Katherine visits her banking site and sees HTTP in the address bar. What should she do?

Katherine visits her banking site and sees HTTP in the address bar. What should she do?

• A. Leave the website since HTTPS is not secure.
• B. Proceed to login but use a strong password.
• C. Ignore the protocol and proceed.
• D. Copy the URL to share with a colleague.

Answer: (A)

This question tests ensuring you only enter sensitive information over a secure connection. HTTP does not encrypt data, so login credentials can be intercepted by anyone monitoring the network, especially on public Wi‑Fi. Banks protect you by using HTTPS, which adds TLS encryption and site authentication, typically shown as https:// and a padlock in the address bar. If you see HTTP on a banking site, you should not log in. Leave the site and re-open the bank’s page using a trusted route—type https://bank.com directly or use a bookmarked link. If you can’t establish a secure connection, verify the URL with the bank via a trusted channel or use the bank’s official app. Avoid actions like proceeding with login on an HTTP page, ignoring the protocol, or sharing the URL, as those expose your credentials and potentially reveal sensitive information.

This question tests ensuring you only enter sensitive information over a secure connection. HTTP does not encrypt data, so login credentials can be intercepted by anyone monitoring the network, especially on public Wi‑Fi. Banks protect you by using HTTPS, which adds TLS encryption and site authentication, typically shown as https:// and a padlock in the address bar. If you see HTTP on a banking site, you should not log in. Leave the site and re-open the bank’s page using a trusted route—type https://bank.com directly or use a bookmarked link. If you can’t establish a secure connection, verify the URL with the bank via a trusted channel or use the bank’s official app.

Avoid actions like proceeding with login on an HTTP page, ignoring the protocol, or sharing the URL, as those expose your credentials and potentially reveal sensitive information.