- If you're finally ready to make a purchase, you'll want to be sure that the site you're on is secure so that no one else can steal your credit card information.

- One way to do this is to see if there is an "s" appended to the http, which is located in your browsers address bar.

- For example, when I go to "amazon.com" you'll see the regular http before the URL. But when I'm logged in and go to my personal part of the site, like my recommendations, you'll see an "s" added to the http.

- This means that an extra layer of security has been added, making this information private and not reachable by bad guys.

- You'll want to be sure you see that before you enter in your credit card information when making a purchase.

- Another way to check to see if you're on a secure site is to look for the little lock down in the status bar of your web browser.

- When you hover over it it should say, "authenticated by VeriSign Inc.."

- Any reputable retailer will be sure to be in compliance with security protocols so if you don't see these things then do not make your purchase through them -- it's just not worth it.

- You can also check yourself by viewing the security certificate.

- In Firefox you just need to click on the website icon on the left side of the addressbar and it will tell you if it's verified.

- In Internet Explorer just click on the lock icon on the right side of the addressbar to be sure that it's verified.