Tips for Online Holiday Shoppers
Shopping online this holiday season could leave you with your identity stolen or at least an expensive surprise when a thief charges a ticket to India or Dubai on your credit card. Swearing off online shopping isn’t necessary, though. You just need some simple steps to protect yourself from online fraud, which ticks up this time of year as more people shop.

So here are a few common-sense tips to make your online shopping a little safer:

Strong passwords and phrases
Using a hack-free password may sound elementary. Many people, however, continue to use passwords that are too easy for attackers to figure out. The most popular passwords in 2014 were “123456,” “password” and “12345.” Guessing those requires no knowledge on the part of the hacker.

Beware of free Wi-Fi
Sometimes you’re sitting in the coffee shop, and you think, “Now would be a good time to get that gift for someone.” Don’t do it. Unsecured Wi-Fi networks are vulnerable to people listening in. A fraudster can just let his or her computer gather up all the data flying around the room, and sort out the usernames and passwords later. If you’re going to shop online, do it from a password-protected network.

Don’t be phish bait
Most people think they aren’t vulnerable to phishing scams since they’d never get fooled into believing some Asian prince needs their help to move money. But sometimes an email can look like it’s from a trusted company or bank. Many people don’t check before they click the links, or they send back whatever information the institution asks for without first requesting more detail. Sometimes you get an email that says ‘we’d like to expedite something, click here! My advice…don’t click!

False friends
Scammers often take advantage of the clumsy typing skills of the average person, or the fact that few people pay close attention to the Web address of a site they are shopping on. If you see an email or are directed to a website where the Web address looks close, but doesn’t match, then it’s likely a fraud, and your information could be at risk.

Look for the lock
On browsers such as Firefox and Safari, there’s a small lock icon next to the site address, and the “https” (the S stands for secure) on the address bar. The lock shows whether the connection to the site is encrypted. If you don’t see the lock, it’s probably not a good idea to send any credit card information over that link.

Credit cards, not debit cards
Sometimes it may seem like a good idea to use a debit card, because the money comes right out of an account and keeps you honest-no running up huge debts. However, credit and debit cards have different rules. Generally, it’s easier to get your money back (called a charge-back) from a credit card if you get scammed and a thief uses the card.

Check your statements
Checking your bank statements more often is never a bad idea, but doing so during the shopping season is even more important. That way, it’s easier to spot transactions that aren’t yours. This is a good way to guard against the fraud that happens when thieves buy blocks of credit card numbers online, because the only way to know if yours is among them is when it is used. This way you’d know when that happens and can call the credit card issuer right away.

Prepare your phone
Many mobile devices have passwords stored in the apps that allow for in-app purchases. So it’s a good idea to opt in to services that let you wipe your phone remotely. That way, you can delete any information you don’t want left out in the open.

Google Eyes ‘Needle-Free Blood Draw’
Google is pursuing a new way to draw blood and help diabetes patient’s measure glucose levels.
The so-called “Needle-Free Blood Draw” would send an “abrupt surge” of pressurized gas into a barrel connected to the skin. From there, a micro-particle travels at high speed and penetrates the skin. A small amount of blood resulting from that is then sucked up through the negative pressure barrel, allowing users to determine their blood sugar levels.
While patented technology does not always result in actual products, Google has been working on a new way to determine diabetes patients’ blood sugar levels with the help of smart contact lenses. Google is also working on a cloud-based platform that monitors glucose levels.
Indeed, the entire technology industry is taking greater interest in health. Apple, for instance, has partnered with major researchers for its own Health-Kit platform aimed at creating new ways to monitor health-related information through its devices.

Q & A of the week:
What is encryption?
Encryption is the most effective way to achieve data security. To read an encrypted file, you must have access to a secret key or password that enables you to decrypt it. Unencrypted data is called plain text; encrypted data is referred to as cipher text.