a server in some other location where the stream is not blocked, and voila! Of course, we’re not encouraging such behavior.

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John Agsalud is an IT expert with more than 25 years of information technology experience in Hawaii and around the world. He can be reached at jagsalud@live.com.