As Americans gear up for the holiday shopping season and Cyber Monday, the unofficial start of the online holiday shopping season on November 30, it is clear that Web site security plays a major part in consumers' purchasing decisions, according to a new poll by the National Cyber Security Alliance(NCSA)and Symantec [SYMC]. The poll, conducted by Zogby International, of more than 3,500 Americans found that online retailers will lose sales if consumers have concerns about a site's security.

According to the poll, more than 63 percent of respondents reported that they did not complete a Web site purchase because of security concerns. Of those that did not make a purchase due to security concerns, several reason reasons were given (note: respondents were able to select more than one reason) including:

- 41 percent said the site requested more information than necessary for the transaction

- 46 percent were worried about providing the information requested

- 32 percent said it wasn't clear about how the site would use personal information

- 62 percent simply were not sure the site was secure

Concerns that adding layers of security on their sites would repel purchasers. Yet, the NCSA poll found that Americans are willing to endure additional safeguards in order to protect their personal information. Just over 75 percent of those polled said their likeliness to use a service or make a purchase would NOT be affected if a Web site required an additional process to verify identity above and beyond the basic username and password.

"Americans are extremely focused on protecting their personal information and their identities," said Michael Kaiser, executive director of the NCSA. "Skepticism is a front-line defense and it is heartening to see that Americans are actively engaged in making critical decisions when shopping online. This poll should alert online retailers that there is direct relationship between security and revenue."

The NCSA recommends that Americans employ a small handful of simple behaviors to ensure the online holiday shopping season is safe and successful:

- Update Core Protections: Take a few minutes to update your core protections - anti-virus, anti-spyware, and firewall - before you get on the information superhighway. Also make certain they are set to automatically update against new threats.

- Shop Secure Sites: Is there a closed padlock on the browser's status bar? Does the Web site's address (URL) change to shttp or https when you are asked to provide payment information? If so, you know the vendor has secured their payment process.

- Check Sellers Out: Conduct independent research on a seller's reputation before you buy from a seller you have never done business with.

- Passwords Are Key: Create long unique passwords incorporating symbols and numbers to increase your security against hackers and others trying to access online accounts.

- Always Ask WWW: When providing personal information for any purchase, always ensure that you know who is asking for the information, what information they are asking for and why the need it.

- Not All Money is Created Equal: Credit cards are generally the safest option because shoppers can seek a credit from the issuer of the card if the item isn't delivered or not what was ordered.

The Zogby International survey of more than 3,500 Americans has a margin of error of +/- 1.7%.