Online purchases have become the norm for some of us. Our biggest concern is the safety of our online payments as we shop for the best deals on products such as computers, electronics, jewelry, clothing and a countless other products.

We love the Internet shopping because it allows us the convenience and the ability to comparison shop with ease.

Most of us know to look for the indicators that let us know we're in a secure site and that our financial transactions are safe. If your teenager or grandmother is in the process of learning to use the computer, it would be well to go over the safety precautions with them.

What you should see in your browser is the hyper-link symbol "https://." The "s" signifies that you're in a secure server. Look down to the right hand corner of the website, you'll also see a small lock icon.

Scroll to the bottom of the page to view the sites SSL certificate.

Some common SSL certificates

Verizon
Thawte
DigiCert
SiteSafe
GoDaddy
QuickSSL

All of these indicators serve to let you know that your transaction is encrypted. You can proceed with your transaction.

Once you've finished the transaction, it's important to log out of the website. Leaving it without logging out can leave footprints for intruders. Print out confirmations and transactions for your own records even if the institution sends a confirmation email.

What does it mean when you get a message telling you, "you are about to leave a secure Internet connection?" It's an informational message to alert you. Most of the time it's safe to ignore. If you're conducting a transaction, someone might be eavesdropping. Log out and log back in and go to the help desk.

Consider a firewall as your first line of defense. Norton and other retailers sell them online, but there are also very good free firewalls on the Internet.

Zone Alarm is one of the better-known free firewalls. It interrupts you when someone attempts to access your computer and that can be annoying, but more importantly it does the job by informing you of danger.

Avoid pitfalls

*Never give your password to anyone else.
*When accessing the Internet away from home, like Starbucks, make sure you have a secure connection.
*Always take time to look for security symbols when conducting financial transactions.

The Internet is here to stay, until new technology takes its place, and Internet crime is thriving. Enjoy your experience by practicing safe surfing and safe business transactions. To learn more about security features and wifi click on the link below.

http://lifehacker.com/software /wifi/

Learn more about this author, Mona Gallagher.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

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