Things to take note to prevent e-auction fraud when a consumer participating in an e-auction

Fraud in Auctions and Its Prevention

According to Internet Fraud Watch (fraud.org/internet), among all e-commerce activities conducted over the Internet, fraud is most serious in e-auctions. It accounted for 87 percent of the e-commerce fraud that occurred in 1999. According to the National Consumer League’s National Fraud Information Center, 9 out of 10 registered Internet related complaints are concerned with auction fraud.

METHOD TO PROTECT AGAINST E-AUCTION FRAUD

The largest Internet auctioneer, eBay, has introduced several measures in an effort to reduce fraud. Some are free and some are not. The company has succeeded in its goal.

Product authentication is a way of determining whether an item is genuine and described appropriately. Authentication is very difficult to perform because it relies on the expertise of the authenticators. Because of their training and experience, experts can often detect counterfeits based on subtle details (for a fee). However, two expert authenticators may have different opinions about the authenticity of the same item.

Grading services is a way of determining the physical condition of an item, such as “poor quality” or “mint condition.” The actual grading system depends on the type of item being graded. Different items have different grading systems—for example, trading cards are graded from A1 to F1, while coins are graded from poor to perfect uncirculated.

The eBay Feedback Forum allows registered buyers and sellers to build up their online trading reputations. It provides users with the ability to comment on their experiences with other individuals.

For items valued at more than $200, or when either a buyer or seller feels the need for additional security, eBay recommends escrow services (for a fee). With an easy to access link to a third-party escrow service, both partners in a deal are protected alerts the seller when everything checks out. At that point, the seller ships the goods to the buyer. After an agreed-upon inspection period, the buyer notifies the service, which sends a check to the seller. (An example of a provider of online escrow services is i-Escrow.)

Appraisers use a variety of methods to appraise items, including expert assessment of authenticity and condition, and reviewing what comparable items have sold for in the marketplace in recent months. An appraised value is usually accurate at the time of appraisal but may change over time as an item becomes more or less popular in the marketplace.

Corporate Blogging : A new marketing communication tool for companies

A corporate blog is a weblog published and used by the organization to reach the organizational goals. Although there are many different types of corporate blogs, they are mostly categorized as either external or internal corporate blogs.
further information


Pros and Cons of Blogging for Corporate Communications

Here are the main reasons executives should blog:

• Leaders can communicate directly with customers, suppliers and investors, as well as employees, helping disseminate and explain strategy.
• Blogs give the writer an opportunity to answer critics in a controlled forum.
• Compared with conference or printed memos to all staff, blogs are highly cost effective.
• A well written blog can give a human face to an otherwise anonymous corporation.

And why shouldn’t of blogging...

• The best non-corporate blogs are spontaneous and genuine. Poorly written corporate blogs can look fake -- or perhaps worse, they reveal incompetence on he part of the writer.
• It is difficult for executives to write freely, particularly at listed companies where they are legally required to publish significant information to all investors at the same time.
• There is a risk that an ill-judged comment could be seized upon by the media or disgruntled investors.

Top 10 Corporate Blog Rankings
#10: The Otter Group
#9: English Cut
#8: SunBelt Software
#7: GM Fast Lane
#6: Adobe Software
#5: Ask.com
#4: Tom Peters
#3: Yahoo! Search
#2: O’Reilly Radar
#1: Google

(you may click on the link to view the corporate blog)

In conclusion, i think using blog as communication tool is one of the best way to introduce and merket the company's products or services.

By the way, this is the last post of our assignment, thanks for visit our blog. (^_^)>

Review a local e-commerce site

MPH Bookstores is the largest bookstores chain in Malaysia. MPHONLINE.COM is a virtual bookstore. It allows you to browse, search, as well as buy books, online.

In the MPH Online.com, the main colour of the site is white. The purposes are to emphasis the products and make the products become more attractive. On the Home page, it shows various Special Offers which will attract more customers to buy its products.

The search engine had been provided by this site which allows us to search for items that we need. The download speed is also very fast.

