Results tagged “ad-aware” from Birmingham Mail - Technobabble

ACCORDING to reports fraud on the internet is a much bigger problem than previously thought.

Bank industry figures published earlier this year show "card not present" losses for internet, phone and mail order crime were £290.5 million last year.

But a BBC News investigation found that £500 million of fraud took place when failed attempts were taken into account.

Often the fraudsters are able to hack into the websites of smaller online retailers, and get card details direct when someone pays.

It certainly doesn't necessarily make you feel all that secure when buying online - but I don't feel necessarily put off - after all the internet provides a great tool for shopping, allowing instant comparisons and many bargains.

Thankfully I haven't, as yet, had any problems, but I reckon there are a few rules which at least make it less likely to happen.

I generally only buy from the bigger, more established companies. Also check if they have a contact phone number - it's normally a good sign if they do.

Home computer security need not be that expensive or daunting - although it's best to have an overlapping system.

I have a number of anti-virus and spyware programs running - all of them free. You don't have to pay out - for example the AVG free edition is almost identical to the paid-for version. I also use ad-aware and spybot.

So there you have it - don't necessarily be too afraid - it might happen, but if you take precautions it will lessen the likelihood.

If anyone has any tips or experiences, feel free to post a comment.