(Redmond, WA, Tuesday, December 4, 2018) – You don’t have to be tech savvy or up on the latest cybersecurity trends to keep yourself and loved ones safe this holiday season while shopping online. Microsoft is sharing some online safety tips to help keep your personal and financial information out of cyber thieves’ reach.

• Avoid phishing scams.  Don’t risk clicking on unfamiliar links and carefully review notifications from banks to track potential damage to your accounts during the holiday season. Personalized emails that appear to be from a credit company can trigger an urgent need to act. If the email and link look the slightest bit suspicious, go directly to the website to check the status.
• Back up your data. To better safeguard your files, use a cloud storage source like Microsoft’s One Drive to back-up to protect your data against ransomware attacks. Microsoft follows a set of guidelines, requirements, and processes for delivering rigorous levels of engineering, legal, and compliance support for its cloud services.
• Be careful when using insecure Wi-Fi networks. Research found that one in five consumers make online purchases over insecure Wi-Fi networks. If you are using public WiFi networks, make sure your connection is encrypted and secure by looking out for the “lock” icon in the top left of the address bar and always double check that the address you are navigating to is what you expected. Many modern devices, like the ASUS NovaGo, now feature LTE built-in, which – when enabled with a data plan – offers up a more secure experience for your online holiday shopping.
• Don’t rely on passwords alone. Use the Microsoft Authenticator app for managing your Manage Service Account logins and Windows Hello  for easy and secure sign in to your Windows 10 device. They let you use your face/fingerprint/iris to quickly and safely log in across devices, apps and browsers without having to remember passwords. Did you know that with a Microsoft Account, you can securely and automatically sign in to other Microsoft cloud-based applications including Bing, MSN, Cortana, and Outlook.com among others.
• Keep software current. Run a modern operating system, like Windows 10, with the latest security and feature updates, in tandem with built-in anti-virus protection, such as Windows Defender Antivirus.

Use devices with integrated privacy screens like the button you can find on the HP EliteBook x360 and HP Spectre x360 keyboards that instantly makes your screen private, so those sitting near you cannot see it. If your device doesn’t come with one built-in, check out the Microsoft Store to purchase or another retailer.