Cyber Monday: Tips for Secure & Safe Online Shopping

Cyber Monday is one of the busiest online shopping days of the year since it is the internet version of Black Friday. The start of the online Christmas shopping season is signaled by Black Friday and Cyber Monday. According to Adobe Analytics, sales on Cyber Monday in 2018 reached an incredible new high of $7.87 billion. It is anticipated that consumers will surpass this record this year and spend more than $9 billion online. Although the outlook is positive, safety is one of the main worries for both customers and retailers. Criminals looking to take advantage of consumers in any manner are drawn to the growing popularity of online shopping. Forty-three percent of people who had their identities stolen reported it to Experian, a global consumer credit reporting business.

During the holiday shopping season, it occurred while internet purchasing. Identity theft is still a significant issue, but it’s just one cybercrime targeting online customers. Ransomware assaults on businesses, data loss, and expensive ransom payments to thieves are frequently reported in the news. However, a fresh round of consumer dangers has surfaced just in time to pounce on internet shoppers looking for Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers. Here are some recommendations for Cyber Monday online safety.

Get a reliable VPN

As a digital nomad, it is dangerous to use public Wi-Fi in airports, coffee shops, theme parks, shopping centers, or any other area without proper security. Get a secure online VPN Symlex VPN. It ensures that there are no bandwidth restrictions, throttling, or buffering. You can take all the necessary steps to achieve your VPN-related goals since you shouldn’t have to sacrifice one to ensure the other.

Additionally, behind the wall of a next-generation encryption facility, all your data is kept safe and secure. It essentially acts as an encrypted tunnel between your device and the remote server. Your data’s protection is its primary goal. As a digital nomad, it is normal to have a lot of data to secure, including banking information, credit card information, passwords, and confidential client and customer information. You must make sure they are secure. Some VPN benefits are; Cybercriminals cannot intercept your information if you use a secure online VPN. No one can see or access your info, and online marketers will find it challenging to follow or profile you.

You can still visit websites that are restricted by government censorship. For instance, the government of Nigeria has outlawed the use of Twitter for political purposes, but individuals with fast and safe VPNs continue to use the service. VPNs have countless benefits. There are numerous trustworthy and reasonably priced fast and safe VPN providers. Check the security, speed, and privacy characteristics of a secure online VPN before selecting one. Every time you sign onto a public internet network, ensure it is always turned on.

Use secure passwords

Password managers like LastPass and 1Password work well and may be the best option. But one of the most essential password rules has to do with length. Long passwords are more difficult to guess, and remembering so many passwords is a nuisance. A cyber thief will attempt to use one on other websites if one is taken. A mixture of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, punctuation, and symbols should be included in a password that is as long as possible.

Furthermore, it would be best if you didn’t reuse passwords, especially on any website dealing with your money. Use one of the top password managers if you find it challenging to manage them. However, you might not need to register an account if you only make one or two transactions on a retail website. Most websites allow you to purchase without one, and having fewer online accounts means fewer worries. Use separate passwords for various websites and set a schedule to change your passwords frequently.

Regularly update your software

Make sure you update your software regularly. It is advised to upgrade the software when it is legitimately promoted for your safety. The most recent software probably has more robust security measures than earlier ones. Before shopping online, ensure you have the most recent update loaded to secure sensitive information. Don’t delay doing it.

Watch out for fake websites

The most common method cybercriminals use to trick internet shoppers into falling for their Cyber Monday and Black Friday scams is fake or counterfeit websites. They’ll copy web pages to resemble real websites as closely as possible. The website’s links may be misspelled, its graphics may be pixelated, its content frequently is of poor quality, and its internet features may not function properly. Please verify that the link’s actual destination URL is displayed by moving your cursor over it before clicking any links. Use caution while clicking links in emails. Phishing is the most popular technique that fraudsters employ to access your info. If in doubt, go directly to the website rather than following email links. To prevent attacks, you should also think about installing an anti-phishing tool. User names, passwords, and other critical information are kept safe thanks to phishing filters.

Two-factor authentication

Two-factor authentication must be chosen. The additional verification provides much more security, whether done through email or SMS. Utilizing two-factor authentication (2FA) whenever possible adds more robust protection to your device, which is superior to simply changing passwords. Thus, even if an attacker obtained some of your information, such as a username and password, they would still require your second authentication factor to access your account if you had 2FA enabled on that particular account. Many common web and mobile services let you enable 2FA via a mobile authenticator app, such as the free Authy smartphone app.

Adding 2FA is much more practical, durable, and secure than often changing passwords. Unfortunately, you might discover that 2FA isn’t available wherever you purchase it. Still, several sites offer less protection than this. However, during the past year, the industry has made a lot of progress toward promoting the widespread usage of two-factor authentication security for organizations trying to secure their customers.

Watch out for deals that seem too good to be true

Limited-time offers and outrageous discounts could be frauds. Don’t let a sense of urgency or greed drive you to take risks. Before providing your data or financial information, read the fine print, check the links, and double-check the information. Following those suggestions may secure your Cyber Monday online shopping from security risks. However, it’s not enough to adhere to these extra security precautions; you also need to steer clear of some typical online purchasing errors.

Avoid using free Wi-Fi when shopping

When purchasing online, it’s crucial to protect your personal information. A safe Wi-Fi connection might be beneficial. Using the free public Wi-Fi frequently available at airports, cafes, and libraries to do online banking or shopping is not advised. Beware, surfers!

Avoid being seduced by email links

It’s worth repeating that this is significant. When you receive emails, especially unsolicited ones, use extreme caution when opening any attached links. Even emails that appear to be from well-known companies could be phishing scams. Shop directly from the websites of stores you are familiar with rather than clicking email links.

Don’t enter personal information on insecure websites

Do people also ask how they can tell if a website is safe? In contrast to plain old “HTTP.”Secure websites have “HTTPS” in their web address, and secure is denoted by the “s.” Technically speaking, “HTTPS” stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, a variation of the original HTTP. It is frequently used on the Internet for secure communication over computer networks. Using Transport Layer Security, or formerly Secure Sockets Layer, the communication protocol for HTTPS is encrypted.

Additionally, most browsers’ navigation (address) bar displays a closed padlock. If you see this locked padlock, you can rest assured that the site is secure. Sadly, circumstances have changed, and you are no longer secured, even on a secure site. Nowadays, phishing sites now often employ HTTPS to appear more authentic. Venafi researchers discovered copycat phishing websites using trusted, legitimate TLS certificates. These give phishing websites a fair appearance, which increases their ability to persuade naive customers to submit their sensitive account and payment information into online forms. To make your online shopping safer, be sure NOT to enter bank details or any other personal information into a website UNLESS you know it’s a real site. Site security is crucial, but it is no longer sufficient.

Conclusion
Numerous telecom firms, like Vodafone, Telefonica, and Hutchison Drei, are relying on network-based security to safeguard their clients from the various risks that are now present. In securing your network, threats are stopped at the network level, far from client devices and laptops. This caution is fantastic news for online shoppers because it eliminates the need for downloads, works with various instruments and operating systems, and is constantly updated to combat the most recent threats. Many communication service providers now rely on Network Secure Security as a Service from Allot to guarantee online security for every customer.