How to protect yourself and your wallet while shopping on the net

There is tens of thousands of people around the world everyday lose money by shopping online, it’s become a way of life. If it looks or sounds too good to be true, it normally is!

Last week I heard from a friend of mine, they had ordered concert tickets a few months ago to see Pink at Hamden Park in Glasgow for £120+. They had ordered the tickets from a company called “Most Wanted Tickets”. (Sounds dodgy already!)

On the day of the concert, the tickets had still not arrived, the company phone number was ringing out and the website was down, they had done a runner! Sadly, my friend and her mates never got to see Pink in concert and were sorely disappointed; likely they had paid using a credit card and were able to get a full refund.

First and foremost, I always do my research, if I am buying something, I check out comments and reveiws from other customers; too many poor comments, I stay well away. I use Paypal, Google Checkout or my Credit Card. Use online companies you know or have heard about, like Ticket Master, Ebuyer, Argos.

Just because you have typed something into Google and it comes top of the Google search listing, doesn’t mean it’s the most popular and safest website to order or buy things. Companies pay to get a top listing to Google! A one off payment can see a company website sit at the top of Google for months if not years; Google doesn’t always work on how many hits a website gets, it also depends on how much a company is willing to pay to get a top listing.

I run the program on all my computers, give you that extra protection and it free: http://www.mywot.com/

Always do your research when shopping on line.... always! Keep your wits about you if you’re unsure, ask someone who shopping online or someone you know (and trust). It’s a bit like buying a second hand car; it may look nice and shiny on the outside but you might be in for a shock if you pop open the bonnet!

The world of online shopping is an ever-evolving one, and it can get confusing sometimes. For instance, if you make online purchases from the likes of eBay, Amazon, iTunes or Dell, you’ll have the option of opening a PayPal account and making your payment through PayPal. Is that the route you should take?

Here’s another scenario: If you shop on, say, Amazon.com, you can buy from third-party sellers who have nothing to do with Amazon.com. This can be fabulous for you as a consumer, but it also can create the need for you to be hyper-alert about protecting your information.

The following tips can help you navigate the world of online shopping and enjoy minimal hassles at the same time.

1. Understand how PayPal works. When you open a PayPal account, you authorize PayPal to take money out of your bank account or charge online purchases to your credit card. This can be a nice service if you feel uneasy about sharing your credit-card information with a wide variety of online merchants. Merchants never see your personal information; they just receive money from PayPal, an eBay company.

2. Decide how you want to pay. PayPal’s default manoeuvre is to withdraw money straight from your bank account rather than charge purchases to your credit card. If you want to pay with your credit card, you must remember to adjust the payment setting by clicking the “More Funding Options” link before you pay.

3. It’s better to use your credit card. That way you’ll be able to dispute charges and potentially get them reversed if anything goes awry. Such disputes will be much harder to resolve if the money has already been taken out of your account.

There are currently a vast number of victims of online ticket scams.

1. First contact your bank or Credit Card Company. If you paid on credit card, you should get a refund. But even if you used a debit card, you might find your account has fraud protection.

2. Check your home insurance. Some have clauses covering fraud protection.

3. Speak to Visa or MasterCard, whichever firm issued your card. They might be able to help.

4. Report the matter to the police. Don't let them tell you it is a "civil matter", it's not.

5. Once you have a crime reference number from the police, complain to Consumer direct on 08454 04 05 06.

The software we use on our PCs

It is really amazing sometimes when I am presented with a computer or laptop with software issues or processor speed issues. A lot of the time it’s because other software is running in the background that bogs down the processor.

A lot of these issues are sometimes due to your antivirus; they start up to do a scan and just drags your computer down to a snail’s pace.

A good few computers have graced Edenside over the years and nothing really surprises me. I have one main desktop PC that’s on 24-7 and laptop for day to day stuff. If computers are on all the time and using them, you must make sure your PC is fully bolted down with security and use a good antivirus. Edenside Computers test many of most popular software/ security applications out there and I thought that the list below would help you make the correct choices when deciding what a safe bet is when it comes to security. I currently use all the software below on all Edenside Computers, if I recommend something, I normally use it.

Here is the list of recommendations to help protect yourself and your computer:

1) Firewall: Microsoft has a software firewall built in to its operating system so as long as you keep your Microsoft security updated, you’re protected. There are 2 different firewalls in use here, the Microsoft firewall and also a hardware firewall, built in to your broadband router. These firewalls are automatically on by default and I use both. Some network guys say that you should shut off the Microsoft firewall to stop any issues, but I have never had any.

