Shopping Online is Safe if You Follow a Few Golden Rules

Internet shopping is getting easier and progressively more people are happily spending their hard earned cash without even stepping from their front doors. These days you could buy everything online from insurance, shoes and clothes health products, groceries and even cars . . . actually that’s not always true. And while there is no “buy it now” button you can then get in touch with for a test drive before you purchase, there are auction sites but you can visit a web site like www.downtownnissan.com to see what a great range they have got in stock and any deals they may have on offer.

Unfortunately an upswing in rise in popularity of online shoppers has also been noticed by an increasing number of unscrupulous hackers – there seem to be new stories every single day about people having their personal details losing and hacked tons of dollars. It may be a real headache but there are just a few golden rules which will help you navigate the possible pitfalls and appreciate a little online retail therapy safely.

• Don’t shop using public Wi-Fi – every time you enter any of your personal details whilst using public Wi-Fi you will be vulnerable to id theft. Hackers can merely pluck your details from thin air with the right equipment so don’t do your online shopping from Starbucks or any place else for that matter.

• Keep watch over your / and bank or credit card statements – checking them regularly will alert you for any unusual activity in your account. The quicker you report it the more likelihood there is of you getting any stolen money reimbursed when you notice anything fishy contact your visa or mastercard company immediately.

• Frequent password changes – are important to keep your personal data private online. It can be a real pain I know but it really is probably the best lines of defence against identity and hackers theft. Don’t attempt to use exactly the same password for all those accounts either – so in a nutshell, alter your passwords every 3 – 6 months and have a unique password for each account.

• Be sure that the URL is HTTPS and not simply HTTP – the “S” stands for secure. HTTPS uses SSL – Secure Sockets Layer – which routinely encrypts all of the information sent so that the only person who can easily see the information clearly is the recipient of the info.

• Never click a link inside an email – this may seem like the oldest piece of advice ever but it’s surprising the amount of people still fall for it. If you want to visit the website then type the URL into the browser, doing this you can be sure that you are visiting the site you want to visit and won’t be vulnerable. Phishing scams send legitimate looking emails which can provide you with to a bogus site where your information will be stolen.

• Use an updated browser – as each version of your browser is updated so can be the security measures for the browser. Older browsers may have security holes that provide access to hackers. If you make your browser updated you have a significantly better chance of keeping your information safe from prying eyes.

• Mobile phones need extra care – smartphones are incredibly smart and can do virtually everything these days but many of them do not have the same antivirus software which is standard on the majority of desktop computers.

Online shopping could be safe if you follow these rules. Next, time you are surfing the internet remember to stop by at http://www.downtownnissan.com to check out their excellent deals.