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Share your feedback, suggestions and ideas about Web of Trust and help us develop WOT further.

By completing the WOT User Survey, as well as leaving your email address, you’ll be entered to win one of three gift certificates for US $100 from amazon.com!

The survey takes only a few minutes to complete and all responses are confidential. The survey is in English and can be taken until Monday, November 3, 2008. The winners will be contacted personally by email no later than November 5th.

We appreciate your help and thank you for your time!

There are some great deals to be found online this holiday shopping season. Did you know that you can save even more money from hundreds of well-known retailers using coupons?

We’re not talking about clipping coupons from the newspaper. You just enter a coupon code that gives a percent or dollar amount off your purchase when you are checking out. But that’s the easy part – finding the codes can be a bit trickier. Sites often offer coupons to customers who have previously made purchases. Or, you can find these secret codes and discounts on sites that specialize in collecting them.

Check out these sites for coupons next time you get ready to make a purchase online.

• Coupon Cabin
• Coupon Mountain
• Current Codes
• Retail Me Not

The holiday season is fast approaching, and with gas prices skyrocketing and time a valuable commodity, many people are turning to the Internet to shop. In August, researchers for IMRG (Interactive Media in Retail Group) asked questions and opinions from more than two million online shoppers about their Christmas shopping habits in 2008. They found that

• Internet shopping is set to reach a record high this Christmas
• up to 68% of shoppers are planning on making at least one purchase online
• of those, around 78% planned to do at least half of their shopping online (up from 56% in 2007)
• 86% of shoppers will research Christmas shopping options on the Internet before buying in-store

Be prepared for shopping online with these tips:

Do some research before buying

If you are visiting a site for the first time, do a little snooping around before you commit to a purchase. Start by looking at the WOT scorecard to see ratings and comments from our trusted sources and experienced users.  Also, read reviews from other sources.

WOT user Chief_runningwater says, “I always check out reviews for online shopping centers before I buy also I check if its paypal compatible and if it isn't I look for something else because I don't trust giving out my information to websites I never used before even if it has good ratings."

Look for a real address and phone number

If the merchant only lists an email address or a post office box, that’s a big red flag. See if the company has a street address and phone number. The FTC recommends calling the phone number listed to confirm it's working.

Check if the site is secure

WOT user demonon practices safe shopping, “I look for a secure connection and if the website can be trusted. I would never buy something if I wouldn't know if the store would be legitimate or safe.”

Look for trust marks, seals and signs that indicate a secure Internet connection:

• When you start typing in your credit card number look at the web address. It should include “https” or “shttp”. The "s" that is displayed indicates that website is secure.
• Look for a closed padlock or key displayed at the bottom of your screen. If that lock is open or the key is broken, you should assume it is not a secure site.
• Look for certification seals. TRUSTe, one of WOT’s trusted sources, certifies trusted sites with a Privacy Seal, so you know your customer information is protected.

Designate a single credit card for online transactions

WOT user Jazspeak offers this suggestion, “It is good practice to set up a bank account and credit card specifically for Internet shopping and keep the account entirely separate from any accounts. Best to have a very low limit on the credit card, although the major high-street banks don't much like this because a low limit tends to mean less money for them. However, a low credit limit on the credit card does mean that potential crooks don't have the opportunity to steal as much as they might otherwise.”

Some WOT users prefer to use PayPal when shopping online. Jwilbur explains, “Unless I REALLY trust a site I try to never shop unless the vendor accepts Paypal. If I do have to use a non-paypal/non-trusted site I only shop with my Platinum Amex which specifically protects me from any and all web rip-offs.”

“Paypal is also a very easy to use method of online payment that is reasonably secure, especially when linked to the Internet-specific bank account and credit card, “said Jazspeak.

Well-known names mean better protection

Bigger sites like amazon.com have established a good reputation, so you can be confident when shopping with them. However there are some smaller merchants offering great deals. Use common sense and remember if the deal is too good to be true, it probably is!

