Tips for Safe Online Holiday Shopping

Tips for safe online holiday shopping from Phone Card Depot

1. Anti-virus / Spyware
2. Avoid internet cafes/kiosks
3. Look for seals of approval
4. Look for the https symbol
5. Never provide sensitive information in an e-mail
6. Avoid using wireless networks
7. Beware of Pop-ups
   

1. Anti-virus / Spyware:
Get a good anti-virus or spyware program for your computer. Phone Card Depot recommends NOD (personal) or Sophos (business) Antivirus. NOD is great because it constantly scans your incoming e-mails and does not take up as much resources as a program like Norton Anti-virus. Phone Card Depot highly recommends to great "clean-up" programs: Ad-aware SE Personal and Spybot - Search and Destroy, you will be amazed at how many threats these programs find.

2. Internet Cafes / Kiosks:
Internet Cafe's and kiosks may be run on unsecure wireless networks (see #6) or more unscrupulous cafe's may have keystroke recorders installed on machines to record your actions online. Phone Card Depot recommends 3rd party reviewers when seeking out an internet cafe such as YYZtech.ca.

3. Seals of Approval:
You must find a site security seal on any e-commerce site which guarantee's 128-bit encryption. Some of the best encryption providers include: GeoTrust, Verisgn, Thawte. How do you know that these seals are authentic? Click the seal, a certificate will load: check the name of the domain on the certificate, if it matches the domain that you are purchasing from, the domain currently uses 128-bit encryption.

128-bit Encryption:
This creates a safe tunnel through which your private information can go. Internet traffic is similar to sending all of your info in a postcard, 128-bit encryption puts a shield around this postcard so that it can only be opened by who it is intended to be sent to.

4. Look for "https://" in the address bar at checkout
The "s" in https, shows that the SSL encryption is being used properly and that the site is secure. The "s" only needs to be present at checkout.

Good: https://www.thecooleststore.com/checkout Bad: http://www.thecooleststore.com/checkout

5. Never Provide Sensitive Information in an Email
Most e-mail correspondence is not encrypted and can be intercepted by a 3rd party. Do not send credit card numbers, SIN numbers etc. via e-mail.

6. Avoid Using Wireless Networks
Some wireless networks are not encrypted with what is known as a WAP key. You will know if your home network is protected if the technician gave you a WAP key to use if you ever needed to make a new connection to your wireless network. Be especially wary of wireless networks at internet kiosks or cafes.

7. Beware of Pop-ups:
When you see pop-ups always avoid them, avoid temptation to click on unknown e-mails, avoid clicking on websites if they come by email. These websites or e-mails may include an executable file that can install malware on your computer. Firefox provides great pop-up protection, if you're using Internet Explorer, Phone Card Depot highly recommends that you switch to Firefox.

Tags: safe online shopping, holiday shopping online, nod, sophos, adaware, spybot, ssl, geotrust, thawte, verisign, hacker safe, ssl certificate, online safety