(BPT) - Remember the days when keeping track of your wallet and hiding packages in the trunk were all you had to do to ensure your holidays were safe and secure? Fast forward to 2012 - when the National Retail Federation says nearly 52 percent of holiday gift-givers will be shopping online - and staying secure requires more effort.

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), a joint initiative of the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center, logged more than 300,000 complaints of online crime in 2011. The adjusted dollar loss of those complaints topped $485 million, the IC3 says. To avoid becoming an unhappy holiday statistic, consider these eight tips to help ensure your online shopping stays as safe as possible this holiday season:

1. Update your software – Before you start shopping, make sure your virus protection, anti-malware and firewall software are all up to date, active, and set to update automatically. Check your browser to ensure it’s the most up-to-date version and if there are any security patches you should download.