TIPS FOR SAFE SHOPPING ONLINE

Shopping online is very safe, convenient and can help keep the holiday season sane. It’s the one place you can shop 24 x 7, 365 days a year.  These tips will keep you safe online on Cyber Monday and the rest of the holiday shopping season.

1. LOOK FOR THE “S” FOR SECURITY
   Many of the best deals can be found on the Internet.  Make sure the sites you are shopping from are secure and have “https:” in the URL of the page that asks for your credit card information.  The “s” ensures security.  When you are on a secure site, you will also see an icon for a locked padlock on your browser either on the address bar or on the bottom right corner.  Additionally, use the Internet to research retailers not familiar to you.  There are many sites such as Shopzilla.com, Pricegrabber.com and others that provide ratings of retailers.
2. STAY CURRENT ON SECURITY SOFTWARE
   This means making sure you have the latest virus protection software updates from your provider. (You can download free anti-virus software from AVG.) It’s important because the bad guys move around frequently. Security software companies are working to stay one step ahead of them. If you are updated, you are staying one step ahead, too.
3. THINK BEFORE YOU LINK
   Employ a URL scanning tool to ensure you’re not clicking on links that lead to infected websites. The time to find out whether a page is bad is BEFORE you click. AVG LinkScanner does this. It’s free, and it works with all other security and anti-virus offerings.
4. KEEP YOUR PRIVATE INFORMATION PRIVATE 
   Make sure you keep your personal information private. When doing a lot of online shopping, create a separate email account that is just for shopping. Use a unique password, different from any other accounts you have. Your dedicated shopping e-mail account should be in no way affiliated with your personal, everyday email account. Also, keep records of your online shopping – print confirmation pages and email confirmations.
5. MIX UP YOUR PASSWORDS
   Keep separate passwords. Each shopping account, bank account, credit card account, and e-mail account should have a unique password. Write them down and keep the information in a secure location. Unique passwords for each account make it tougher for a thief to steal your information.

The Internet is just as good of a source for shopping and getting great deals as it is for getting information on how to shop safely online.  Additional resources to consider is the Federal Trade Commission, FTC.gov, which offers tips for safe online shopping as well as overall holiday shopping tips from the National Retail Federation.

Cybermonday.com and AVG Partnering on Safe Shopping Initiative
This holiday season, Cybermonday.com is partnering with AVG Technologies, developers of the world’s most popular free anti-virus software, to encourage online commerce and remind consumers to shop safely this holiday season. Shop.org, the National Retail Federation's digital division, operates Cybermonday.com, which features deals from more than 650 retailers. The two organizations are teaming up to engage in a series of social media strategies aimed at spreading the word about finding the best bargains as well as tips about how to shop safely online.