In the MPH Online.com, the books are divided into 35 categories. People can easily search for the relevant book by clicking on the relevant category. We can choose the book that is most suitable for us because it’s allowed us to view the book description by just click on the book’s icon.
After you had decided which book to buy, you just click “Add to Cart” icon. However, before you can view your shopping cart, you must login first. If you are a new customer, fill in details by clicking "sign-in" link. Then, it will bring you to your shopping cart. In the shopping cart, you will see the item that you have added. That allowed the customers to check the details of the items they have ordered. The way to make payment for online purchases is through credit card, Maybank2u.com internet banking and cash or cheque bank in. They accept major credit cards from Visa and MasterCard. These make it easier for the customers to pay for their purchases. For more information on payment, can visit to http://www.mph.com.my/misc/faq.cfm.

MPH Online.com also provides other services for their customers. All information regarding the other services are listed in http://www.mph.com.my/disclaimer/oserv.cfm. For loyal customers, every purchase made at MPH Online.com qualifies for point collection through MPH Readers’ Circle program. For more information about the program, please visit http://www.mph.com.my/disclaimer/mrctc.cfm.

In conclusion, MPH Online.com is an e-commerce site which is user friendly.The overall site design and layout of the MPH Online.com also very nice and well-organized.

E-Government in Malaysia: Its implementation so far and citizen’s adoption strategies.

The Electronic Government initiative in Malaysia was launched to lead the country into the Information Age. It has improved both how the government operates internally as well as how it delivers services to the people of Malaysia. It seeks to improve the convenience, accessibility and quality of interactions with citizens and businesses; simultaneously, it will improve information flows and processes within government to improve the speed and quality of policy development, coordination and enforcement. The vision of Electronic Government is a vision for government, businesses and citizenry working together for the benefit of Malaysia and all of its citizens. The vision focuses on effectively and efficiently delivering services from the government to the people of Malaysia, enabling the government to become more responsive to the needs of its citizens.

Electronic Services (E-Services)
E-Services is one of the pilot projects under the Electronic Government Flagship within the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) initiative. With E Services, one can now conduct transactions with Government agencies, such as the Road Transport Department (RTD) and private utility companies such as Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM)
through various convenient channels such as the eServices kiosks and internet. No more queuing, traffic jams or bureaucratic hassles and one can now conduct transaction at one’s own convenience.



Electronic Labor Exchange (ELX)
ELX is one stop-centre for labor market information, as supervised by the Ministry of Human Resource (MOHR), to enable employers and job seekers to communicate on the same platform.

Objectives:

• An effective and integrated job matching process
• Provide an effective center of labor market information and references
• To improve mobilization of the nation’s human resources and to ensure that manpower utilization is optimized.

e-Syariah
e-Syariah is the seventh project under the Electronic Government
flagship application of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC). A
case management system that integrates the processes related to
management of cases for the Syariah Courts.

Objectives:
• To improve the quality of services of the Syariah Courts
• To improve the effectiveness of JKSM in coordinating and supervising related agencies under its jurisdiction
• To improve the productivity and efficiency of the management of the Syariah courts throughout the country
• To uphold the splendors of Islam through the use of ICT

Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS)
HRMIS is an integrated, technology enabled Human Resource Management
Information System for the Malaysian Public Service, incorporating Global
Best Practices in HR that would enable the Public Service to successfully deal with the Challenges of the K-Economy.

Objectives:
• Effective staffing and right-sizing of civil service
• Up-to-date consolidated HR data for effective information planning.
• Automate human resource anagerial and operational processes
• Improve paperless HRM capabilities
• Open and flexible system
• Better communication, horizontal integration, streamlined processes and
single window access.

Generic Office Environment (GOE)
Powerful document and office management solution that enables
users to effectively and efficiently manage their office environment. It is
fully web-based and has been customized based on local developed package, DRDok.

Objectives:
• Efficient preparation and storage of documents
• Fast search and retrieval of documents
• Effective and productive collaboration and sharing of information
• Secure and traceable access to documents

Most governments are only in the initial phases of adopting e-government and reaping its benefits. ICT can improve financial management and reporting, streamline the delivery of government services, and enhance communication with the citizenry by providing additional ways for citizens to interact with government.

Barriers do exist that slow the adoption of ICT by the public, and more work is needed to better understand these and other factors and how to address them. In the meantime WITSA recommends the following steps be aggressively pursued:

• Ensure citizens’ privacy and security by building strong capabilities into the systems before privacy and security become a problem.

