Online Shopping Tips for the Holidays from Lewis University Cyber Security Expert

Online shopping becomes more popular by the day. According to CPA Practice Advisor, 50 percent of holiday gifts were purchased online in 2016 compared to 43 percent in stores. This holiday season will likely see the online swing intensify, says Dr. Ray Klump, professor and director of the Master of Information Security program at Lewis University.

While shopping online is easily accessible, it comes with many risks.

Here are some ways to stay safe with shopping online:

• Freeze your credit. This is particularly important in the wake of the Equifax brief.
• Try to limit purchases to sites that have developed a reputation for providing a secure buying experience.
• Use a different password for every site you visit.
• Do not click on links in your email. Don’t purchase anything from a public computer.
• Never save passwords in your browser.
• If you shop on the go, use your cellular data instead of a place’s open Wi-Fi.
• Update your anti-malware software.

Visit http://www.lewisu.edu/experts/wordpress/index.php/faculty-experts/dr-ray-klump/ for more information about Dr. Ray Klump.

Visit http://www.lewisu.edu/experts/wordpress/index.php/author/klumpra/ to read his blogs about computer security, computer science and math.

Visit http://www.lewisu.edu/academics/comsci/ and http://cs.lewisu.edu for more information about the Computer Science program at Lewis University.