December 2,2008
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TTTT's for Online Transactions, Pt.1 –
– The Top Ten Tips for credit card shopping onlineSo here are The Top Ten Tips for credit card shopping online this season:
1. Shore up your computer's security: Whenever shopping on the Internet with credit cards, there are several weak areas to consider. A thriving community of credit card thieves work night and day to steal from us. Core protections are things like anti-virus monitors (including e-mail), firewalls (especially if your PC is networked), anti-spyware (to inhibit phishing and malignant cookies that never go away). Be sure they are configured properly and, above all, turned on and functioning. Further common weak links are applications that communicate over the internet. These are things like browsers, email clients, chat sessionizers, etc. These applications can open up your computer's many communication ports and ‘leave the door ajar'. Make sure they are configured properly. Set security levels to at least medium. This way you will probably be informed if something suspicious occurs but will still be allowed surf freely. This is, at least, a start for safe credit card shopping online.
2. Keep protection up to date: New tricks to steal our credit cards are coming out every day. Unfortunately, they go unknown to the general public. The most popular target, of course, is the web browser. New software updates are being released all the time, as well. Many computers are configured to automatically notify the user of what's available and recommended (these are very nice...most of the time – Adobe Acrobat 9 excepted). Many software companies try and push new products this way, however. But, operating systems and web browsers generally concentrate on safety features and ‘design features (bugs)'. These are worth having and are usually free. If a whole bundle of updates show up all at once as recommended, it is usually best Install just a few at a time (even one at a time is fine). The problem is, when installing several updates in one fell swoop, they try and coordinate with each other to simplify things for the user. The only problem is that several updates suspend half-way through while the others catch up and then continue inching forward together. If one of the installs in the bunch becomes errant along the way, the others can become so corrupted from the partial install, that they can't be fixed. Another step toward safe online credit card shopping.