• Provide incentives for citizens and businesses to use new e-government services.

• Promote new online services and make citizens and other government agencies aware of new capabilities, services and enhancements.

• Adopt new and innovative funding methods and develop new partnership models with the private sector, outsourcing non-core competencies to reduce costs and leverage expertise.

• Adopt open and transparent procurement practices

Electronic Currency

Electronic money (also known as e-money, electronic cash, electronic currency, digital money, digital cash or digital currency) refers to money or scrip which is exchanged only electronically. Typically, this involves use of computer networks, the internet and digital stored value systems. Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and direct deposit are examples of electronic money. Also, it is a collective term for financial cryptography and technologies enabling it.

One example of the Electronic money is Paystone. It is founded in 2001, Paystone has operations in the United States, Canada and the Philippines with International cash out capabilities in many other countries.

Paystone provides an inexpensive online payment method without the risk of chargebacks from fraudulent credit card use. Paystone can efficiently handle small financial transactions (micropayments) as low as $0.25. The ability to process micropayments opens a whole new world for entrepreneurs of all sizes. A small business or individual now has a method of generating revenue from their website quickly, easily and inexpensively. This makes a whole new range of content available to personal account holders. The large online merchant can also realize the full benefits of the Paystone solution to expand and increase the profitability of their business.

In addition to payments Paystone also provides an email money transfer option. A Paystone account holder can send funds to the email address of anyone in many countries around the world. The recipient of the funds signs up for Paystone and can cash out the money to their local bank account. For companies sending a large volume of payments they can access the GroupPay© feature to send many individuals money all at once.

As an online business, you know how the high costs, limitations and risks of using credit cards can limit your opportunity to increase revenues. A Paystone Online Merchant Account can solve these e-commerce issues, allowing your customers pay per view access to your content.

For more information, please visit http://www.paystone.com/

Mobile payment systems in Malaysia: Its potentials and consumers' adoption strategies

Mobile Money is a PIN-based Mobile Payment Solution designed by Mobile Money International Sdn Bhd to address the limitations and bottlenecks created by cash, cheques and credit cards. It unlocks the power of the mobile phone to make payments, allowing registered users to pay for goods and services at anytime, anywhere using only a mobile phone coupled with a 6-digit security PIN (Personal Identification Number) via SMS (Short Messaging Service). This gives the freedom to shoppers to buy products online and pay the merchant using his/her mobile phone without being physically present at the store.

When it comes to online selling, selecting a payment gateway is one of the major obstacles faced by the merchants in Malaysia. There are too few choices available, worse, none of these limited choices are cost effective. This problem has been addressed by Mobile Money, since it allows merchants to take online order without the need for online shopper to disclose their credit card information.

Mobile Money will encourage more consumers to shop online. This will definitely be a great boon to the e-commerce industry in Malaysia. It will surely encourage more merchants to adopt online selling as an extra sales channel which complement perfectly with their offline sales channel to help them SELL MORE of their goods and services. Realizing these needs of merchants in Malaysia, we are the 1'st shopping cart software provider who has integrated Mobile Money as a payment method in our webShaper e-commerce software. This feature allows merchants to accept payment via Mobile Money and process the payment in real time within clicks!For fellow merchants, please take a look at the benefits Mobile Money has to offer to merchants.

In order to pay using Mobile Money, a shopper must have either a savings, current or credit card account with participating banks. It functions like a Credit Card if a shopper applies for a "Pay by Mobile Phone" credit card account (eg Hong Leong Mobile Credit Card). The shopper will be billed by the bank accordinly by month's end. In addition, it functions as a Debit Card if it is tied to shopper's savings or current account. The amount will be deducated instantly from the account upon successful transaction. Please take a look at the screen shots to see how it works and interact with our online storefront solution.

The application of pre-paid cash card for consumers

Even the credit card can save lot of problem (transaction without carried large amount of cash) but, how about the small cash item? Carrying coin around to make transaction still be troublesome...(=_=)

So, here come another plastic cash…pre-paid cash

1st destination - HONG KONG
The Octopus card (Hong Kong) launched in 1997, widely used payment system for virtually all public transport in Hong Kong. It is also used for payment at convenience stores, supermarkets, fast-food restaurants, on-street parking meters, car parks, and other point-of-sale applications such as service stations and vending machines. Usage of the Octopus card was extended to the Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Macau in 2006.

