As an e-commerce entrepreneur, nothing makes you happier than multitudes people shopping online during the holiday season— except perhaps having them all shop on your site. And although the holidays are festive and fun, don’t let security take a holiday. The folks at eSecurityPlanet.com have 10 security tips to keep your business — and even your home network — safe all year ‘round.

Cyber-safety shouldn’t take a break when heading home for the holidays. Between free time, new toys, and family travel, year-end festivities pose plenty of opportunity for on-line compromise. So stay safe this holiday season by avoiding these ten pitfalls.

10) Malicious Season’s Greetings

December often brings an influx of e-mail greetings from distant family and friends, inviting recipients to “click here” to view an e-card, video or animation. Alas, not all such messages are sincere. While some are harmless hoax-mails, cyber-criminals have been known to disguise viruses and spyware as phony season’s greetings. So don’t let holiday spirit trump common sense; open all file attachments and URLs with care.

9) Phishing for Friends

From Facebook to Twitter, many users will use holiday down time to catch up on social networking. Unfortunately, social networking sites have become a fast-growing vector for phishing — especially targeted phishing attacks. Was that friend invitation really sent by your old colleague Joe? Think twice before clicking — and never ever give out personal data to new “friends” that you don’t really know.

Read the complete holiday security story

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