Not sure if you'll always see it the padlock, but probably. You can actually see "https:" in the url/address line if you're on secure. I think all financial institutions use it, I hope so...if you go to the Vanguard site you'll see (note first part) https://personal.vanguard.com/us/CorporatePortalAh, so if I see the little padlock symbol, or verisign, that stuff, it's likely https?
Chuckanut said:If you use the FireFox browser you can get an Add-On called HTTPS Everywhere. It will ensure you are using HTTPS with every website that supports HTTPS (not all do.)
It is also available for the Chrome browser.