Friday marks the traditional start of the holiday shopping season. And, while many Missourians will be heading to the department stores to pick up their treasures, others will sit back at home and buy online. Tatiana Gau, a Computer Security Expert with AOL, says online shoppers must make sure the computers they are using have safeguards like anti-virus protection in place. Many home computers are not adequately protected against identity thieves and other criminals. Gau points out that while there are usually good checks in place when a computer user goes to a well-known and well-established web site, there could be problems if someone responds to an e-mail or the like to make purchases. Analysts predict between $13.2-Billion and $21-Billion will be spent online this holiday season.
