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Welcome to Tech-Knowledgy, where your tech questions are answered!
Q. How can I tell if a website is secure? I enjoy shopping online but with all of the hacking going on lately, I want to be sure that my credit card information isn’t stolen if I buy something online.
A. You’re smart to be careful. While there is no guarantee with any website these days, you should check to make sure you only give out credit card information on secure websites. How do you know if the website you are using is secure? Check the website address (URL) in the address bar. If the URL begins with https and has a valid certificate, the site is a secure website. If the URL begins with http, then the website is not a secure site and you should not enter your credit card information on the site.
If the URL begins with https, the site is a secure website, provided its certificate is valid. Most browsers will warn you if a site’s certificate is not valid. See HTTP Secure for more information on https websites and certificates.
Of course, there is no way to be 100% sure that a website is secure. But make sure your shopping websites have https in their website addresses in the checkout page before entering your credit card information.
Q. I heard that Apple started selling an unlocked iPhone this week. Should I buy an unlocked phone? What do you think?
A. I have to hand it to Apple, they know how to market a product. I don’t know of any other cell phone manufacturer who comes up with so many ways of making an older model cell phone seem desirable. While a new Android phone seems to be launched every month, the latest model iPhone will be celebrating its one year anniversary next week. Happy birthday, iPhone 4!
For the past four years, Apple has launched a new model of iPhone in June. Not this year though. At the WWDC last week, Apple announced software developments not new hardware, indicating that the next model iPhone is not going to be launched this month (see, WWDC: A Slice of Apple’s Future)
So far this calendar year, Apple has made the iPhone 4 desirable by:
- launching the iPhone 4 on Verizon in February
- offering a white iPhone 4 in April
- offering an unlocked iPhone 4 in June
So if you have been craving an unlocked iPhone 4, your dreams have finally come true! If, like me, you have been patiently waiting for the next model iPhone, you are frustrated.
Getting back to your question. The unlocked iPhone 4 was launched by Apple on Tuesday but is not subsidized by any carrier, so you will pay quite a bit more for it. The unlocked iPhone 4 16GB model is $629, as opposed to $199 if you purchase it locked with a two year plan with AT&T or Verizon. If you don’t purchase a phone with a plan, you don’t get a discount on your monthly rate on your plan, so getting an unlocked iPhone can be much more expensive than getting the phone when you sign a plan.
So why get an unlocked iPhone? An unlocked phone gives you the ability to use the phone with compatible carriers. This is handy if you are an international traveler because you can arrive in a foreign country and purchase a SIM card at the airport to have local service with a local phone number in that country. If your phone is locked, you can’t do that.
The unlocked iPhone works on GSM networks. There are two carriers in the US which use GSM networks, AT&T and T-Mobile. But an iPhone has a very slow Internet connection on T-Mobile (Edge, not 3G) so it makes no sense to spend extra money on an iPhone to have a slower Internet connection on T-Mobile.
Verizon and Sprint use CDMA networks so the unlocked iPhone will not work with those carriers.
So if you travel internationally, you might want to consider getting an unlocked iPhone. But even then, you might want to wait until the next iPhone model comes out, maybe in September? Otherwise, you will save a lot of money by buying your iPhone when you sign a new plan.
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Do you shop online? Do you check to make sure the checkout page of shopping websites uses https? Do you crave an unlocked iPhone? Let us know in the Comments section below!
* Image by ira
** Image by Roderic Page
*** Image by Yutako Tsutano
Can’t you “illegally” unlock any iPhone? It is not really illegal but it is not supported by appl. I don’t know how but understand it is easy.
Hi Stephanie, Welcome back to The Wonder of Tech! Great question. Yes, it is possible to unlock any phone and it isn’t illegal, though it may be in violation of your agreement with your carrier if you bought the phone when signing a contract.
In countries other than the US, carriers will unlock cell phones and in the US AT&T and T-Mobile will unlock some phones.
In some countries in Europe you will see stores and kiosks in malls that offer to unlock phones. While it is tempting to get your phone unlocked this way, you may run into trouble with your phone after it is unlocked.
Getting a phone unlocked when you buy it or unlocked by the carrier is the best way to get an unlocked phone.
