Nellie2

I was going through my archives as there are some articles that are still relevant and can do with being resurrected from time to time. Here is one of them.

Cyber Monday was originally the first Monday after Thanksgiving weekend… but in this day and age of wider broadband access in the home I suppose Cyber Monday can be any day of the week and any time of the year. Although with Christmas looming…hints and tips on safe online shopping are very relevant. Here is the article that I posted last November.

It seems as if there is another new phrase being coined by our internet usage. Cyber Monday is the busiest on line shopping day of the week it seems. This is mainly because people return to work and put thier companies high speed internet access to work, this may be because they don’t have the internet at home or are on dial up or are just too busy doing family things to have time to browse the net.

Harry Waldron, Microsoft Security MVP has put together a useful page of online shopping safety tips on his blog here;

1. Does your employer permit this? — Hopefully, most employees will recognize that employers have a right to monitor all Internet activities conducted on business equipment. However, some employers permit some personal use during lunch, breaks, or after hours. Users should check IT policies or with their supervisors if they are unsure on corporate usage policies. They should carefully use this business resource and not allow “Cyber Monday” to become grounds for “Layoff Tuesday”

2. Always “Think before you click” — Be careful with email links or URLs returned via a website search. Phishing attacks are disquised sites that look like the real e-commerce site, but they are designed to capture your credit card or account information for fraudulent misuse. These types of sites are abundant and often referenced in spam email. Always go in by the parent site to find products or services. Be careful and avoid clicking on ads in web pages. Remember that a complete stranger on the Internet doesn’t truly want to give you anything. More information on phishing attacks can be found at www.castlecops.com

3. Conduct e-commerce with mainstream sites that use secure server technology. Never shop by email or other untrusted conventions. Research human contact or return policies, so that you can resolve issues quickly.

4. Use a true credit card, rather than a bank debit card as better fraud protection is present

5. Maintain your privacy at all times. Only provide information once you’re certain the information can be trusted. Also ensure your system is free of any malware.

Cyber Monday - Home Page
http://www.cybermonday.com/

Cyber Monday - FAQs
http://www.shop.org/cybermonday/

Stay Safe while shopping online (a few sites found in a quick search)
http://onguardonline.gov/index.html
http://www.bbb.org/alerts/article.asp?ID=153
http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/consumerawareness/l/blonlineshopsaf.htm
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/default.mspx
http://usa.visa.com/personal/security/protect_yourself/basics/index.html
http://pittsburgh.about.com/od/shopping/bb/bybshopon.htm
http://www.pcanswer.com/articles/holidaytips2005.htm
http://www.cardwatch.org.uk/

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