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Top 8 Cyber Security Tips for Christmas Online Shopping

As the most wonderful time of the year has come - Christmas, it has brought with itself the time of online shopping.

According to National Retail Federation, more than 151 million people shopped in store, but more than 100 Million shopped online during Cyber Monday sales and even why wouldn't it be so given the vast conveniences of online shopping.

It is quite visible in these days that more and more people are heading towards online shopping rather than the malls to purchase gifts for Christmas.

However, the main question arises: Is it safe to do so? Especially with so many users sharing credit card information online.

Here are some tips that you have to keep in mind before providing your credit card number and clicking, 'BUY'

1. DO NOT CLICK On Suspicious Links

Malicious links are sent by scammers who look more real than the original ones. As these links are specifically of the well-known sites like eBay and Flipkart, many online users fall victim.

The safest way of not getting tricked by these would be NOT to open them if provided via social media sites, messages or emails from unknown sources.

2. Keep your Eye on New Vendors

People tend to purchase goods and services from new vendors as they generally give attractive discounts.

However, one should always be safe from such vendors as sometimes the customer is trapped and exploited easily.

One of the main problems is FAKE CUSTOMERS REVIEW. Never rely totally on company or seller review information.

Always get a double confirmation of the things that are necessary including product purpose and suitability, materials and construction, quality, and other things like speedy shipping, prompt refunds, and returns.

Always try to start from minimum purchases and then shift to the major ones.

Always look before you leap.

3. Always Use Strong Passwords

This tip is one of the most obvious ones, but people do not intend to use it generally.

Always try to avoid easy to crack passwords by including a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters in your password.

Avoid using the most common passwords like your name, 123456 and password.

Most importantly don't use the same password for multiple sites.

4. Always Use Secured Websites

Before typing your sensitive information online, check to make sure if the website you just visited is a secure site.

Secure sites have a closed padlock in the status bar, and its URL starts with HTTPS, which means:

Communication is encrypted
SSL verifies authenticity

5. Avoid Using Debit Cards, Instead Use Credit Cards

For online shopping purposes, using a credit card is always considered to be a comparatively better option rather than using a debit card.

In a case, if someone manages to intercept your financial information online, they can do less damage.

Credit cards have spending limits but debit cards do not

Credit cards should also be used with low credit limits even as
other option also given by the bank as "one-time use."

You can even make use of virtual credit cards that are specifically designed for online shopping only.

6. Important Things to Remember While Shopping

Always keep documentation of your online purchases, mostly an email is sent to the customer confirming the order.

It is the duty of every customer to print the document or save it somewhere safe till receiving the order.

Moreover, it is always suggested to log off from the retailer's website after making the purchase.

These are always considered to be the smarter options to adapt than to become a victim.

7. Do Not Provide Your Details to Every Website You Visit

Online stores provide an option for the customers to check out as a one time customer.

If you are not shopping regularly from any site, avoid filling unnecessary information, just in case, to be safe.

8. Check Your Bank Statements Regularly

Most of the banks now allow for setting up email notifications of any credit card transaction.

If you see any charges that are unusual, they have to get reported, and suitable actions should be taken that are needed to get a prompt refund.

Windows 10 Users Asked To Downgrade To Windows 7 Or 8.1 By PC Tech Support

On one hand, where Microsoft is trying to encourage as many users to use its new operating system, Windows 10, tech support engineers on the other hand, are recommending the complete removal of the OS and downgrade it to older builds of Windows, such as Windows 7 or 8.1.

According to a report from Laptop, it seems that OEMs such as Dell, HP, and Lenovo support engineers have one by one recommended users to uninstall Windows 10 and go back to their previous Windows version, be it 7 or 8.1.

Laptop performed a test to determine how tech support services respond to certain technical questions about Windows 10. However, the answer was in every case odd and unexpected to everyone’s surprise.

For instance, in case of Dell, when the support service was contacted for instructions on changing the touchpad’s scrolling direction on a laptop running Windows 10, the engineers at the other end claimed that there are a lot of glitches with Microsoft’s latest OS and transferred the call to another “expert” who suggested removing Windows 10.

In a statement Dell released to Laptop, “As Windows 10 continues to evolve, we sometimes recommend a customer revert to their previous operating system to troubleshoot a specific issue they’re having.”

The company also adds, “We remain committed to Windows 10 and are ready to help our customers make the transition as easy as possible.”

In the case of HP, the support engineer not only tried to resolve the reported problem to no avail but also tried to downgrade to Windows 8.1, saying that she “doesn’t recommend customers to upgrade to Windows 10.”

Mike Nash, HP’s VP of customer experience, had a very good answer when asked why support staff tell users to downgrade: “At the end of the day, the person’s job is to get the PC running.” He added “Given the scenario, it might have been the most expeditious thing to get them back to a known good space.”

Lastly, in the case of Lenovo, the staff had no idea about Hey Cortana and advised the caller to keep the microphone always on in order to be able to launch the personal assistant at any given moment.

In spite of all these suggestions that are clearly against Microsoft’s policy of encouraging everyone to move to Windows 10, the reviews of Windows 10 so far have been largely positive. As of now, it is just plain confusion between Windows 8 and Windows 10, which the tech support surely will become more well-versed with the new OS in due course of time.