A Few Tips For Secure Online Shopping

Shopping online is no longer the novelty it was, it has become, for some people, second nature as one of the first places to look when something is needed.

What should also follow as a second nature, (and for many, unfortunately, it does not) is that something as mundane as ordering a pair of shoes online, is a financial transaction and appropriate caution should be taken.

Shopping online is easy and convenient but putting your personal financial details out over the internet is not without risk, but a few simple, quick tips to bear in mind can go a long way to keeping your shopping online experience enjoyable and secure.

Running regular antivirus and malware scans and keeping aps and browsers up to date can help avoid new mutations of malware and keep a clean machine.

Common sense is a great security aid online, some people can get rather carried away with the experience and lose sight of some realities, such as finding a bargain that is so good it can hardly be true, well, the answer is, it probably isn’t, so leave it.

If you stick to sites that are well known brands such Amazon, or Argos for example, they will have strong up to date security across their cyber systems.

There will doubtless be occasions in the endless shopping mall of the internet when you will come upon a site that is unknown, untried and untested, and there, common sense should say to you, hang on a moment, and quickly check it out before even thinking about putting your personal financial details anywhere near it.

Look for any reviews or feedbacks from customers, or look them up through a search engine for customer reactions or recommendations or just what anyone has said about it.

See that the site has a physical bricks and mortar address, and a comprehensive returns policy. A phone number is often a trusting sign that they will be prepared to help sort things out if something has gone astray.

When you get to the secure page of the checkout, before you enter any of your information, check that the vendor’s site is secure.

This takes just a glance, at the address in your browser bar, which should begin https:// and not just the standard http://. The “S” is all important, as it shows that the site is secure because it has data-scrambling technology which means only their terminal can read your information.

If the site does not display this S in its address, do not under any circumstances enter any of your information.