Cyber Monday Safety Tips

If you’ve paying attention to any of the weekly daily security news you know that things are getting worse, not better. With that in mind, we want to point you to some great advise from the fine folks at Tom’s Guide who highlight 9 safety tips for staying safe while shopping this cyber Monday.

Here are our top safety picks that you should be following:

Don’t fall for ‘too-good-to-be-true’ deals

Cyber Monday features a lot of incredible, legitimate deals offered by trusted mainstream retailers. But cybercriminals will prey on shoppers’ desire for the lowest prices and will try to slip in a lot of fake deals. Watch out especially for emails, text messages, pop-up browser windows and Facebook and Twitter posts promising fantastic savings. Clicking on links in the messages or posts could lead to scams, phishing sites or sites distributing malware. And don’t open attachments in emails promising fantastic deals.

Shop using a secure connection

Data can be at risk during transit if an attacker controls the network or uses packet-sniffing software. Web protocols such as HTTPS encrypt communications, but in some advanced attacks even those could fall to a “man-in-the-middle” attack. Nonetheless, always look for the HTTPS lock symbol in your browser address window when performing an online purchase.

Shop from a secure computer

A computer or Android phone that isn’t protected by antivirus software is more likely to be compromised by malware. Otherwise, all data entered into or transmitted from that phone or computer is at risk, including all forms of personally identifiable information, credit-card numbers and bank accounts. Be sure to keep the operating system and all internet-facing apps updated to the latest software versions.