Octopus website

2nd destination - SINGAPORE
The EZ-Link card (Singapore) established in 2001, this card is commonly used as a contactless smartcard for paying transportation fees in the city-state's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), Light Rapid Transit (LRT) and public bus services. EZ-Link cards being used for payments in branches of McDonald's, food centres, supermarkets and libraries, and even soft drink purchases from vending machines. The card also serves as a supplementary identification and concession card and some schools in Singapore have also started to adopt the EZ-Link card.

EZ-Link website

last destination - MALAYSIA
The Touch 'n Go card (Malaysia) been use in 1997, it (TnG) usually been use for toll fare of high way (with the mark of TnG & SmartTAG) in whole Malaysia and public transportation (KTM Komuter, RapidKL RAIL, KL monorail, RapidKL BUS) in Selangor. Recently, the system has been expanded and it’s can used for payment of parking, themes park, fast food restaurant, convenience stores, hypermarkets and cinemas in particular branches.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touch_'n_Go

Touch 'n Go website

Yeah, i can pay my curry with Touch 'n Go

Oops, i think can't use it yet.

Credit Card debts:Causes and Prevention

Credit card debt is an example of unsecured consumer debt. Credit card debt is a problem that can permeate all of your life and that of your family. There are several causes of credit card debts.

First, credit card interest rates are high, therefore the profits can be high. Banks and other credit card issuers are after their slice of that big money, including from you. They can therefore justify big marketing budgets to get your money.

Second, it is very easy to get credit cards, multiple credit cards in fact. Issuers of credit cards make it easy for you, if you have had no debt problems in the past.

Third, your friends, neighbours and work colleagues will probably all have multiple credit cards, talk about them and flash them around from time to time. This will influence your own attitude to credit card debt.

Fourth,you see other people buy new furniture, go on exotic vacations, or go out to expensive restaurants all the time. Even if you never know if they are doing so on credit card, you may want the same. But you do not have the immediate cash, so what do you do? Jump on the credit card train? That is what your society may be pushing you towards.

Fifth, it may be due to poor money management. Without monthly spending plan, you may be spending hundreds of dollars unnecessarily each month and end up having to charge purchases on which you should have spent that money.

As credit card spirals at a society level, it brings with it stress, relationship and other problems. Often, those whose debt is out of control, are afraid to face up to the reality, at least initially, or do not know how to face up to reality.So, how to overcome this problem?Here are a few ideas to help you in preventing the credit card debt problem.

First,set up a budget and stick to it. Be realistic about your expenses and your financial needs, then draw up a detailed monthly plan.

Second, remind yourself every day that you are only going to use your credit card when you have no cash on you, as a convenience, and you will repay it before interest starts to accrue.

Third, never, ever feel you have to buy something just because a neighbour or friend has been boasting about theirs. Envy and jealousy are viruses that minimize your individuality, and can, in this case, damage your finances.

Fourth, limit the number of cards that you have. If your cards offer low interest balance transfers, transfer the balances from your other cards onto the card with the lowest rate.

In conclusion, with the right tools and management, credit card debt doesn't have to follow you forever.

Reference:
http://www.eliminate-credit-card-debt-now.com/EliminateCreditCardDebt.htm

The application of 3rd party certification programme in Malaysia.

VeriSign, Inc is an American company based in Mountain View, California that operates a diverse array of network infrastructure, including two of the Internet's thirteen root name servers, the generic top-level domains for .com and .net, one of the largest SS7 signaling networks in North America, and the RFID directory for EPC Global. VeriSign also provides a variety of security and telecom services ranging from digital certificates, payments processing, and managed firewalls to mobile call roaming, toll-free call database queries and downloadable digital content for mobile devices. The company groups all of these functions under the banner of 'intelligent infrastructure' services.

VeriSign is the leading Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificate Authority enabling secure e-commerce, communications, and interactions for Web sites, intranets, and extranets.

