Making Online Transactions Safely
Online Transactions - Challenges and Solutions
The Internet has made it very easy for people to shop, bank and pay bills from the comfort of their own homes or offices. It has also made it possible for bad guys to capture personal information transmitted during those transactions. From credit card numbers and Social Security information to birth dates and beyond, nothing is sacred in the online world unless computer users take steps to protect themselves.
Identity theft is simply a fact of the computer age. According to the New York Times, more than 27 million Americans have been the victims of identity theft. Billions of dollars have been bilked from private individuals and companies over the past few years. CBSnews.com reports that a new case of identity theft occurs every 79 seconds in the United States. Many of these crimes occur because criminals are able to lift personal information off of a computer.
The bad guys have a number of tools and devices at their disposal to tap into a computer and steal information. They also use schemes to get people to voluntarily give up their information, enabling crooks to use credit cards, empty bank accounts and more.
In the online world, one of the strongest lines of defense against identity theft is knowledge. When computer users understand the challenges and how to overcome them, they can enjoy online transactions without fear. While there are no 100-percent guarantees in life, knowledge and proactive measures can combine to shut down the bad guys.
The Challenges Involved In Online Transactions
Any time a person uses a computer to check on a bank account balance, pay a bill or even buy a pair of shoes, there is a potential for theft. Understanding the perils and how to overcome them can provide the safeguards people need to use their computers to their greatest advantages.
Some of the more common threats that go along with online transactions include:
- Key logger programs – Using rootkits and other nefarious malware, the bad guys can and often do plant programs onto others' computers that record their actions. This means when a person logs into a bank account, for example, the bad guys might receive information about the person's user name and password. This in turn can give them access to the account. The same can happen with credit card transactions and any other action that involves uses a computer and keyboard to enter personal information.
- Unsecured websites – While there are many well secured, legitimate ecommerce websites on the Internet, not all are. Computer users need to learn to protect themselves by looking for such features as SSL encryption. Secured websites will typically have a URL that begins with https:// instead of just http://. It is also important that consumers only use websites they know are legitimate.
- Fake links (Phishing) – The bad guys are well known for sending emails that include fake links to what appears to be a legitimate website. Once a consumer arrives, the scammers are able to capture personal information as it is entered. For example, a phishing email might represent itself as coming from the victim's bank. When that person clicks on the link provided in the email, he or she will be taken to a site that looks identical to the actual bank's site. There are several ways to protect against these types of dupes. One of the best measures of protection is simply to refuse clicking on links within emails.
Norton 360 Helps Overcome The Challenges
Consumers who want to enjoy safe online transactions can get a leg up on the prospect by arming themselves with tools that are designed to protect them and their identities. Norton 360 Download is one such program that provides comprehensive antivirus and other coverage. The program is able to:
- Protect against malware – Norton 360 offers comprehensive antivirus protection. It protects against viruses, bots, rootkits, spyware and more. The program is able to identify malware on a machine and provides users with the tools necessary to remove problem files that are found. The program also features tools that stop malware from being introduced on a machine in the first place.
- Help safeguard an identity – While virus protection is critical for helping make sure transactions are safe, other measures are often important, as well. Norton 360 provides a number of identity protection features, including automatic form completion. The program stores user names and passwords for automatic entry so key logger programs cannot capture the information.
- Antiphisihing tools – Stopping phishing and spam emails before they get into a user's hands is a smart form of protection. Norton 360 provides this. It also offers insight tools that ferret out potentially harmful files in addition to a smart firewall that blocks potential attacks.
Securing a computer from online attacks during transactions is vital for protecting identity and personal assets. While there are measures computer users can take on their own, Norton 360 helps them go above and beyond to enjoy transactions that are as safe as possible.