We did all of my son�s back to school shopping in less than an hour this year, with no checkout lines and no fighting for parking spaces. We did it all online, and everything showed up at our door the next day.
Increasingly, I find myself shopping online because it really is easier. I can find better prices on a better selection of goods, and never have to deal with crowds or surly sales clerks.
When is the last time you tried to buy a new water filter for your refrigerator? How about a new set of replacement cleats for your baseball shoes or replace a broken part for your old vacuum cleaners� cord wrap? These are examples of very hard to find items that I have recently purchased in just seconds using the internet. Routinely now, I�ll buy books, clothes, and even groceries online, when the need is not urgent for an immediate gratification. In nearly all cases, the price, including shipping, is less than I would pay in person. If not, then when I factor in my time, it saves me immensely.
However, there are security questions you may have
in this world of criminals hacking and cracking.
It seems a week doesn't go by without some new
virus or security warning related to your home computer, right?
Everyone is concerned about protecting their
privacy. Well in 1999, Scott McNealy, the CEO of Sun
Microsystems had this about privacy... "You have zero privacy anyway; get
over it". (Click
here for
full story) Not exactly subtle, but I've got to agree.
While he has backtracked a
bit due to the uproar this caused, the fact is that privacy has gotten more precious.
Some people say they are hesitant to type in their credit card number over the internet for fear of misuse. Yet,
these same people seem to think nothing of handing their credit card to a
complete stranger at a restaurant or gas station, where the person disappears
for several minutes with their card. Without debating the evils of the
technologically advanced society, I choose to concede certain freedoms for the
sake of convenience, okay?
There are still some common sense defenses you
should take. Nearly all major online retailers offer secure shopping.
There are nearly always security precautions in place to prevent your credit card
numbers from being intercepted. Smaller internet stores can be set up
without using security though, so look for only secure sites. You won't have to
look hard. Sites that are secure, say so. If you can't find a logo, or link to
the security certificate, then shop elsewhere. If you feel better, shop at
stores that are "bricks and clicks", that is, a website you could drive to if
you wanted to.
Am I suggesting that you actually read the
security and privacy policies that are posted on those sights? Oh sure. And be
sure you read every single word on your next home refinance agreement too. It is
worth glancing at though, if you care about that stuff.
On my website
here I have lots of �affiliates� of mine that all offer 100% secure online shopping. I recommend that my customers shop at them, and I feel comfortable in doing so because they use systems that are constantly evolving
to be better, and more secure. (Shameless plug, huh?)
In the lower right hand corner of your web browser while shopping, you may see a little lock icon and a globe icon, and the word Internet.
(If you don�t see it, go to view � "status" bar*** in the pulldown menu)
On a secure site, when you type in your credit card number, you will see that icon appear to be closed, or �locked�. If the icon appears open, or unlocked, then it�s not secure, and I wouldn�t recommend typing in any credit card information.
It�s also a good idea to read the privacy and security policies too of any website you choose to shop at. (I never do, but then I�m just not too worried about it.)
Most are clearly displayed in universal legalese, and many come right out and say they�ll use and sell your e-mail address to anyone they like.
Another precaution has to do with your private e-mail address. Keep it private!
Your e-mailbox is probably overflowing with junk mail already, so the last thing you want to do is to give your only e-mail address to a company who is selling you something. This will no doubt add you to their e-mail list, as well as to any lists maintained by their subsidiary companies. Additionally, your e-mail address may be given or sold to other marketers, who could bombard you with offers from here to eternity.
The way I protect myself from this sort of privacy intrusion is to set up a free e-mail address that I use exclusively for online shopping, special offers, promotions, contests, etc. This keeps my real e-mail address relatively traffic free, unless I give it to someone.
There are a number of different free services, like Yahoo, Juno, IWon, Mail.com and lots of others too. I recommend (and use) Hotmail though for three reasons�
First of all, Hotmail is owned by Microsoft. To me that means the probability of its continued existence is pretty good. You don�t want your mail service to go out of business, and Microsoft is likely not going anywhere.
Second, the web interface can be accessed from any computer in the world, so you can check your Hotmail form wherever you may be.
Finally, Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, and other mail programs can be configured to work easily with Hotmail (as well as with some of the others), making the standard web interface completely optional.
Signing up is easy. Just go to
http://www.hotmail.com and sign up for a new account.
Choose an e-mail address that will be easy for you to remember, like [email protected] and you'll pick a password. That's it. You can even
set up Outlook or Outlook Express to retrieve your Hotmail too, so you barely
know it's a different account. (For directions on how to do that, go
here)
You�ll be getting a �Microsoft .net passport� too.
Don't ask, just accept it. Haha!
No really, I'll be writing more about .net and Passport in the coming
months, but for now, I�ll say it will facilitate easier online purchasing,
provide you with better Internet security and mainly, lots more convenience
features in the years to come.
After that, you'll have a junk mail address to use. You�ll be able to sign up for anything you want online, knowing that if you get added to a junk mail list, that�s okay! You can even choose to add multiple
junk mail accounts.
There�s no limit, except to what you can remember the user names and passwords
for.
Speaking of passwords, they are becoming more and
more important.
You might have a username and password you have
enter just to log onto Windows.
You most definitely have another username and
password for your ISP connection.
You also have a username and password for each
e-mail address you check for mail.
You may "belong" to any number of websites
offering membership which
all require a username and password, such as
hotmail, yahoo, or any of 1000 other portals.
Sometimes, in fact, usually, these usernames and
passwords end up saved on your system, and you seldom type them in. That's fine.
I absolutely HATE having to set up a new account somewhere because I've
forgotten my password, so I tend to use the same couple. I think that's okay
too. But I also think it's important to choose your password based on how secure
you think it needs to be. Your username doesn't matter, but the password does.
For junk mail, the same one or two passwords I've
used since 1992 is more than adequate.
My medium password security? The same one or
two I've used since I came up with "better" ones in 1999 are fine.
But for a bank account, or financial software,
financial institutions, etc. a password needs to be more unique.
These passwords would be for the sites that usually do not allow
you the option to "remember your password" the first time you visit them.
For me, a simple phrase with letters
and numbers, has worked the best. I picked one sentence, and that's my top level
secret password. By using the first letter of each word, even using
capitalization, I pretty much have an "uncrackable" password, and I won't forget
it. For example, Iwbi1961 (I was born
in 1961). Wh2kaadnR could be (We have 2
kids and a dog named Rover). Tell your spouse,
put it in your will, but
never share it with anyone for any reason.
After you get your secondary e-mail address, mess up your hair, grab a cup of coffee or a beer, and go do some shopping in your bathrobe from the comfort of your chair. There�s no substitute for saving your most precious commodity�your time.
***RE: Status bar ***- If you have Windows XP, and you
SWEAR the status bar just goes away sometimes for no reason, and no matter what
you do, you can't figure out why, then....
Sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about.
That doesn't happen. It must be your imagination!