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology protects your Web site and makes it easy for your Web site visitors to trust you in three essential ways:

An SSL Certificate enables encryption of sensitive information during online transactions.
Each SSL Certificate contains unique, authenticated information about the certificate owner.
A Certificate Authority verifies the identity of the certificate owner when it is issued.

You need SSL if….
-you have an online store or accept online orders and credit cards
-you offer a login or sign in on your site
-you process sensitive data such as address, birth date, license, or ID numbers
-you need to comply with privacy and security requirements
-you value privacy and expect others to trust you

When we send mail through the postal system in a clear envelope, anyone with access to it can see the data. If it looks valuable, they might take it or change it. An SSL Certificate establishes a private communication channel enabling encryption of the data during transmission. Encryption scrambles the data, essentially creating an envelope for message privacy.

Each SSL Certificate consists of a public key and a private key. The public key is used to encrypt information and the private key is used to decipher it. When a Web browser points to a secured domain, a Secure Sockets Layer handshake authenticates the server (Web site) and the client (Web browser). An encryption method is established with a unique session key and secure transmission can begin. True 128-bit SSL Certificates enable every site visitor to experience the strongest SSL encryption available to them.

For example, like a passport or a driver’s license, an SSL Certificate is issued by a trusted source, known as the Certificate Authority (CA). Many CAs simply verify the domain name and issue the certificate. VeriSign verifies the existence of your business, the ownership of your domain name, and your authority to apply for the certificate, a higher standard of authentication.

VeriSign Extended Validation (EV) SSL Certificates meet the highest standard in the Internet security industry for Web site authentication as required by CA/Browser Forum. EV SSL Certificates give high-security Web browsers information to clearly display a Web site’s organizational identity. The high-security Web browser’s address bar turns green and reveals the name of the organization that owns the SSL Certificate and the SSL Certificate Authority that issued it. Because VeriSign is the most recognized name in online security, VeriSign SSL Certificates with Extended Validation will give Web site visitors an easy and reliable way to establish trust online

Maybank2u.com is Web Trust certified. This certifies our compliance with leading international security standards and Best Practices, as well as our commitment to maintaining a secure environment. Web Trust is an independent corporation that monitors and tests our facilities to assure that we maintain the highest and most current standards in Internet information security and exchange.

Can its implementation helps to improve customers trust?

Benefits of Posting the VeriSign Secured Seal are it is more recognized than any other trust mark, 79% of U.S. online shoppers that are familiar with the VeriSign Secured Seal .It shows visitors that the site is secured using industry leading SSL technology. Besides that, there is lower shopping cart and other transaction abandonment. It uses to associate your brand with the trusted VeriSign brand and it is use to Increase visitor-to-sales conversions.

Once you’ve installed the VeriSign Secured Seal, educate your users about what it means, the implementation of this system helps to improve customer trust indirectly.

All user needs to have the detail knowledge on how the Third Party certification works.

How safe is your data?-( the treat of online security)

Close your eyes, imagine that you switching off your computer at night but waking up to find an error message popped up on your computer screen, followed by innumerable important files become corrupted (especially those files where one documenting their emails containing usernames and passwords). How secure is the data in our computer, merely just by allowing it to access the Internet?

How its work?
At first, spammers typed their seedy solicitations into e-mail messages, then displayed them as harder-to-detect graphics. Next came attachments of PDF and Word documents. Now, researchers say, junk-mail purveyors are attaching MP3 files to their missives so users who open them get audio messages about penny stocks, for example. More chatty spam is probably on the way, and it’s likely only a matter of time before video spam invades in-boxes too.

That all for you data, bye bye.

One of the more insidious types of computer virus commandeers a user’s PC, gang pressing it into a network of “bots” that can spew spam, record users’ keystrokes to steal bank account numbers and passwords, or launch attacks against Web sites. Such botnets are getting bigger in size and harder to take down. Case in point: the “Storm Worm” virus that has infected tens of millions of machines this year.

Wait, wait, do you think this is the end? Here more…

Hackers Go Pro??!!
In the past few years, hackers have banded together and worked with organized crime to harvest the most valuable data exposed on the Internet. Next year could witness an even more complete merger between the computer and criminal undergrounds. Developers for hire and professional hacking kits are available through online markets. And criminals are on the lookout for intellectual property that resides on companies’ servers. In 2005 and 2006, hackers stole as many as 94 million credit- and debit-card numbers from the computers of retailer TJ Maxx (TJX). More efficient groups could make break-ins like that even more prevalent.