WOT user cbowers18 prefers the bigger names, “It's been years since I bought anything online, other than from a site I have used before and know (LL Bean, Tiger Direct, etc.)

If you want to compare merchants try using comparison shopping engines. They each have a type of screening process to verify the merchant's identity, online sales experience and ability to deliver the purchased items.

• Bizrate
• Buysafeshopping
• Ciao
• Gifts.com
• PriceGrabber
• Shopping.com

Is online shopping safer than shopping offline?

Your online shopping experience can be a positive one if you use precaution and common sense. “People should be aware that as long as they are dealing with reputable companies, online transactions are far more secure than the face-to-face transactions people perform every day,” says Jim Stickley, CTO and vice president at TraceSecurity, a company that works with financial institutions to better their network security systems to deter identity thieves. “Online transactions eliminate the middle man, such as the clerk who processes your credit card payment, so there are less people who physically see your private information.”

Consumers who research companies before making purchases, watch for warning signs of fraud, use credit cards for purchases and keep receipts should be safe shopping online this holiday season.

It is our pleasure to announce the winners of the WOT Million Download Contest.

Taking first place with his imaginative three-in-one entry is wehaveitall. Ben's enthusiasm and creativity charmed the judges, especially his Top 50 list. Visit Ben's WOT fan page to see the winning entry including the WOT collage (pictured below.) Ben will receive an iPod touch. Congratulations!

The winner of the Lucky Draw was sandnsurf. Mike's blog entry WOT a great idea is an easy-to-understand explanation of how WOT works. We love his comparison of WOT to a shark net off the coast. And being a surfer from Australia, Mike knows about that! Mike will receive an iPod nano. Congratulations!

Thanks to all the participants in the WOT Million Download Contest. You did not make the judges job easy! Look for more ways to win in the near future.

We apologize to those of you who received multiple emails notifying you of our October Inside MyWOT newsletter. We are proud of our newsletter, but one email notification is definitely enough!

Here's what happened: a glitch in the newsletter sending process caused more than one email sending process to run, resulting in multiple emails to some addresses.

The problem has already been fixed and it won't happen again.

If you wish to subscribe or unsubscribe to the newsletter, you can do that in the Privacy Settings of your profile, http://www.mywot.com/profile/edit. Make sure you hit the Submit button at the bottom of the page.

Thank you to all the folks who kindly notified us of the problem. We hope you will pardon the inconvenience we have caused.

In this edition of Inside MyWOT we celebrate the people who make WOT work - our community and the great minds working behind the scenes. It's our pleasure to announce the winners of the Million Download Contest and share their work with you, plus we tell you WOT's backstory and introduce you to our top Platinum level user, Delta Surfer.

Our partners are also valuable to us, and we are pleased to introduce you to our newest one, TRUSTe. You can also read about some of the quality blogs and forums that share WOT's mission of keeping the web safer for everyone.

Read Inside MyWOT (PDF format)

Interesting piece of news in the Washington post: Microsoft Corp. and the state of Washington this week filed lawsuits against a slew of "scareware" vendors who use fake security alerts to frighten consumers into paying for worthless computer software.

Quote from Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna: "We won't tolerate the use of alarmist warnings or deceptive 'free scans' to trick consumers into buying software to fix a problem that doesn't even exist. We've repeatedly proven that Internet companies that prey on consumers' anxieties are within our reach."

The lawsuits were filed under Washington's Computer Spyware Act, which punishes individuals who prey on user concerns regarding spyware or other threats. Specifically, the law makes it illegal to misrepresent the extent to which software is required for computer security or privacy, and it provides actual damages or statutory damages of $100,000 per violation, whichever is greater.

Web of Trust is delighted to see Microsoft to take an active role in the fight against Internet scams. The recent Web of Trust video dealt with the same problem. Read the entire story at http://voices.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2008/09/microsoft_washingto...

Thanks to all those who entered our WOT Million Download Contest. Our judges are in the process of reviewing the entries and making a decision. We will announce the winner of the iPod touch and the Lucky Draw winner of the iPod nano no later than October 10.