2) Antivirus: Interesting topic this one, there is so many antiviruses out there, but I have one very good antivirus that is completely free and worth a try. PLEASE NOTE: Do not have two antiviruses installed in your computer at the same time, they can conflict and cause operational issues! I recommend AVG Free. http://download.cnet.com/AVG-Anti-Virus-Free-Edition/3000-2239_4-10320142.html?part=dl-10044820&subj=dl&tag=button&cdlPid=11014801

We have found that Norton and McAfee tend to bog your processor down and there is a few other issues we don’t use these two but we don’t want to get done for slander!

3) Spyware remover: Recommend you use Spybot Search & Destroy. http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

4) Malware: We use Malware bytes Antimalware Remover; also helps prevent Scare ware issues. http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php

5) Scareware prevention: Big issue on the internet, we have documented this so often, so the following programs should help prevent it. OpenDNS, Ad Blocker, Web of Trust (just type the program names into Google and download)

6) Peerblock: PeerBlock blocks "known bad" computers from accessing yours, and vice versa. Depending on the lists you have it set up to use, you can block governments, corporations, machines flagged for anti-p2p activates, even entire countries! Whether you're sharing files with Bittorrent or just surfing the web, PeerBlock can help protect you from the bad guys. http://www.peerblock.com/

7) As for the Internet, if you want a fast access from page to page use Google Chrome, we have found Internet Explorer a low compared to Google Chrome http://www.google.com/chrome

Edenside Computers June Newsletter

Edenside Computers June newsletter

Hi Folks,

This month we have been looking into recycling, recycling laptops that is. As a household, people through a lot of useable items out in the bin and laptops are one of these items, to find out the stats: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6222288.stm . Laptops are dumped into wheelie bins and skips just because they have outdone their usefulness or they are damaged. Edenside Computers are now accepting old, worn or broken laptops for recycling. We will uplift the laptop from you free of charge; just contact us to arrange collection. For more information: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Edenside-Computers/391229034125?v=wall&ref=ts

Here is some more news, reveiws and links you may find useful:

· Is your Antivirus due to expire? Just about to dip into your pocket to pay for another year subscription ? Well save your money! There is a few very good FREE Antivirus programs out there that do exactly the same as the “paid for” ones. We have used AVG Free for years http://free.avg.com/gb-en/download-avg-anti-virus-free and is still very good, these days we find its starting to slow the PC down. The main one we are currently using is Avast http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download . This is a bit lighter, its a smaller program and quietly scans your computer without slowing it down. If you want something simple and free try one of them.

· IMPORTANT: Ever received an email from someone who didn’t actually send it? This happened to us last month, someone called us, but we didn’t send it out. Someone out there has a virus/spyware issue! Our emails and attachments are scanned automatically before they are sent out; the problem arises when the email reaches an infected computer. http://secure.nd.edu/faqs/returned_unsent_emails.shtml Please ensure your PC has been scanned with Spyware/Antivirus software everyday you use your PC. We are not the only people to have these issues; millions of people who use emails have similar problems, our own computer systems as updated and scanned everyday for viruses, malware, etc. A virus in a computer can spread like the common cold and we can’t stress it enough the importance of making sure your PC is clean, protected and security/virus software is up to date. Do a free, live Spyware/Virus check on your PC: http://housecall.trendmicro.com/uk/

· Phone risks under scrutiny http://www.ukcosmos.org/health.html

· EU considers creating agency to tackle cybercrime http://www.actionfraud.org.uk/home

· Protect your privacy online http://www.getsafeonline.org/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=1132

· BT and Virgin attack Government plans to curb ilegal downloads: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/6088949/BT-and-Virgin-Media-attack-Government-plans-to-curb-illegal-downloading.html

· Facebook warning, think before you click! More info below: http://www.sophos.com/blogs/gc/g/2010/05/15/sexiest-video-facebook-users-hit-candid-camera-attack/

· Another Facebook privacy problem: http://www.quitfacebookday.com/

· Now for a little shock on personnal data security: http://www.flixxy.com/copy-machines-security-risk.htm

· To read back issues of Edenside Computers Newsletters:

http://edensidenewsletter.blogspot.com/

Safe Surfing

Edenside Computers