If you're shopping online, I'm pretty sure you would like your private data to remaine, well... private. And not only that, various sites simply don't have a very user-friendly interface. You can waste a lot of time on them, pay for products you don't want in order to get what you want etc. 

 

Therefore, here are a few aspects which will let you know that a website is not exactly safe to shop from. 

 

Non-secured. Every site that requires you to register and submit your credit card data, should have that particular page secured. In other words, the page where you submit your data should have a Secure Socket Layer (SSL). The simplest way to tell if the page is secured, is to look at the beginning of the link. It should begin with "HTTPS://" instead of HTTP://, and there should be a lock icon next to it. A website that does not encrypt the submitted data is not safe. Your submission can easily be intercepted.

 

The site is filled up with pop-ups. Of course, this problem can be solved with a pop-up killer, but as a general idea, a respectable website is not infested with pop-ups. If you're going to surf on a major online store such as Amazon, or on an auctions site like MadBid or eBay, you won't see any pop-ups of any kind. Many of these pop-ups can also contain viruses, or any other malware, or simply can be very annoying. 

 

Sites that require registration just to look around. A site that requires you to register, or even submit your credit card data from the start, without even letting you view the homepage, is also a site to stay away from. Even if the registration doesn't cost anything, why would you submit any data to a site that wants to know you first before you know what it contains? That's very fishy. It's like going to a grocery store and be asked for your ID, social security number and whether you have money on you or not, at the door, before you even enter. It's simply outrageous, sites like this should be avoided.

 

Comments with links. Now, there's nothing wrong with a site where visitors can comment and change opinions. Even more, a site that allows you to submit a review and comment to a review is even better. However, the comment section of a website should not turn into a spam field, full of thousands of links to various sites. If a site has comment sections full of spam links, there's a sign the site isn't secured enough. So, don't buy anything from there. 

 

Last but not least, make sure you have an antivirus installed in your computer. This way you minimize the chances of getting spyware and viruses. And whatever you do, never use a public computer, or someone else's computer to purchase items online.