No wonder Internet business generated $301 billion in revenue last year, by a University of Texas estimate.

If you compare shopping online to offline you would think as far as security goes, it would favor offline shopping, right? Not really.

In years past, shoppers were more reluctant to do their shopping online – now things have changed greatly. And that confidence in consumers directly reflects enormous growth of online sales.

I have a friend who took his wife out for a romantic evening to a local restaurant. The last place you would expect credit card fraud to happen. By time he noticed they had charged him double amount for their dinner, it was too late to go back to restaurant. He rang me and we concluded that it must be a mistake. It was later that we found out that restaurant owner’s reputation was a bit shaky. Apparently he frequently overcharged customers in hope they wouldn’t notice.

I don’t know. It’s a funny world we live in.

Does this mean internet is safe? Relatively yes, but don’t forget, Internet is an open field and there are some bad elements out there. We have been shopping online for years. We never had a problem with credit card fraud on Internet. But then again, we always take precautions. From this point forward, you will see 10 checkpoints online merchants have to pass to secure our business... Will your credit card details be safe?

Reputable companies online know that one of things preventing customers from placing orders with them is customers not been sure whether their credit card details will be safe. Responsible companies have taken this concern onboard and have set up their systems to provide customer with maximum security.

How would you know if you are entering your payment details on a secure page?

You should see a picture of a lock on bottom right hand side of your screen. This lock will appear on page that you fill in when ordering and ensures that your name, address and credit card information is being sent to online store through encrypted code. This encrypted code means that a hacker will not be able to steal your credit card information. Does online store value your privacy and confidentiality?

Prior to internet days, when I used to order something from a mail order company, mysteriously I would be sent advertising from companies that I hadn’t done business with. Back then I didn’t know that companies sold your personal information for advertising purposes to other companies.

Receiving junk mail was annoying but because of cost involved, it didn’t happen constantly. Imagine now if you do business online with a company that doesn’t respect your privacy and sells your email address.

Next time you open your email software, you are bombarded with emails ranging from a dozen to hundreds. Now that’s not annoying – it’s intolerable.

So moral of story here, make sure your email address won’t be sold. Ensure online store has a privacy statement which would state they will maintain your personal details in strictest privacy and confidentiality. Does online store have contact details?

This memory can rushing back two days ago when I was waiting in line at supermarket and happened to glance at bouquets for sale. Amongst mixed bouquets, there were daisies. This flower has special meaning in my heart. I associate it with my best friend who I lost to a car accident when we were both 17.

Flowers definitely bring an emotional response and we remember our happy and sad times through them.

The first time I inhaled sweet fragrance of a carnation I was enthralled. It happened when my father, took us to Greece to visit his parents. As a 7 year old, this strange land captivated me. I vividly remember my first response when we made our way up hill where my grandparents’ house was, to find myself staring up at handing grapes from porch roof and carnations which were planted along edge of porch.