Ok, let conclude the TOP 10 of online treat...

10. Spam Mail

Spam by e-mail is a type of spam that involves sending identical or nearly identical messages to thousands (or millions) of recipients. Addresses of recipients are often harvested from Usenet postings or web pages, obtained from databases, or simply guessed by using common names and domains.
By definition, spam is sent without the permission of the recipients.

9.Phishing Mail

Phishing attacks use both social engineering and technical subterfuge to steal consumers' personal identity data and financial account credentials. Phishing messages pretend to be from eBay, PayPal, your bank, or the like. If you log in to their fake sites, they steal your username and password and you’re sunk. However, both IE7 and Firefox 2 have phishing detection built in.

8.Wireless Attact

These attacks attempt to penetrate a network by using wireless or evading WLAN access control measures, like AP MAC filters and 802.1X port access controls. If youre not careful, anybody in range can mooch bandwidth from your wireless network and can rum-mage through your files, because they are inside your network. Your routers WPA/WEP encryption can stop the mooching but you have to use it.

7.Hacker Attact

A hacker is a person who accesses computer files without authorisation, often destroying vast amounts of data. Expert hackers dont have times to attack each computers individually. They might broadcast a network virus or release a Trojan, but a personal attack is highly unlikely.

6.Web Exploits

Some Web sites include malicious code to exploit vulnerabilities in your browser or operating system. Just visiting the site can infect or damage your system if the vulnerability hasn’t been patched.

5.Adware

Simple adware pops up ads that get in your face while browsing net can destroy your computer. Most of the adwares records your online activity, phones numbers, contacts and produces ads for you when you go online.

4.Viruses

A computer virus is a dangerous computer program with the characteristic feature of being able to generate copies of itself, and thereby spreading. Additionally most computer viruses have a destructive payload that is activated under certain conditions.

3.Spyware/Trojans

Spyware spies on everything you do and steals private infor-mation. Trojan horse programs pretend to be useful but can turn your computer into a spam-spewing zombie.

2.Identity Theif

Its not just about your computer when they use your credit cards, divert your paycheck, and change your vehicle registration.

1.Social Enginnering
The number one threat to your computers security is you!

Use COMMON SENSE...don't take programs from strangers, don't go to crackz and torrents web sites, and if your security software pops up a warning, READ IT before you click.
If can't, here is another to prevent it, do not use internet.
ME?still need to face this treat, need to post my assignment. :p

Phishing: Examples and its prevention methods

Phishing is a type of deception designed to steal your valuable personal data, such as credit card numbers, passwords, account data, or other information. PayPal, eBay and online banks are common targets. Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail or instant messaging, and often directs users to enter details at a website, although phone contact has also been used.

Phishing E-mail
In brief, a 'phishing' email is one that pretends to be from a company or bank like eBay, PayPal, WAMU, Suntrust etc, and which asks you, (for various reasons), to enter your account data, such as login details. These scams are often supported by fake spoof websites, and victims are tricked into thinking they are logging to a real website. Phishing is a form of identity theft, where fraudsters steal your identity and personal information to gain access to your accounts or commit other crimes using your persona.
Examples:
a.) The following is an example of what a phishing scam e-mail message might look like.



b.) An example of a phishing e-mail, disguised as an official e-mail from a (fictional) bank. The sender is attempting to trick the recipient into revealing secure information by "confirming" it at the phisher's website.



c.) An example of a phishing e-mail targeted at PayPal users.




Phone Phishing
Not all phishing attacks require a fake website. Messages that claimed to be from a bank told users to dial a phone number regarding problems with their bank accounts. Once the phone number (owned by the phisher, and provided by a Voice over IP service) was dialed, prompts told users to enter their account numbers and PIN. Vishing (voice phishing) sometimes uses fake caller-ID data to give the appearance that calls come from a trusted organization.


