Many holiday shoppers prefer to shop from the comforts of their home instead of brushing up on their karate skills in the Black Friday melee.  While nothing says comfort like H-O-M-E, cyber predators are working overtime to make sure they can get a piece of someone’s pie.  Since we’re all about online safety around these parts, 24HourSupport wants to send you off shopping in happy-style with these online safety tips.

Of course, before you begin shopping, you want to ensure that your computer is protected with updated security software including anti-virus and anti-malware protection.   Your operating system and web browsers should also include the latest updates as well.

1. Shop Trusted Websites

Many fake websites spring up during the holidays just to dupe unsuspecting shoppers into thinking they are getting deals when in fact, the website owners are making off with personal information looking for a pay day.  Even though online retailers tend to slash prices for holiday shopping, the old saying “if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is” will certainly continue to ring true.  Bottom line – stick with who you know.

2. Safeguard Your Passwords

When shopping online, many websites allow you to register and provide a password so that you may store your personal information for convenience.  If you opt to do this, ensure that you create secure passwords, and if you must store them, store them in a secure place away from prying eyes as it can become difficult to remember various passwords.

3.  Make Sure Your Purchase is Secure

Most online retailers have implemented secure transactions to provide shoppers with peace of mind in knowing that their purchases are protected.  When making a secure purchase online, always look in your web browser’s address bar for “https://” to indicate that you are using a secure transaction.

4. Use Credit Cards If Possible

While debit cards have provided many shoppers the convenience of not racking up credit card debt while shopping, these types of cards are most often linked to a bank account that can be drained if intercepted into the wrong hands.  Credit card companies have policies in place for fraud prevention, so although you may not want to use credit, think about the cash you could stand to lose if using debit.