Reliable Web Designs and Internet Marketing - Flagstaff Central Flagstaff Central is an online city guide for Flagstaff, Arizona that features information on local travel, schools, organizations, realty, events, restaurants, health services, and a whole lot more. Flagstaff's Community Information Source! Head to the Movies - Click here to view links to the Flagstaff and surrounding area movie theaters.
 

 

 

Secure Online Donations

 
The internet is a great way to show your support for organizations that help our local and global communities.  The world of nonprofits has expanded rapidly on the web not only to gain donations, but to also expand on their missions and influence.  Through the internet even small organizations can become large.

As we progress into the fall season, we'd like to encourage our viewing public to consider making a donation to their favorite organization.  What most people don't realize is that this time of year is one of the slowest in fundraising seasons.  The Holiday season is not upon us yet, but that doesn't mean that social services are not working hard.  In fact, most organizations are in high gear helping those in need.

Our "Tech Tip of the Month" is simple, please give to your favorite nonprofit but do so in a secure manner.  There are lots of web scams out there and organizations that look real but are not.  The first advice we can give is to make sure you recognize the organization you plan to donate to, and that you are actually on their real website (not a mockup to look like them).

The next advice we can give is to make sure that when you are entering a credit card into a website that everything is secure.  Here are some things to look for:
~   Make sure that the link line begins with "https://".  Most of the time it looks like "http://", but a secure webpage should have the "s" in the link.
~   Your web browser should show a little "lock" symbol on the bottom.  It is usually in the bottom right corner on most browsers.  If the "lock" is closed, then you are on a secure page.  If the lock is open, then you are not.
~   You can also look at the properties of the page.  This is usually viewable when you "right-click" and choose either "Properties" or "View Page Info".  This will tell you all sorts of information about the page you are on including whether the page is secure and to what encryption level it is.  Normally, it will say it has a SSL (Secure Socket Layer) and is encrypted to 128 bits.  This is good.  
~   Your own firewall protection is also important.  If you aren't up to date on your firewall or don't have one, then someone could have broken into your computer and might be watching you as you enter your credit card numbers.  Now we don't want to give you the "big brother is watching" feeling, but having your firewall active is a very good thing.
~   Ask yourself who you are actually giving your credit card information to.  Very often when you go to pay through a website it actually takes you off their website to a credit card processing service.  There are lots of these out there and some are more reliable and secure than others.  Some of the more well known companies are PayPal and VeriSign.
In the end, make sure you feel comfortable with the payment process.  We don't want you to get uncertain with donating money online (that's not the point of this tech tip), but we do want you to be comfortable with your donation.  If a "red flag" comes up that makes you feel odd about it, then "stop" right away.  You can always call or mail a check.  The concept of an online donation is to be efficient, easy, and secure.

Flagstaff Central has lots of nonprofit clients most of which have online donation options on their websites.  We primarily set them up with a PayPal donation shopping cart because it is a secure way to give money online.  It is also inexpensive for the nonprofit because there is no monthly fee and some very minimal transaction fees when you donate.  This minimizes the cost so that your money goes farther to the organizations actual mission.  We'd like to encourage you to donate to our nonprofit clients.

Click here to visit our Donation Zone!

 
Back to Computer Tips
 
Flagstaff Central is not liable for any damages or repairs due to our tech tip.  Things do happen whenever you work on a computer.  We recommend you be as careful as possible.  If you prefer to not handle repairs or clean up, we recommend you contact a professional.  Click here for a list of local computer repair companies.