In my opinion, all cell phones should be unlocked when you buy them. Can you imagine buying a television that was locked to Comcast or Directv?
Thanks for your visit and your question!
Unlocking a phone is as simple as calling your carrier and asking them to unlock it. Just tell them you’ll be going international. Depending on the customer servic rep you end up with could make it an easy or frustrating task.
Also don’t confuse unlocking with rooting ( called jailbreaking on the isilly, I mean iPhone (I’m a bit biased)).
Hi Matt, Welcome back to The Wonder of Tech. AT&T won’t unlock the iPhone, but it will unlock other phones after you have been with a contract for 10 months. With Verizon and Sprint it wouldn’t matter much because you can’t use them internationally (except for a few countries).
You’re right, jailbreaking or rooting a phone is very different than unlocking a phone. You can have a jailbroken phone that isn’t unlocked or an unlocked phone that isn’t jailbroken.
I have an unlocked iPhone that isn’t jailbroken.
Thanks for your great comment!
Ok, I think I will hold off on the unlocked iPhone for now then.
I had read about how to tell a secure site but really haven’t paid much attention to it because I don’t do a lot of online transactions; however, I think I will pay a little more attention in the future.
Good info, thanks for sharing and hope you have a great weekend.
Hi Bill, Welcome back to The Wonder of Tech! Good call on holding off on the unlocked iPhone for now. Also good call on checking for the https when doing your online shopping. Unfortunately, with hackers becoming increasingly aggressive, it’s impossible to be 100% safe on the internet these days, but looking for https is an extra measure of safety.
I hope you have a delightful Father’s Day tomorrow! 🙂
Will the unlocked iPhone work with any sim in other countries? Or are you limited there too?
Sounds like good news/bad news. And that there really isn’t any alternative to ATT in the US.
Hmmm…
Hi Kathy, if you want an iPhone in the US, Verizon is an alternative to AT&T. Other SIM cards should work in your iPhone, but when you get a SIM card in another country, be sure before you leave the store that your new SIM card functions properly in your unlocked iPhone. Check both voice and data (if you are buying a data plan) before you leave the store.
Thanks for your visit and your comment!
I was going to comment and I saw KathyF had a blog called London 1949 – that was an hour ago. That blog and the one it’s linked to are definitely worth looking at – amazing photos.
I always check for https:// and also emails can have links that are scams. I had one this morning, it appear to be from my ISP but isn’t and even came through their email server.
Hi Mike, I agree, Kathy’s blog is fascinating. You are smart to check for https and to clue in to the fake website. You may consider contacting your Internet service provider (ISP) to let them know about the hack. Chances are good that other customers aren’t as savvy as you are.
Thanks for coming back here to comment after visiting Kathy’s blog. Much appreciated!
Hi Carolyn,
Thanks for the reminder. I purchase some things online and I don’t really check if their website is secure.I only base it on the company I deal with if they are reputable. Now I really have to include checking if their website is secure.
Hi Ira, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! You are very wise to only buy from reputable companies online. It’s important to look for red flags too in order to protect yourself. The use of https in the website address is a helpful indicator that the website is secure.
Thanks for your visit and your comment!
Well I’m sure you know where my comment will go… I know nothing about those iPhones but I do shop online. Luckily for me I guess I’ve been shopping on secure sites, mostly the ones that are very well known.
As always, thanks for sharing that bit of information with us. I had no idea Carolyn. I learn something new every time I come by. You know how I do love to learn too! 🙂
Adrienne
Hi Adrienne, If you stick to the major shopping sites such as Amazon.com, you’re right, you shouldn’t have any problems. But every so often I discover a product online that is sold by a site where I’ve never shopped before. That https gives me a sense of security to go ahead and hit the “purchase” button.
Thanks so much for your visit and your wonderful comment!
I did it once, it tootl few minutes to unlock, easy done.
Carolyn, had no idea that https was so significant. Much appreciated tip. And BTW I got an iPhone 4 with a phone plan and have not yet turned into a zombie (although it’s tempting). Terrific piece of technology. Siri told me to write this. 🙂
Hi Astro, Great to have you back here at The Wonder of Tech! Congratulations on your new iPhone. I’m sure you and Siri will have loads of fun together! 🙂