CONCERNED ABOUT SHOPPING ON THE INTERNET

ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT SHOPPING ON
THE INTERNET?
By Nily Glaser
Copyrights Nily Glaser,
all rights reserved 2003

With the holiday season close at hand, many would be
Internet shoppers are concerned with on-line security issues and
the fear of "Identity theft".

Yet, shopping on the Internet is changing our way of life.
The question is: "Is it safe to shop online?"
The answer is that the internet is a very safe place to shop,
as long as you are careful and take some precautions to
protect yourself.

When you shop online via a merchant that offers a
SECURE SERVER, you are probably safer than
when you use your credit card at an off line
brick and mortar establishment.
Additionally you benefit by being able to find:
· a huge variety and options for what you are looking for,
· shop from the convenience of your home or office,
· shop anytime day or night,
· shop without the pressure of over eager salespeople.
So, forget the traffic, forget the store hours, forget the
crowds and forget the lines at the cashier's stands.

Following are a few precautions you should take to feel
secure Shopping on the Internet.

Safety Tip # 1:
Shop at sites that post a physical address, an E-mail
address and a telephone number.
If you are not quite sure, E-mail them.
They should reply within 72 hours.
CALL them and make sure you can talk with a PERSON,
not a machine.
Jot down the name of the person you spoke with.
Ask a few questions regarding the merchandise, policies,
etc...
Once you are satisfied, proceed with your purchases.

Safety Tip # 2:
Look for vendors with SECURE SERVERS.
The encryption technology is evolving constantly
and though it already makes shopping on the Internet safe,
it keeps adding more and more features for the security
and protection of on line shoppers.
If you want to be sure about the security of your
information, do the following before giving your
credit card information:
On the site in question "pretend" to order an item by adding
it to the cart.
Go to the cart and if you are on the page where you need
to enter your information proceed to:
Check if there is a written claim on the page that it is
secure, or that you have entered the secure section of the
web site.
The address shoud begin with https:// instead of http://
Unless there is an S following the HTTP the page you
are on IS NOT secure!
Some sites only display a locked padlock.
This is how you check for security:
>From anywhere on the page, RIGHT CLICK.
You'll get a table.
CLICK on PROPERTIES it will take you to another table.
Check the CONNECTION.
Watch for the following information:
The company and section of the site. for example:
If you go to
http:www.a-weddingday.com, and place an order, the
secure page will show:
A-Wedding Day Shopping Plaza Online Order Form
The Protocol:
HyperText Transfer Protocol with Privacy.
Note Protocol with Privacy.
The Connection:
SSL 3.0, RC4 with 128 bit encryption (High); RSA with 1024 bit
exchange.
SSL with 128 bit encription is used by banks and financial
institutions and is the highest security to-date.
The Address (URL)
https://loki.safe-order.net/a-weddingday/...............
Note the following:
Security https://loki.safe-order.net/
Name of Company:
a-weddingday/............
If you do not see the specifics as I described them above,
the site may have a lower security level or its security may
be in question.
If you want to find out about the site's SECURITY CERTIFICATE,
click on CERTIFICATE on the right
bottom.
You need to check for:
This certificate in intended to Ensures the identity of a remote
computer.
Issued to, may not be the site owner but through their hosting
company. So do not worry about it. You already varified that the
site is or was secure.
So you know that this order form is secure. or is it?
The next step is of utmost omportance!
Check the certificate's expiration date to assure that the
security certificate IS CURRENT.

Once you obtained all that the information you need, click
on th OK button.
Hit the back button to return to the previous page and click on
the delete item button.

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