The recent breach in Sony Play Station network has really given Sony a black eye.  Whenever you have millions of Names, Email Addresses and Credit Card Numbers hacked it tends to cause quite a stir.

But, this isn’t about Sony, its about security and protecting your wallet.  For the purpose of this article we will use the following definition for; Security.

Security: The action of minimizing your exposure or risk.

Zero Risk-  If you use the Internet and are looking for Zero Risk, then not only is this article not for you, but you should really consider not using the Internet at all.

The Rest of Us –  If you plan on using the Internet to buy products or sign up subscriptions, then this may be of help.

For any of us who has ever had financial difficulties, then you will know that you get bombarded with offers for prepaid debit cards that allow you to re-charge and the credit limit is set at the balance on the card.  This may be the perfect solution to providing a measure of minimized risk when using the Internet.

My System – I have set up an account with one of many of these companies.  The trick to finding the right one for you may be based on the monthly service fee, which they all seem to have unless you maintain a large balance.  This of course defeats the purpose of this plan.

This is the card I use when setting up accounts like iTunes, Amazon, etc.  I have arranged through my bank to automatically add a certain amount of cash each month.  This is of course based on the monthly fees I foresee needing.  This way if someone gets my info, then they are only going to rip me off for what is available on the card, and not my credit limit on my actual line of credit.

Downside – This doesn’t stop you from being nabbed because the people you do business with haven’t secured their servers. But, it will help you minimize your exposure, and in the event that something bad happens, its a relative simple matter of canceling your prepaid card and opening up a new account.

In Conclusion: There are tons of articles about these types of cards from the really bad to the OK. The following article is a good place to start: http://www.creditcards.org/prepaid?lp=1

Good Luck