The first time you buy a gift, have it wrapped and delivered while you sit at your computer, you'll be sold on the idea. And that first-time purchase is the one that takes longest. For subsequent purchases from the same site you won't have to repeat the entry of personal information (address, credit-card number, and so on) required on the first occasion.

Adding confidence to convenience, Microsoft^® Internet Explorer makes online shopping secure. The section of a commercial Web site where you order and make a purchase should be a "secure" site. Internet Explorer supports standard encryption security protocols. These are a set of rules for computer-to-computer communication that encode data sent between secure sites to prevent unauthorized people from seeing it. When showing a page from such a secure site, Internet Explorer displays a "lock" icon on the status bar directly below the Web page.

This technology makes an online credit-card purchase safer than using your card in a restaurant. The request for funds is passed directly to the bank that issued the card, with the card number still in encrypted form. Only the institution that issued the card can see the number.

You can choose the security level at which Internet Explorer operates. Depending on the security level you have set, you'll be notified if you're about to do something that might pose a security risk. For example, if you're about to send your credit-card number to an unsecure site, Internet Explorer can warn you that the site is not secure.