BitDefender’s Top Tips for Safe Festive Online Shopping
BitDefender, the creator’s of one of the industry’s fastest and most effective lines of internationally certified security software, has released some top tips for festive shoppers to take whilst online shopping.
Says BitDefender’s senior Antispam researcher Catalin Cosoi
“Taking advantage of the many benefits of online shopping like competitive pricing, great selection, or even freebies like zero shipping fees and free gift wrapping, doesn’t have to cost consumers more than they’ve bargained for.
“By being aware of a few key issues, consumers can shop safely with the knowledge they need to protect their personal information and their PC.”
First top tip is know where you’re shopping from and read the small print. BitDefender are keen to remind people that not every website is legimate, with some cybercriminals either creating virtual copies of well known branded sites, or creating their own very convincing merchant sites. In short, only buy from those who are genuine high-street, or online retails.
Second top tip is beware of those online merchants who want more than your name and email address in order to cash in a coupon. Remember that a legitimate site will not ask for more than is necessary to redeem the coupon. But many illegal and bogus sites target online shoppers with online promotions and to entice a consumer to enter personal information in order to receive coupons or other merchandise. This is then used elsewhere, mainly to build clone identities.
Third, and anyone who ignores this point do so at their peril, never use a PC to shop unless it has an up-to-date and properly working security suite on board. Surf, or email, without such a security suite and it’s only a matter of time before you become infected.
Fourth, stick to the sites you know and trust, or have used successfully before. If unsure about a site, have a look in the chat rooms and forums, and see if there are any rumours, or gossip.
Fifth – remember the old adage that there is no such thing as a free lunch. You must be very wary of special offers, or unbelievable deals. They can often end with your computer being infected.
Sixth tip; use credit cards where possible, as they offer more protection than debit cards, and even better, see if you can pay cash on delivery.
Finally, look out for the https connection to a website. It’s not a guarantee of safety, but most of the sites thus connected are safe.
Guest Article by Neil Camp
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My name is Alan Potts and I'm the Editor of the Antivirus-BUYability web site and Managing Director of BUYability Limited. You can connect with me or keep up to date with new posts on this blog via the following social media sites: 
