Black Friday and Cyber Monday may have
already come and gone, but there are still many opportunities to find great
deals online for the holiday season. Shopping
online is often much quicker and more convenient than shopping in stores,
however, it is important to protect yourself when making online purchases. Tis the season for shopping online and tis
the season for hackers as well. Malicious
attacks on shoppers increased 40% on Cyber Monday in 2013 and 2014, accordingto EnigmaSoftware.com, an anti-malware and spyware company, compared to the
average number of attacks on days during the month prior. The most wonderful
time of the year should not have to include a security breach in your
life. It is important to exercise good
identity protection practices while shopping online because hackers bank on the
amount of online traffic that takes place during the holiday season.
There are many tips for protecting your
information while shopping online. Some
of the most important things to keep in mind are:
1. Make sure to have a
strong password for your account on each shopping
site. Passwords you use on websites
should not match the passwords you use for more sensitive sites, such as your
bank, social media or cloud storage.
Try not to use your dog’s name and birth date as your password!
2. Limit your use of Public
Wi-Fi.
Public Wi-Fi connections are not always safe. Instead of making your online purchases at
Starbucks, wait until you connect to Wi-Fi at home in order to check off your list.
3. Be careful
which websites you visit. Check the privacy policies of websites and avoid
those that share information like email addresses with other companies. Shop at
brands and stores you are familiar with and trust.
4.
Review your statements. The
first sign of identity theft is often an unfamiliar charge on a credit card or
bank statement. Keep checking your
account and make sure that you do not see any suspicious activity in your statements.
Now that we have transitioned from Black Friday
to Cyber Monday and beyond, the doors have opened even further for online
hackers. Although gift-hunting online is
exciting and extremely convenient, make sure to remain cautious while making online
purchases. Nobody wants to deal with a stolen identity
just as the holiday season is in full swing.
Here are a few more:
ReplyDelete5. Download the Keepass password program from keepass.info and learn how to use it to generate a different password for each website.
6. Use Chrome instead of Internet Explorer.
7. Look into the following Chrome extensions: Adblock Plus, AVG Do Not Track, Flashcontrol, Ghostery, HTTPS Everywhere, Password Alert, and Social Fixer for Facebook.
8. Uninstall java.
9. Place a security freeze on your credit files at each of the three Nationwide Credit Reporting Agencies.
Internet protection is an important part of todays world. With so many transactions being completed on line it is more easier than ever to have your identity or information stolen. I think that being aware of ways to protect yourself while on the internet is crucial. These tips certainly are useful and could help the average person. I'm curious if there are more simple tips and tricks that you could share with the reader to help them further. I think you are on to something good with this post but it could benefit from being fleshed out a little bit more with some additional information.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who buys almost all my stuff online... this is so important! We always think that nothing bad will happen to US but these thing's do happen and I think your important thing's to remember can go a long way.
ReplyDelete