Is my connection secure? Can other players hack into my computer?
The best online poker rooms secure their connections with the same technology that secure online credit card and banking transactions. If you are comfortable with online banking, stock trading, or credit card use, you should feel comfortable with online poker as well.
When selecting a secure online poker room, look for websites protected by Verisign (or Thawte Security, a subsidiary of Verisign). Verisign and Thawte are considered two of the most trusted security certification authorities in the world.
Online poker rooms secured by Verisign or Thawte should protect all communications between the poker website’s server and the client program running on your computer with industry standard SSLv3/TLSv1 (Secured Socket Layer) encryption algorithm.
This means your cards, your name, your address, your credit card number, your password, and everything else that goes back and forth is protected using the same level of security that a bank would use. Other players cannot use packet-sniffing to gain any sort of advantage. Furthermore, each player's cards are sent exclusively to that particular player's computer. None of the other computers know what your hidden cards are, thus preventing an opponent from hacking their client software to determine your cards.
Online poker rooms protected by Verisign or Thawte will display the following security seals on their website:
Is my connection secure? Can other players hack into my computer?
