It's Cyber Monday — open season for online shopping. If you're one of the 68.8 million people expected to shop online this season, there are some things you need to do to protect yourself.
Sometimes, even using a different computer can compromise your security. Avoid using a computer that your teens or kids use to play video games or chat with their friends. Often those machines have a ton of spyware on the hard drive. And an infected computer system will undermine every other attempt you make to make secure purchases.
You should also avoid using public computers — like the ones at the library — to make your purchases.
There are lots of fakers out there trying to take advantage of you, including:
Fake Holiday eCards
If you don't recognize the sender of an electronic greeting card, delete it. Last holiday season, there was a worm masked as Hallmark e-cards, according to McAfee Labs.
"Luxury" Holiday Jewelry
These holiday campaigns lure shoppers to malware-ridden sites offering "discounted" luxury gifts from Cartier, Gucci and Tag Heuer. These scam artists even use fraudulent logos of the Better Business Bureau to trick shoppers into buying products they never receive.
Bogus Christmas Carol Songs
In this scam, hackers create fake holiday-related Web sites for people searching for a holiday ringtone or wallpaper. But if you download a song, it could infect your computer with spyware or adware.
