Online Shopping Tips: E-Commerce and You

Online Shopping Tips: E-Commerce and You: "

Online Shopping Tips: E-Commerce and You
With just a click of the mouse, shoppers can buy nearly any product online - from groceries to cars, from insurance policies to home loans. The world of electronic commerce, also known as e-commerce, enables consumers to shop at thousands of online stores and pay for their purchases without leaving the comfort of home. For many, the Internet has taken the place of Saturday afternoon window shopping at the mall.
The same things can go wrong shopping in cyberspace as in the real world. Sometimes it is simply a case of a computer glitch or poor customer service. Other times, shoppers are cheated by clever cybercrooks.
This guide offers advice on how to make your online shopping experiences enjoyable and safe.
1. Shop at Secure Web Sites
How can you tell if a web site is secure? It uses encryption technology to transfer information from your computer to the online merchant's computer. Encryption scrambles the information you send, such as your credit card number, in order to prevent computer hackers from obtaining it en route. The only people who can unscramble the code are those with legitimate access privileges.
You can tell when you are dealing with a secure web site in several ways.
First, if you look at the top of your screen where the web site address is displayed, you should see https://. The 's' that is displayed after 'http' indicates that web site is secure. Often, you do not see the 's' until you actually move to the order page on the web site.
Another way to determine if a web site is secure is to look for a closed padlock displayed at the bottom of your screen. If that lock is open, you should assume it is not a secure site.
The third symbol that indicates you are on a secure site is an unbroken key.
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