DENVER -- Online shopping allows us to cruise the virtual malls in our pajamas and furry slippers, but we still need to be on our guard when it comes to safety. Just because there are no lines to wait in and no parking spots to fight over doesn't mean that your shopping experience is headache-free.

So here are few tips to make sure that your surfing experience is a secure and successful one:

The first rule when shopping online is to shop around. You could be saving a lot of money just by taking a few minutes to comparison shop. Try sites like Nextag.com, Shopping.com, Froogle.com, or PriceGrabber.com, to get an item's "true" price -- which includes shipping and any applicable sales taxes.

If you don't know exactly what product you want to buy, but know the general category, there are a plethora of sites that can help you out. Amazing-bargains.com, DealoftheDay.com, Deal-Finder.com, JumpOnDeals.com and TechBargains.com highlight the best "bargains" of the day. On most of these sites, you can limit your search by price.

When you find a site with the right product and the right price, make sure that e-tailer is reputable. Look at its customer rating or read its customer feedback before you buy. Both Nextag and PriceGrabber post the seller's ratings, or you can try Bizrate.com or E-pinions to find out what other shoppers think of the site. The Better Business Bureau also lists complaints that other customers have filed about a particular store and whether the complaints have been resolved.

When you find the site you want to buy from, look for a physical address and phone number so you can track down the company if you need to. You may want to call or e-mail the company with questions about their products and see if you get a response. (If the e-tailer has a brick-and-mortar store, see if you can return it to the store in your neighborhood if you don't like the product instead of shipping it back.)

Before you proceed to checkout, find out if you're getting the best deal possible. Open another browser window and check if there are any "coupon codes" that you can take advantage of. CurrentCodes.com and NaughtyCodes.com are two sites you can try out, but there are numerous others you can use.

When you are ready to order, look for a closed padlock or an unbroken key on the bottom right hand corner of your computer screen. Another way to tell if a site is secure is if the Web address begins with "https" -- the extra "s" means it's on a secure server. A shopping site should NEVER ask for your Social Security number, birthdate or mother's maiden name and you should never provide it.

When you pay, pay with your credit card. That way you're protected if there's a problem with your order or in case of fraud or identity theft. Paying with a debit card won't give you the same protection.

Print out order confirmations so you can track down the gift in the shipping process or refer to it if you need to return the item.

Speaking of returns, make sure you read the return and shipping policies on the site. If the store only offers in-store credit and no refunds for your gift, you may want to think of placing your order on a different site, even if it will cost you a few dollars more.

And buy before Dec. 18. Any later and you may be forking over more cash for a rush delivery.

So, do your research but trust your instincts. If an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is, especially when it comes to online auctions, which tend to have more problems with fraud.

Another thing you might want to think about is perhaps using an e-mail account that's different from your personal or business account. You might try using a free "disposable" account from Yahoo! or Hotmail to place your orders -- e-mails that you can just dump if you get lots of spam after your shopping frenzy is over.

And always, always update your anti-virus and anti-spyware software. You never know what could be lurking on that next site.

Additional Info:

Holiday Spending Tips
How Do You Return An Online Gift?