Wetware Solutions
free expert computer tips for everyday users

You may well ask what qualifies me to give tips on online shopping and Internet surfing. I can tell you I’ve owned a personal computer since there have been PCs, starting with an antique called a Kaypro II, which was very popular in the early 80’s. Because it had a keyboard that latched onto the built-in 8″ monochrome monitor like a cover at one end and had a handle at the other end, it was marketed as a kind of portable computer, even though it was the size of a desktop PC.

It had a huge amount of memory, 64K, and no hard drive. I had to save everything to 5 1/4″ floppies (which really were “floppy” magnetic disks). I still have a couple of those floppies. The Kaypro ended up in the recycling bin some time ago, way before we figured out that people will buy just about anything on eBay, especially museum pieces like that old Kaypro.

Incidentally, that PC got me my first job. At the interview, I discovered my would-be employer was president of a local Kaypro club, and he was delighted to find out I actually owned one. (I didn’t even know we had a club!) In the end, I had the Kaypro only a short while because my sister took it with her when she left for grad school. Soon after, I bought a Xerox 860, but I kept going to the Kaypro meetings awhile longer.

Those computers were just primers. Neither compared to my next purchase. My world changed when I bought my PAL 286 from Sears, which came with something called a modem, rated at 2600 baud (that’s slower than concrete sliding uphill, but back then everything was text-based, and it was a cool new toy, anyway). That 286 also came with a new online service called Prodigy which introduced me to a very early version of emailing and blissfully provided me with a cheaper way to keep in contact with my sister while she continued to work on her Ph.D. I’d hate to have seen our phone bill if it weren’t for Prodigy.

At the beginning of the 1990’s, the Internet was packaged for mass consumption when Tim Berners-Lee invented something called the World Wide Web. He launched the very first web site at http://info.cern.ch on August 6, 1991. By 1994, some banks started doing business online, the adult sites starting plugging their products (no pun intended), and Pizza Hut started taking online orders. By the end of 1994, Netscape 1.0 became available and added a terrific feature called SSL encryption to secure transactions.

Online shopping took off shortly after that, in particular with the launch of Amazon.Com in 1995. My sister was probably the 5th person to sign on as a member of Amazon.Com, and I piggy-backed off of her account until I realized she was getting email confirmations on all my birthday purchases for her. I opened my own account the next day.

So I came up through the ranks online and have used every service and browser available. From Prodigy on dial-up modems to AOL and Earthlink on DSL. From no browser to Netscape, Internet Explorer, Firefox and Opera.

Until recently, I worked in the legal profession and used the Internet extensively, on the office T1, for legal research and skip tracing (to find witnesses). In my down time from that, I used the Internet to learn about anything and everything that I find interesting: computers, special creative programs, digital sound mixing, and case modding (setting up unique case designs for my computer). I built the computer I’m using now and will likely build the next one.

I like this technology and would love to know more about it. It’s a process. The technology changes every day. Blink and something’s obsolete — which is why we all suffer from eye strain.

Today, I devote all my working hours to the Internet. I’d be the first to admit I don’t know everything there is to know about it. But when you’ve hung out in a neighborhood for over twenty years, you do pick up a few things along the way.

The stores are open! The best part about shopping on the Internet is that it’s open 24/7. That means I can shop when it’s convenient for me, even if that’s 1:00 in the morning, and I can do it in my pajamas. That’s good too. I also don’t waste gas, have to look for parking or stand in line. All good. There are many reputable vendors. Competition has increased so much that, to get my business, many offer free shipping. All very good . . . but is it safe?

As with so many things, we can surrendar to paranoia, or we can use a little caution and experience the benefits. Every day, people offer suggestions to improve the online shopping experience. I’m doing that now and also soliciting your good suggestions. The FTC has a number of consumer tips for online shoppers. I do a few additional things that make me feel safer shopping online:

