Buying on internet security

Here are five top tips to stay safe and secure. Online shopping is big business these days, with more and more consumers across the world turning to the world wide web to purchase goods. This is especially the case in countries where ecommerce is really taking hold over the way people shop. Needless to say, this has caught the attention of cybercriminals who are keen to exploit individuals benefitting from the convenience, affordability and choice that makes the internet such a compelling place to be.

With that in mind and conscious that the Christmas season is about to get underway, we have put together five top tips on how to stay safe and secure when shopping online. Sticking with popular brands is as good as any advice when shopping online. However, be careful, as fraudsters often create fake and professional looking websites to lure in unsuspecting victims. Their efforts can be quite remarkable, as researchers at Google and the University of San Diego found last year.

They observed how high-quality phishing sites are so effective that they have a 45 percent success rate at extracting data. For average-looking fakes, that figure drops down to 14 percent. As a general rule, credit cards, in comparison to debit cards, offer consumers additional protection when shopping online.

The main advantage of the latter is that a credit card account is in no way linked to whatever funds you actually own. Likewise, using secure online payment services, like that offered by PayPal, are advisable.

The advantage with these providers is that they act as a kind of middle man, whereby you deliver payment to them — i. PayPal — and they then pass this onto the retailer. Your bank details always remain unseen. One other cool thing about this extension is that it helps you find the best shopping deals online.

Using the VPN, I was able to browse the web, stream video, and download files with minimal or no speed loss — which is pretty great for a bundled VPN. Avira has a lightweight cloud-based antivirus engine with perfect detection rates as well as excellent web protection. Avira Prime also has a VPN, a password manager, a game booster, system tune-up, and more.

Learn More — Avira Prime. Panda Dome Complete has a good malware scanner, an easy-to-use interface, and more additional features than most competitors. Panda Dome Complete offers good malware protection and is one of the most feature-rich internet security suites on the market — although not all of its extra features are that good.

Panda detected most of my test malware, and I was impressed with its intuitive interface and unique features like the Rescue Kit.

Learn More — Panda Dome Complete. Kaspersky also has comprehensive parental controls, a good password manager, and a solid VPN — although the VPN is pretty limited. While Kaspersky offers good protection, I think all of its plans are a little bit too expensive when compared to competitors with a similar amount of features.

All Kaspersky purchases come with a risk-free day free guarantee. Learn More — Kaspersky Total Security. Malwarebytes Premium is an easy-to-use internet security suite for users looking for malware and web protection… and not much else. Malwarebytes also comes with a browser extension that prevents phishing attacks, blocks sites with malware including cryptojackers , and removes ads. Malwarebytes is a highly effective anti-malware program, but it lacks most of the additional features I want to see in an internet security suite.

The company offers a generous day money-back guarantee on both plans. Learn More — Malwarebytes Premium. Most of the products on this list are primarily intended for Windows although they all work well on Mac , so I decided to add one more that focuses on protecting Macs.

Intego has excellent real-time malware protection which blocked all of the Mac-specific malware samples I threw at it — including newer spyware samples that macOS antiviruses from competitors like Panda missed. I also really like the phishing detection feature, which blocked more suspicious sites in my tests than Safari or Chrome. Internet security is important because of the huge amount of valuable data most users keep online, and the increasing number of hackers targeting unprotected online accounts.

Without proper internet security protection , you could fall victim to one of these hacks, leaking banking info and credit card numbers, compromising social media accounts, and ultimately becoming a victim of identity theft and fraud.

Antivirus software protects against computer-based malware like viruses and trojans. Internet security software protects against network-based malware like spyware and ransomware. That said, today, many internet security suites like all on this list offer both an antivirus engine and internet security protection in the same product. Free internet security software usually comes with a couple of caveats. It either has severely limited functionality, major product flaws, notifications that prevent you from normally using your device, or a secret agenda like stealing your data.

That said, not all free security software is bad. Internet security protections from Google and Apple and Microsoft have come a long way, but none of them are even close to as good as those offered from major cybersecurity brands like Norton and Bitdefender.

Most antivirus software in offers far better protection than anything found in Google Chrome. Professional Reviews. Affiliate Commissions. Reviews Guidelines. Ben Martens Updated on: January 1, This article contains. Short on time?

Comes with a VPN, parental controls, secure storage, a password manager, and a lot more. Quick summary of the best internet security software of 1. McAfee Total Protection — Excellent antivirus with good internet security tools. BullGuard Premium Protection — Good antivirus great for gamers with online protections.