Black Friday attracts crowds, and crowds attract scammers, and that means you need to take extra care when shopping online over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend. There'll be people out there keen to relieve you of more money than you'll save on a TV set or a gaming console.
The following precautions apply whatever the time of year, but it's worth reminding yourself of them every time a serious holiday season comes around. In the rush to get gifts sorted, it's all too easy to miss a warning sign, or get complacent about online security.
Update All Your Software
The good news for us as users is that Microsoft, Apple, Google, Mozilla and the other big names in tech are now very adept at spotting scams as they happen, whether that's phishing emails (designed to lure you on to a fake shopping or banking site) or unauthorized logins on your accounts.
To make the most of the security built into Windows, macOS, and your favorite browser, ensure you're running the latest versions across the board, which means you're running the latest security patches—if you've been putting off updates on your phone or your computer, then get them done ahead of Black Friday.
These updates are so important that it's now very difficult to postpone or opt out of them, and you'll be regularly reminded if your software is out of date. If you do have a laptop that's too old to run the latest versions of Windows or macOS, avoid using it if possible—you'll be safer shopping on your phone, as long as it's running the most recent Android or iOS updates.
Be Wary of Email and Social Media Deals
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