Prevention Methods:
If you get an email or pop-up message that asks for personal or financial information, do not reply. And don't click on the link in the message, either. Legitimate companies don’t ask for this information via email. If you are concerned about your account, contact the organization mentioned in the email using a telephone number you know to be genuine, or open a new Internet browser session and type in the company’s correct Web address yourself. In any case, don’t cut and paste the link from the message into your Internet browser — phishers can make links look like they go to one place, but
that actually send you to a different site.

Area codes can mislead. Some scammers send an email that appears to be from a legitimate business and ask you to call a phone number to update your account or access a “refund.” Because they use Voice over Internet Protocol technology, the area code you call does not reflect where the scammers really are. If you need to reach an organization you do business with, call the number on your financial statements or on the back of your credit card. In any case, delete random emails that ask you to confirm or divulge your financial information.

Use anti-virus and anti-spyware software, as well as a firewall, and update them all regularly. Some phishing emails contain software that can harm your computer or track your activities on the Internet without your knowledge. Anti-virus software and a firewall can protect you from inadvertently accepting such unwanted files. Anti-virus software scans incoming communications for troublesome files. Look for antivirus software that recognizes current viruses as well as older ones; that can effectively reverse the damage; and that updates automatically. A firewall helps make you invisible on the Internet and blocks all communications from unauthorized sources. It’s especially important to run a firewall if you have a broadband connection. Operating systems (like Windows or Linux) or browsers (like Internet Explorer or Netscape) also may offer free software “patches” to close holes in the system that hackers or phishers could exploit.

Don't email personal or financial information. Email is not a secure method of transmitting personal information. If you initiate a transaction and want to provide your personal or financial information through an organization’s website, look for indicators that the site is secure, like a lock icon on the browser’s status bar or a URL for a website that begins “https:” (the “s” stands for “secure”). Unfortunately, no indicator is foolproof; some phishers have forged security icons.

Review credit card and bank account statements as soon as you receive them to check for unauthorized charges. If your statement is late by more than a couple of days, call your credit card company or bank to confirm your billing address and account balances.

Be cautious about opening any attachment or downloading any files from emails you receive, regardless of who sent them. These files can contain viruses or other software that can weaken your computer's security.

Latest Phishing News Headlines:
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Yahoo! Hosting Phishing Sites

How to Safeguard our personal and financial data

From account information to personal data, the Internet has become an optimal place for criminals to get information. There are several ways to protect safeguard the personal and financial data when using the computer doing some transaction.

The Internet is not the only place that you need to be aware. In your daily transactions at the ATM, on the phone, shopping or in a restaurant, you need to know how to protect your information. Treat your personal and account information with great care, and avoid giving information easily to other people.

How can I protect myself from identity theft?

There are several step to prevent identity theft is awareness of how and when you use your personal information. By keeping close tabs on your personal information, you can reduce your chances of becoming an identity theft victim. Let’s start with credit cards and ATM:

• Create a strong password. When logging onto a secure site, choose a password that others can’t guess but is easy to remember. Use a combination of numbers and letters. For example, select a word you can remember but replace some of the letters with numbers, e.g., secret=s1cr1t. Avoid using family or pet names, birth dates, anniversaries or social security numbers.
• Memorize your Social Security number and passwords. Don’t record your password, personal identification number on papers you carry with you.
• Change your Password frequently for greater protection, we recommend at least every 72 days
• Never give personal or financial information over the phone or Internet unless you initiated the contact.
• Check your monthly credit card and bank statements for unusual activity. Request and check your credit report at least once a year for mistakes or fraudulent use. If you come across any suspicious activity on your accounts, contact your financial institution immediately.
• Do not download files sent to you by strangers or click on hyperlinks from people you don’t know.
• When you use your credit card online, make sure you are using a secure Web site. Look for a small key or lock symbol at the bottom right of your.
• Report lost or stolen checks, ATM cards, or Check Cards as soon as you discover they are missing.
• ATM, Check Card, and credit card receipts may bear your account numbers and should be securely destroyed or stored for your protection.

