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I want to discuss and give you some pointers as to how to do online shopping safely.
The time available with people for physical shopping has been decreasing day by day. At the same time, the product choices have been increasing requiring people to devote more time to shopping. People are continuously getting more busy and hence the time required for physical shopping has become quite taxing. The products and services available on the internet have been increasing at a tremendous rate. People, now, are getting more and more aware about internet shopping or online shopping.
There are lot of advantages to online shopping. Let us understand what is online shopping and how to do it.
Let me give you a few advantages of online shopping:
- No crowds or queues
- Substantial time savings
- No need to go out of the house. Shop in the comfort of your home.
- Easily compare product prices and quality from different retailers. Decide on the cheapest and the best.
- Assured of product availability as online stores have interface with their stock positions.
- Read unbiased third party reviews of products rather than listening to the hyped-up sales talk of store clerk about a specific product. You get to know the pros as well as the cons of a product through these third party reviews. This allows you to make informed decisions.
- No need to go to the Bank or the ATM to withdraw cash for your shopping.
You should be aware of the risks involved in online shopping and what precautions that you need to take.
- Ensure that the internet site that you are shopping is a trusted site and should have a highly regarded reputation. These are some of the things that you can check to ensure that it is a trusted site:
- Sites which are popular and having a good standing always display TrustE certificate on their home page. Sites with TrustE certificate are verified sites.
- Install a program like McAfee SiteAdvisor. It is free to download and install. Whenever you are surfing a web site, this program will warn you about sites which are suspect or not trust worthy.
- The site should have a Contact Us page and an About page clearly linking from the Home page. The website should have published the name of the website owner whether an individual or a company, the full postal address of the individual or the company preferably with their telephone contact and the contact email address.
- The website should have a privacy policy or privacy statement and a terms of use.
- Ensure that the site is a secure site. You will know that it is a secure site when the website address starts with https instead of http
- The payment processor for the website should again be a trusted name like PayPal, 2CheckOut, etc.
- It is better if the retailer or the vendor distributes his products through several trusted ePortals, like, ClickBank, PayDotCom, Commission Junction, LinkShare, Amazon, eBay, etc.
- Whenever you make an online purchase, before you close the browser, please take a printout of the receipt and also save the receipt on your hard disk. Also ensure that you have received a confirmation in your email. If you deal through payment processors like PayPal, 2CheckOut, etc, or ePortals as mentioned above, then they will mediate in case of a dispute. Also, getting a refund is much easier.
- Avoid making online purchases from an internet cafe, your office or any other public computer. Always do online shopping on your private computer which is not shared with an outside party.
- Always use strong passwords and not simple passwords.
In the United States alone, more than ten billion dollars are spent annually by people shopping online. You can actually make online shopping a joyous experience by taking these precautions.
I will again write in the next few days and we will continue to analyze more of the precautions that you need to take while doing online shopping to safeguard your interests.
You need to spend the time doing research on what you want in terms of products, its quality and price range and make buying online a part of your everyday shopping pattern. You can save lot of time, get to spend more time with your family at home, and also you cut down on costs.
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February 17, 2007 11:04 - Why Is Computer Training Essential?
It is absolutely essential that everyone undergo some form of computer training. The level of computer skills is not important. Some may be very proficient in it and some may not be as proficient in computers. This is the age of high technology and anyone not having the basic required skill set in computers will be a big loser.
My father was completely averse to computers. But, after constant and persistent goading, he has now started using email and some amount of Microsoft Word. I consider this a great beginning for him. Now, he has started realising the utility and importance of computer training and he has started asking how to learn Microsoft Excel because he feels that it will be useful for income tax preparation and reporting.
Once you make this beginning, you will realize that there is so much that you can do with a computer.
Let me list out some of the things that you can achieve with a computer and an internet connection:
- Shopping through Online Shopping Malls
Whether you want to purchase a computer hardware or software, electronic books, groceries, your dog food, any gift articles and even a car. In fact, anything can now be purchased through online or internet stores.- Online Banking
- Online Computer Training.
You do not need to go to an Institute or College anymore to learn about Computers.- Pay all your bills online in the comfort of your home, including telephone, electricity, water, insurance and other utility bills
- Book airline or railway tickets online. Even check-in and get your airline boarding passes issued on your printer.
- If you are planning on a vacation, you do not need to go to your travel agent anymore. You can plan and schedule your itinerary, book all your tickets, hotel reservations, sightseeing on the computer.
What I have mentioned above is only a few examples of what a computer training can do for you. Let me give a live example. I am giving you the link for the top rated Online Shopping Mall for eBooks, software, and other electronic products. Just browse through, use the search for searching any specific item that you had always wanted. Go to ClickBank Shopping Mall and see what an online shopping experience is all about.
There are, of course, a few pin pricks to using a computer. You must have heard people talking about virus, email spam, online identity theft, credit card fraud, etc. Of course, these things are real issues but most of these issues can be avoided by following certain simple rules while using your computer.
I will discuss various things in this blog including how to use your computer securely. So, keep watching these spaces. You could bookmark my site or you could add it to your RSS feed.
Happy Surfing and Happy Learning!
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