Determining your Encryption Level

Netscape and Microsoft browsers are equipped with the capacity to send and receive encrypted information over a secure Internet link. Government enforces 128-bit encryption, the highest level of encryption available today. You can check your browser's level of encryption by following the steps below. This process may vary depending on the version of browser you have installed.

  1. Netscape Communicator/Navigator
    Click the Security button and then click Open Page Info. Security information is in the bottom half of the Document info window.

  2. Internet Explorer
    Click the Help and then About Internet Explorer.

Confirmation that your computer is communicating with a server in secure mode using SSL When accessing a server which uses SSL, a browser in secure mode will display a netsite address beginning "https://", rather than the standard "http://". The "s" stands for "secure". Most browsers in secure mode also display a blue line along the top of the browser window. In Netscape Navigator (tm) (versions 3.0 and earlier), the broken key symbol in the lower left corner of your browser window will become a solid key in secure mode. If you're using Netscape Communicator 4.0, look for the padlock in the same space: it's open in standard mode and closed in secure mode. In Microsoft's Internet Explorer®, you'll see a padlock symbol at the bottom of your browser window when the browser is in secure mode.

Source: Reproduced in part from Government of Newfoundland and Labrador Internet Security Statement