Do's and dont's of transacting online

The spread of online transactions has brought along unscrupulous entities to defraud people on the web. At times such attempts result into monetary loss. Here are some precautions one should practice while transacting online.

1. Use updated firewall,
   antivirus and antispyware softwares on your computer.
2. Encrypt the wireless connections used at home
3. Create strong passwords which is tough to guess. Usually people use their date of birth, surname, place of residence etc. in passwords. Try to avoid those. Experts say passwords should have upper and lower case letters, numbers, special characters etc
4. Have different passwords for different types of online transactions. This way even if one of the passwords is compromised, others would probably be safe.
5. Protect your passwords and online PINs and never share them with others over in phone, SMS, social media platforms etc.
6. While transacting online, avoid clicking on a link to go to your desired website. Instead find the web address and go to the page. Often phising attempts are made to steal sensitive information through links in emails, SMSes, pop-up ads etc.
7. Never use a shared computer for any type of financial transactions. Always avoid a cyber cafe, a public wifi system etc. Always prefer to financial transactions from your home computer.
8. Always be careful about emails asking for confidential financial information.(The government, Sebi, RBI and other regulators never ask for password, card numbers etc.