Online Safety During Holiday

image courtesy of credit.com blog

The long Christmas break, plus the stress brought about by the season makes us prone to security risks, therefore, we have to safeguard at least these two areas:

1. Kids Online Safety
2. Online Shopping Safety

KIDS ONLINE SAFETY

The long vacation provides opportunity for kids to spend more time on the web, while we stress ourselves with work deadlines [December is the busiest of all months in the office] , shopping, noche buena and medja noche preparations, and itinerary to visit immediate relatives and in-laws. Here are a few tips to follow:

1. Make sure the parental control of your computer is in place. you can use this tutorial video to set up the parental control of  your Apple computer, otherwise, follow this   instruction to set up Norton Online Family Safety if you are using Windows XP and below [Vista and Windows 7 has built in Parental Control].
2. As an additional safety, use Open DNS to secure your network/router and machine
3. If you are a windows user, make sure your anti-virus is up to date.
4. Take time to talk with your kids and discuss about the risks and give safety guidelines when playing online games or social networking.

my son checking out the web as soon as we arrived in Baguio

ONLINE SHOPPING SAFETY

Online shopping is a convenient alternative to traditional shopping. No more standing in long lines at the cashier or driving around to find a parking space. Today, with the growing internet users in PH, with the simple click of a button, nearly any product can be purchased online.

As Pinoy online users increase, so are scammers. In order to ensure a safe online shopping experience, you can follow the safety tips listed below.

• Device Security –  keep your anti-virus software, browser and operating system up-to-date to secure your personal information.
• Click only when sure – don’t believe emails that ask for your personal info,  password, user name or credit card number.
• Get the best deal –  Instead of purchasing the first product you find, take more time  browsing. Check shipping and handling fees too because some online stores make a killing out of this
• Check the return policy – avoid unnecessary stress resulting from post sales arguments.
• Check the warranty – find out who gives the warranty and the availments process.
• Use credit card – When making an online purchase, a credit card is better than debit card. Many companies offer an extra level of protection guarding against a fraudulent charge or dispute.
• “httpS” – check if the http ends with “s”. The added “s” meant additional security.
• Meet instead of money transfer- if buying direct from a stranger courtesy of Multiply, Sulit, etc., better to meet in a public place to close the transaction.

And most importantly, let us not forget the reason for the season, the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, in Him, there is peace and safety.