Browsers, search, and deciding if a page is trustworthy

A browser is the program you use to look at websites: Chrome, Edge, Safari, or another app your device already has. You do not need to install a new one for this lesson. Skills for Success describes Digital skill as including finding, managing, and evaluating information — which is what you do when you search and then decide whether a page is the one you wanted.

To search, open the browser and type into the search box or the address bar. Google’s Search help says you can start with a simple query, then add more descriptive words if you need them. If you want a place or a service in a certain town, add the place name (their example style is a bakery plus a city). Choose words that are likely to appear on the page you want. Google also notes that spelling is usually corrected for you, and that capital letters do not change the search.

You can search for weather, a definition (add the word *define* in front of a term), a simple calculation, or a unit conversion. Those shortcuts are handy. They are not a replacement for reading the page you land on. If several results appear, look at the name of the site and the short description before you tap. A council page, a provincial page, or a well-known organisation is often a calmer starting point than the first colourful ad.

This lesson will not teach you to install extra search tools or to change a library computer’s default browser. Use what is already there.

After you open a page, look at the address bar at the top. Get Cyber Safe says many popular browsers, including Chrome and Safari, no longer display the words HTTP, HTTPS, or www. They tell people to look instead for a padlock icon at the start of the address field as a sign that the site is using a more secure connection. They also say not to rely on public Wi-Fi encryption alone.

Chrome’s own help (opened 10 November 2026) describes the idea in its own words: Chrome changes the icon next to the site address when a site may be unsafe. On a computer, you check the security status symbol to the left of the web address. Chrome names three kinds of status: Default (Secure), Info or Not secure, and Not secure or Dangerous. You can select the icon for a summary of privacy details and page information. On an Android phone, Chrome’s steps are: open the page, tap More, then Site controls, and check the same kinds of status. If Chrome’s “Always use secure connections” setting is on, a site that does not support HTTPS can show a warning that the connection is not secure.

The picture on your screen may not match an older memory of a padlock. Follow the words you can actually see — especially Not secure or Dangerous — and ask a tutor if the icon is new to you. A “secure connection” means the browser has set up a protected link to that address. It does not prove that the organisation is honest or that the page is the one you intended. A look-alike address can still show a secure connection.

If you did not mean to visit a site, use Back (Lesson 3) rather than typing private information.

A secure-looking connection is only one check. The next check is identity: is this the organisation you thought it was?

Get Cyber Safe’s passphrase page says legitimate websites will never ask you to send personal information or to log in through an email or a text message. If you are unsure about a message, they say to log in from the home page of the organisation you are dealing with — and never to click a link in a suspicious message or reply to a message that asks for your password. That habit belongs here as well as in the longer *Email & Online Safety* course: type a known address yourself, or search for the organisation’s name and open the official result, rather than following a surprise link.

Look at the address character by character if something feels off. A missing letter, an extra word, or a different ending can mean you are not where you thought. Search results can include ads and look-alike names. Prefer a result that clearly belongs to a government, a library, a bank you already use, or another organisation you recognise — and still check the address after it opens.

Skills for Success includes evaluating information and being careful with online risks. You do not need to become an investigator. If a page asks for a password, a card number, or SIN-type information and you did not go looking for that page yourself, stop and ask someone. This course is not legal or fraud advice; it is a pause-and-check habit.

1. Open the browser already on your device.
2. Search for a simple, safe topic a tutor agrees to (for example, the town library’s name).
3. Open one official-looking result.
4. Look at the address bar and the security status symbol. If you see Not secure or Dangerous, do not type private information.
5. Use Back to return.

What makes a search result look official at first glance? What would you double-check before typing anything private?