Given today’s problems with the economy, people are increasingly turning to online shopping in order to beat the credit crunch. A convenient method to browse and compare gift ideas, shopping online provides a more relaxed approach to researching the best prices available in high street stores.
Purchasing gifts on the internet provides the distinct advantage that you can quickly and easily compare the prices of your chosen gifts, either by manually comparing prices on a selection of websites, or through price comparison services such as Kelkoo and Pricerunner. In a difficult economic climate, being able to control your spending is, without doubt, one of the main driving forces behind the rising popularity of shopping online.
Shopping online is generally a very safe and convenient medium for today’s busy shopper, however to ensure a positive shopping experience it is advisable to follow the following guidelines for online shopping.
1) SSL Certificate
Make sure that the website you are buying from carries a valid SSL certificate on pages where you are entering private information such credit card and billing information. ‘SSL’ stands for Secure Sockets Layer and is used to encrypt sensitive information transmitted over the internet.
Information transmitted via SSL cannot be read by unauthorised third parties, so your details cannot be deciphered even in the off-chance they are intercepted. To check whether the website you are buying from uses SSL (and every website taking credit card details should be) simply check the URL of your page for the https: and/or the secure padlock symbol at the foot of your browser window.
2) Internet Browser Updates
To ensure a secure online shopping experience, and in general, you should always make sure your internet browser is kept as up to date as possible.
New browser updates are regularly released to address security bugs and vulnerabilities. Updates are free to download and easy to install, so there is no reason not to have the latest version of your browser installed.
3) Keep Your Operating System Up To Date
As with Internet Browsers, Operating Systems can also be vulnerable to new bugs and security holes, which is why it is important to keep your operating system up to date for a secure online experience. This is especially important for Windows based operating systems, which are installed in the majority of
home computers/laptops, and as such are more likely to be targeted by malicious third parties seeking to manipulate security vulnerabilities.
Modern operating systems allow you to automatically update your software by configuring your device to do so, or you can manually download the most recent updates for free online. Either way, you should try to ensure your operating system is up to date to ensure a secure web browsing environment.
4) Regularly Update Your Anti-Virus Software
Most of us are aware of the importance of installing a good anti-virus package, but it is worth re-iterating this point. Viruses often arrive in the guise of email attachments or website downloads, but they can also be unknowingly downloaded from malicious websites simply by browsing website.
There are a selection of excellent anti-virus packages available, both commercial and free, so ensuring against potential viruses is as simple as finding the correct package for you and installing it.
You should also ensure your anti-virus software is up-to-date by installing the latest virus definitions when they become available. Updated virus definitions contain code used to recognise new virus threats, so to make sure your computer is suitably protected it is important to install these updates. Your anti-virus package normally complete this process automatically, and Windows based operating systems will alert you if your virus protection is not up-to-date.
5) Adware/Anti-Spyware/Malware software
There are other forms of malicious software which can threaten the security of internet users. Spyware and Adware in most cases install themselves on your computer simply by visiting an infected site. At its worst, this type of software can install malicious programs such as keylogger software, which can log the keypresses of the keyboard on an infected machine, and can be used to obtain sensitive information such as credit card numbers.
There are a number of very good free software packages which prevent malicious software such as Spyware/Adware/Malware from running on your machine, so it is a wise move to install such a package on your device.
6) Firewall Software
A Firewall is a piece of software which prevents access to your pc by an unauthorised user or software program. Without a Firewall, your computer might be vulnerable to being hacked and malicious software such as trojans, worms and viruses, so it is important to make sure you have one installed. Again, there are a number of very good Firewall programs available for free download, and in modern installations of Windows operating systems a Firewall is included as standard.
7) Phishing Websites/Emails
‘Phishing’ describes a relatively well-known security issue whereby a malicious user/organisation attempts to gain access to secure information such as credit card/username/password details by utilising a fake website and/or email.
In most cases, a user may receive an email, e.g. from a reputable bank, requesting that the recipient of the email update their online information. The phishing email usually contains a link to a fake website designed to collect your details for fraudulent purposes. Fake phishing websites are often near-identical the original website they are based upon, and recipients of phishing emails can be tricked into entering their sensitive information to unauthorised third parties.
Modern Internet Browsers have installed anti-phishing tools which advise users of potential phishing sites. Vigilance is also recommended, as banking websites will never email clients requesting full passwords or usernames.
By following these tips for safe shopping online, you can ensure online shopping is as secure as possible, with the added satisfaction that you can make significant savings in the process.