Advertisment

7 Keys for stress-free online transactions

Pay attention to encryption, network reliability, record-keeping and other good habits to keep risks and cyber-criminals at bay

author-image
Pratima Harigunani
New Update
ID

Nitin Surve

Advertisment

Shopping online using cards is becoming increasingly popular as it makes life way easier. Be it an e-commerce transaction, booking tickets online or availing a service, online transactions have successfully proved in saving time and providing the much desired convenience.

But, while you enjoy the comfort of comfortably shopping at your fingertips, its time you are aware of how to protect yourself from the risk of being a victim of cyber frauds. With incidents of online theft, hacks and data breach on the rise, getting e-safe is the need of the hour and protecting oneself from online vulnerability.

Follow these tips to protect yourself from those sticky hands of cybercriminals:

Advertisment

Avoid making transactions on public networks and computers

To protect sensitive information like card numbers try shopping from your home Internet connection. Avoid shopping when connected to a public Wi-Fi network or public devices as data theft is at a greater risk for hacking

Report any unusual transaction to the bank immediately

Always save records of your online transactions, which should include the receipt, order number, product description, and price. You will also want to save any emails you send or receive from a seller, which may come in handy if there's a problem later on. Also, keep a tab on all your account statements on a timely basis

Make payments on ‘https’ URLs only

Many websites will display a lock symbol in the address bar. This is most commonly seen on the payment page of an online store. This means the website is using an HTTPS connection, which makes it safe to enter your information

Advertisment

Check for encryption signs

Encrypting emails, files and even your entire data storage prevents unauthorized people from accessing them. Encryption provides protection against breaches of confidentiality for both company and personal data

And of course:

Install latest security software and keep all software up-to-date

Install anti-virus software on your devices and keep it updated from time to time. Use the latest version of your web browser and install security patches and software updates

Change your passwords from time to time

Make it difficult for hackers to crack your password. Create smart passwords by incorporating capital letters, numbers, and special characters, and using more than six characters

Don’t click on unverified links

Do not open unsolicited emails or click on any links or attachments in an email until you verify its authenticity with the sender. Do not click on any links from unverified websites or downloads from unverified pop-up messages. It is a common phishing practice to send an email that looks legitimate but contains infected files or directs the user to an unsafe website

(Nitin Surve is CTO, TechProcess Payment Services Ltd. Views expressed here are of the author and CyberMedia does not necessarily endorse them.)

cyber-security cashless cyber-attacks cyber-crime digital-wallet