Building healthy browsing habits to ensure you’re safe shopping online

There’s been a tremendous increase in online shopping over the last three years, and e-commerce is now indispensable in global retail. While some customers have started to turn their focus toward brick-and-mortar stores, a significant proportion of the population would rather make purchases from the comfort of their homes. According to statistics, the only category of age that showed a slowdown in the online shopping trend from 2020 to 2022 is generation X. The age group of 25-34 years increased the demand for online shopping, with 87% of individuals this age shopping online in 2022, and the individuals in the age category of 16-25 showed a stagnant interest in this regard over the same period of two years. Overall, 75% Europeans made purchases online in 2022, compared to 74% in 2020. 

You’re probably among those who wouldn’t go to a store if the odds of finding the goods you’re looking for online were equal or greater. There are many times when it’s recommended to get up and put your hands on the merchandise you’re paying for, like when you are grocery shopping. It’s important to feel and see the product you are going to eat. But when it comes to electronics, clothing, and other types of products, it’s hard to deny online stores’ myriad advantages. 

Even if generally online shopping is safe, there are many fraudulent online stores you can stumble upon, and scams and adware risks to take into consideration. Acknowledging them is the first step to protecting yourself from data breaches, computer viruses, and other potential threats, so let’s throw light on the three most important aspects of online shopping. 

Telling a fake online store from a real one

Some fraudulent websites have URLs that resemble those of authentic websites – at least, at first sight! It can be tempting to enter your personal data like credit card numbers when you come across a once-in-a-lifetime deal. 

However, remember that when an offer sounds too good to be true, it often is. Usually, when you come across unsecure websites, the antivirus on your computer or smartphone warns you and blocks your access. There are many security risks, viruses, and hacking techniques, which is why security products like those you find on www.2gosoftware.co.uk are essential to ensuring safe online browsing. 

Take time to study the URL and look in the address bar to confirm that you’ve been sent to the intended page the moment you access the URL of the authentic website. Checking the URL yourself to ensure there are no typos is among the easiest things you can do, but it’s important if you have second thoughts about the legitimacy of the website you’ll purchase from. Scammers sometimes set up sites with URLs that have only one different letter from the original, real sites, hoping you’ll overlook this detail or mistype the URL. 

Preventing adware 

Adware is any software application in which unwanted advertisements are thrown on your display while a program is running. The ads can appear through pop-up windows or bars, and while they’re commonly designed for PCs, your smartphone can also be targeted for similar exploits. There are two types of adware – malicious and legitimate – but there’s a grey area between the two when the legitimate adware unwittingly causes vulnerabilities. 

Legitimate adware is downloaded with your consent when you download it voluntarily, waiting for something in return, like a discount or free software. On the other hand, malicious adware uses deceptive methods to get your consent and is often difficult to refuse. For instance, you can be bombarded with unwanted ads and find it challenging to opt out of unwanted third-party software. 

Some indications that your device is infected with adware include new and unwanted apps on your home’s screen, ads appearing in strange places, the browser running slowly or crashing, and new extensions, plugins, or toolbars appearing in your web browser. 

The easiest way to prevent and block adware is to use antivirus. It is designed to detect and remove most types of malware before they infect the rest of the files. The whole downloading and installing process is easy with 2GO software that ensures your device runs smoothly and malware-free. 

Some of the most common types of malicious adware that you can come across include the following three:

• Spyware – code that monitors and records your personal data and online browsing habits; 
• Potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) – potentially unwanted programmes like Trojans or worms that you can download accidentally;
• Man-in-the-middle attacks – these assaults redirect your traffic through the adware’s vendor system, making you believe that you and the communicating party are exchanging information securely, while an attacker is able to gather and manipulate it while you’re conversating.

Protecting from phishing methods 

In 2022, around 15 billion spam emails would be sent across the internet every day. Therefore, spam filters function at full capacity to ensure you don’t receive any malicious phishing emails. However, they can slip through, making it crucial to pay attention to the little details of the email to recognize the scam. 

Phishers might try to lure you into giving away your personal information in many ways. Still, the most common tactics you can encounter are emails claiming you’ve won a huge prize, phone calls from illegitimate companies, and fake websites that look like the login page. 

Acknowledging a problem is the first step to fighting back, so instead of browsing the internet carelessly, build healthy shopping habits like the following:

• Double-check every link 
• Change passwords regularly 
• Only download trusted attachments 
• Use different passwords for accounts
• Ignore requests for divulged passwords.

Final take 

Generally, shopping online is a safe activity. With common sense and the proper tools in place, you shouldn’t worry about falling prey to scams. However, for extra security, you can always invest in a powerful antivirus with a firewall to block malicious attacks and ensure it’s updated regularly.