Best Practices for using Bitcoin

To use bitcoin safely without worrying about being defrauded or losing your coins you simply need to heed some practical advice. Follow these basic guidelines and you can go bitcoin shopping online with confidence.

When seeking to use a shopping website for the first time, do a quick online search of the store’s name. There are several clear warning signs that you can look for in the search results to tell if a site is to be trusted or not.

Never buy anything from a site that doesn't have SSL (secure sockets layer) encryption installed. You'll know if the site has SSL because the URL for the site will start with HTTPS:// (instead of just HTTP://). There will also be an icon of a locked padlock visible, typically in the status bar at the bottom of your web browser, or next to the URL in the address bar—it depends on your browser.
No online shopping store needs your social security number or your birthday information.

Never give out your bitcoin wallet login credentials or passphrase or private key(s).
Always give out as little information as possible.

Also, try to avoid using the same bitcoin addresses more than once. Generate a new address for each transaction you receive. Luckily, many wallets do this automatically.