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Christmas shopping season is here. As busy as things are out there in the stores, thousands will take care of their Christmas shopping without ever leaving home. They’ll make their purchases online.

There are steps you should take to protect yourself when buying items online.

• Keep your computer systems up to date.

Cyber criminals will use software flaws to attack computer systems.

By updating software programs regularly, you can stay ahead of the criminals who exploit flaws in older systems.

• Choose strong passwords and protect them.

A strong password is at least 8 characters and contains both numbers and letters.

Using the same user-name and password for multiple sites puts you at higher risk of having your password hacked.

Change your password every 90 days to limit the window of opportunity for criminals to gain access.

• Protect your personal info.

Most online | sites now require us to share personal information such as name, address, phone number, and email address. When in doubt about supplying this information, either don’t do it or call the organization to verify authenticity.