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Online shopping has many advantages, as the latest merchandise is readily available, there are no crowds to navigate through, no lines to wait on and no picked-over products to examine. Millions of people have now spent billions of dollars on gifts, products and services purchased without ever leaving home.

The Federal Trade Commission has set the legal and consumer protection standard for online shopping. FTC experts recommend shoppers treat it like a trip to the mall, and they should set a budget and comparison shop.

They should also check for customer reviews. While they can be helpful, they should not be treated as definitive. Most are written by regular, sincere customers but some are done by professionals trying to drive traffic to the website. It can be hard to tell authentic reviews from the hyped ones.

Naturally, figure out companies' return policies. Paying with a credit card offers the most protection in case the charges need to be canceled.

To see if a website is secure, check the URL, or Internet address.

"If you're going to buy something online, you can make sure that you're doing so from a secure website," said FTC official Len Gordon. "You can tell if a website is secure if [the address says 'https.' If that 's' is missing from the web address, you should not enter any credit card or personal information, because it can very easily be compromised.

Online shoppers are already building a tradition. Black Friday is the traditional day for post-Thanksgiving sales, but "Cyber Monday," in the week after Thanksgiving, is the day when, as Gordon jokes, people shop online when they really should be working.

For more information on online shopping, visit the Federal Trade Commission website