They can, however be used to document your interests by tracking which pages you visit and which banners you click on when visiting a site. Purchasing something online is just like purchasing something over the telephone. We give our credit card numbers to people everyday, for instance, cashiers and food-servers. It is actually less likely that this will happen on the Internet because of secure encryption programs running on most online shopping sites. So, only purchase from companies you know are legitimate and check to make sure they are encrypting their transactions.
Most shopping sites post security information for consumers.
No program is a substitute for parental observation and guidance, but there are many Internet filtering programs available that will block objectionable material. Take Sparky's CyberSafety Quiz afterwards. Viruses are malicious programs that can cause a variety of problems on your computer system. We recommend running virus software and keeping it updated. Fortunately, just visiting a Web site will not put you in danger of getting a virus.