• Above all, I never send credit card information by email. Even if the email is encrypted (which I think will soon become the norm), people’s habits are to leave email programs open, unattended and easily visible to others.
• On a vendor’s web site, I don’t enter payment information, unless I know I’m on a secured site. Being on a secured site, means the page is set to encrypt your information before it’s sent through the Internet. An icon will appear on your web browser to confirm you’ve arrived at a secured page. The different browsers use slightly different means of letting you know, but it’s usually a padlock icon. On Firefox, it appears both in the address bar at the top and on the status bar at the bottom; on Internet Explorer, the icon appears on the status bar at the bottom right; Netscape uses an open padlock for unsecured web pages and a closed padlock for secure pages, also placed on the status bar at the bottom right. I’m not sure about other browsers, like Opera or Safari. Maybe users of those browsers could chime in. Not all the pages on a particular web site are encrypted. Product pages won’t generally be encrypted. You just want to confirm that the page requiring you to put in payment information is secure.
• I don’t use a bank debit card, ever. Even if your bank protects against online fraud and unauthorized charges, why risk the account you pay your bills from? You’ll start bouncing checks if someone empties your account. Then, your utilities get cut off . . . no phone, no power, no internet. Terrible! Why risk it?
• I designate one or, at most, two cards for online shopping. I prefer to use my charge card for personal purchases and my business credit card for business purchases. It’s easier to keep tabs of my purchases this way, especially during the holidays when I shop the most. It also reduces the credit card information I put out there for vendors.
• I keep my email confirmations or receipts and then compare them to my statement to confirm my purchases. I’ll check my account online if I have that option so that I don’t have to wait for the paper statement.
• I try to do most of my online business with vendors I’ve had good experiences with for years: the top two being Amazon.Com for gifts and software, and Directron.Com for computer hardware and case modding.
• If I want to do business with vendors I’m not as familiar with, I’ll usually select the one that accepts Paypal because that means I don’t have to give my credit card information to an unknown business. That makes me more comfortable.
• On using Paypal, here’s one additional guideline. They require you get verified (add bank account information) in order to lift the spending limits imposed on unverified Paypal members. When you make a purchase after you’re verified, the system does default to your bank account as the first option payment so you always want to be sure to select the option for the credit card you want debited (unless you want the payment to come from your account.) When I needed to get verified for a big purchase I made a long time ago, I used a separate savings account, rather than my checking for the same reason I don’t use bank debit cards. I don’t want to ever use the account I pay my bills from.
• I try to be familiar with the vendors’ return policies in case an item arrives broken or is not what I ordered or need. I’ve seldom had to return anything; mostly it’s because I found I needed a different type of product. Amazon in particular has a good return policy which is simple to follow. Some other vendors do require a restocking fee. Almost always, you’ll pay the return shipping. I think Amazon and others will credit the return shipping if it’s their mistake. I don’t recall right now. Returns aren’t a big issue for me. If they are for you, by all means, know your vendor’s policy before you buy. This isn’t really a credit safety issue, but will ultimately help you achieve a more positive overall shopping experience.

That’s it for now on the caveats to online purchasing, except for one more word of caution. If you’re addicted to shopping, I understand it as an illness and I’m sorry in advance for this blog’s apparent encouragement. I actually see shopping as a necessary evil, that’s time consuming and potentially debt building. I prefer to do it online because I’m offered a time-saving method and better opportunities for comparative shopping, a quicker way to find what I’m looking for, and online reviews to guide my purchases. I don’t carry credit card debt and don’t encourage that at all. I’ve had debt and know all too well how easily it is to fall into it (whether it’s due to health problems, momentary needs or overindulgence). I don’t really encourage people to buy what they don’t need.

That said, if you absolutely can’t overcome the overwhelming desire to buy something, you could try the American Red Cross, Children International or a similar organization and purchase someone a few opportunities your money can bring them. I know the return policy on this type of purchase is top of the line. Some people shop to feel better and that may provide the satisfaction needed. That’s a good thing too.

I’ve been looking to optimize my web pages with relevant keywords. Finding highly searched keywords helps the search engines find you! That’s one aspect of search engine optimization (SEO).

I also want to purchase domain names that incorporate words high on the hit lists. According to Overture, music got over 4,000,000 hits in March, which would make JazzMusicDownloads.Com a potentially good site name. Sex got over 7,000,000 hits, but I’ve laid off of that one. (LOL! - I can’t believe I wrote that!)

I’ve found several other great words that fit my pages, but have yet to find words with a hit count falling between music and sex. It’s become a bit of a game with me — okay, more like an obsession. I’m eager to find out what terms people seek more than music, but less than sex. I’m really stumped, although I’ve enjoyed my ongoing search. For example, I found out that illusion got twice as many hits last month as reality. I like that.

My sister just told me that food got 5,778,632 hits last month! Music, food and sex! Internet explorers are my kind of people!