2011-02-24 - Whether banking or shopping online: The green address bar with icon key is considered by many Internet users to be the top security feature for confidential online transactions. After all, it is supposed to be a symbol of privacy. But "no abuse in internet" (naiin) is advising Internet users not to rely just on this green signal color alone.

"The green coloring of the address bar may in fact be an indication of a website's security and privacy feathers, but it is far from being any guarantee of such," explains Rene Zoch, deputy chairman of the non-governmental non-profit organization that has dedicated itself to fighting online crime for the past 10 years.

Coloring the browser's address bar green can be traced back to the so-called "Extended Validation SSL Certificate" practice. It is issued by a recognized certification authority and is intended to certify that the identity of a domain owner has been verified in detail, as well as to confirm to the Internet user that all information entered by him will be encoded when sent to the website owner.

"The green address bar doesn't, however, provide any information as to whether or not the appearance of a reliable website has been manipulated," says Rene Zoch. This could be possible under circumstances as simple as your own computer being infected with a Trojan or other malware. "The appearance of a website can then be changed by criminals, even resulting in data input fields appearing that are not found on the original website," a very common case described by the deputy chairman at naiin, in which the browser's address bar remains green despite the security breach.

"Internet users should not allow themselves to be misled by the popular traffic light color scheme. After all, no one simply crosses the street when the light turns green without looking left and right first," Zoch notes. Internet users should also use caution when it comes to the green address bar. Users should be skeptical when strange phrases, spelling or grammatical errors, or other suspicious content is suddenly found on reliable websites like bank websites.