I don't know whether people are aware of this but I have posted it on a couple of other forums, if it is old news I apologise

Difference between /, //, http and https VERY,VERY interesting information!

Once in a while, there is something that comes down the pike that is of real importance. What is the difference between http and https? Don 't know how many of you are aware of this difference, but it is worth sending to any who do not. The main difference between [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] is it's all about keeping you secure.

HTTP stands for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. The S (big surprise) stands for "
Secure."
If you visit a website or web page, and look at the address in the webbrowser, it will likely begin with the following: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] This means that the website is talking to your browser using the regular "
unsecured"
language. In other words, it is possible for someone to "
eavesdrop"
on your computer 's conversation with the website. If you fill out a form on the website, someone might see the information you send to that site. This is why you never ever enter your credit card number in an http website!

But if the web address begins with [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], that basically means your computer is talking to the website in a secure code that no one can eavesdrop on you. If a website ever asks you to enter your credit card information, you should automatically look to see if the web address begins with [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] If it doesn't, you should NEVER enter sensitive information.......such as a credit card number, SS #, etc.
PASS IT ON (You may save someone a lot of grief)

Cheers

Ted the Red

Also i understood if it was secure there will be a closed padlock symbol to the righ side of the address bar, thanks for that i will check in future.