Tips for a safe online shopping

  Online shopping is a convenient activity provided few precautionary measures are taken to ensure that the information provided and the money is safe. If you are making an online payment through credit or debit card, you are bound to give the service provider the required details to authorize the payment from your account. Unfortunately the fraudsters get this information by making convincing-looking copies of genuine websites (known as ‘phishing’), through malware that captures users’ login data, by hacking sites to retrieve stored passwords etc., to be safe from these kind of frauds there are many ways.

Here are a few steps to protect yourself when making online purchases:

-          Make sure you buy from a real website:

It is important to check whether website is fake or is it infected domain to redirect the traffic. This information is vital for hackers to get the financial information of the buyer. Check the URL before you make any kind of transaction. To avoid this kind of unpleasant surprise, always purchase from well-known websites only.

-          Access secured websites that protect the information:

Do not make online purchases using credit card from a site where the SSL (Secure sockets layer) encryption is not installed. This can be known when the site URL starts with https:// (instead of http://).  A locked padlock icon appears in the status bar at the bottom of the web browser or next to the URL in the address bar. This appearance depends on the browser used.

-          Never save personal details:

Did you notice that every shopping site asks to create an account, so that you don’t have to fill in the details every time you make an online purchase through that site? For your safety do not save the details on that site as the chances of the site getting hacked is more. It would be an easy access to your details for the hackers. Instead use a password manager that includes automated Web Form Filling.

-         Install Protection:

It is mandatory to have a powerful, effective security solution installed either an Antivirus or a full security suite.

       












          
        
      Secure Internet Access

Do not get connected to unsecured Wi-Fi networks, use only Wi-Fi protected access. If your network is unsecured, it is an easy access for people within the range to know what you are doing.  

Online shopping is very convenient, when you follow the simple steps and be alert.