Online and Email Safety

• Do not share your login access codes for Online Services with any third party.
• Do not access your bank, brokerage or other financial services information at Internet cafes, or other public spaces.
• Never leave your computer unattended while using any online banking or investing services.
• Do not respond to emails appearing to be from your bank, government office or other entity that request personal information such as User IDs, Passwords, PINs, Social Security Number, etc.
• Do not open unexpected attachments from known or unknown sources.
• Avoid using an automatic login feature that saves your Password.
• Only submit personal information if you are on a secure Web site. Once logged in to a site, make sure the Web address starts with a "https" ("s" means it's a secure area). For added safety, check for a site certificate before submitting information on a secure page. Confirm the owner of the certificate by clicking on the padlock icon at the bottom of most browsers. You should see the owner listed as well as a URL. This URL should match the URL at the top of the page; if they do not match, you may be at a fraudulent Web site and should not enter sensitive data.

An example of an E-Commerce Failure and Its Causes

During the late 1990s and early into the year 2000, we witnessed the launch, rapid rise and sudden fall of a relatively new industry…e-commerce. With the widespread use of the Internet, exciting business to consumer (B2C) e-tail opportunities emerged. Sites began selling online directly to consumers, everything from books, to pet supplies, to clothing. This created a frenzy of companies trying to get online, to stake their claim, and to get a piece of the action.
However, have some of the businesses succeed and fail due to a number of different and complex factors. Such as pets.com, boo.com, streamline.com, garden.com and eToys.com as examples of the hundreds of dot com businesses that failed.

Each was a pure-play Internet business, existing only online with no bricks and mortar presence. These e commerce failures all occurred on a large scale, with the businesses burning through hundreds of millions of dollars in just a few years.

A common theory about dot com companies is that they were all being run by a bunch of “twenty-something’s” with no previous management experience. Example of eToy.com will failure in e-commerce because of the founder of eToys previously worked for the Walt Disney Corporation, but had no experience with the retail toy industry.

Generally management experience is considered to be one of the most important contributing factors to success or failure. Without previous experience, a business is more likely to fail. In the case of these online retailers, even though there was a wide range of experience among the leaders, it may have been the lack of specific industry knowledge that contributed to the failure.

Another cause of failure is competition environment. The eToy.com was competing with companies such as Toys R’ Us that had not only an online presence, but also the perceived stable infrastructure of bricks and mortar. EToys.com strategy to offer more diverse products conflicted with the strong “toy store” branding they had created.The price wars and high customer acquisition costs also caused problems for this e-tailer.

Some cause that eToy.com fail because of customer service and poor demand forecasting. For example, in the case for the 1999 Christmas season, it decided to use a third party, Fingerhut, to fulfill orders. EToys.com described the outcome as a disaster. Seeing the disappointment on a child's face only once was enough for a parent to never buy from that company again. This electronic orders increased, particularly during the peak holiday season, eToys was unable to meet its delivery requirements due to its limited logistics capability and poor demand forecasting, and make eToy.com unsuccessful in e- commerce. However the sites did offer toll free lines for customer services and attempted to have representatives in place for consumer contact, but this was not enought to create a feeling of trust and services.

History and Evolution of E-commerce

Electronic Commerce - Overview
E-commerce is a technology-mediated exchange between parties (individuals or organizations) as well as the electronically based intra-or inter-organizational activities that facilitate such exchanges. E-commerce consists primarily of the distributing, buying, selling, marketing, and servicing of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks.

History and evolution of E-Commerce
The origin of commerce by exchanging goods occurred before recorded history, now commerce is a basic activity of goods trading and buying in everyday life. Entering into the electronic era, the way individuals and organizations do business and undertake commercial transactions have been changed. This indicates the movement towards electronic commerce. This means there is no paper work and physical interaction is limited, if at all. The emergence of electronic commerce started in the early 1970s with the earliest example electronic funds transfer (EFT), which allows organizations to transfer funds between one another electronically. Then another technology electronic interchange (EDI) was introduced. It helps to extend inter-business transactions from financial institutions to other types of business and also provides transactions and information exchanges from suppliers to the end customers. However, the early system development was limited to special networks such as large corporations and financial institutions, which are costly and complex to administer for small business. So EDI was not widely accepted as expected.
With the progress of Internet technology and a highly developed global Internet community, a strong foundation of prosperous electronic commerce continues to be built. During the 1990s, the Internet was opened for commercial use; it was also the period that users started to participate in World Wide Web (WWW), and the phenomenon of rapid personal computer (PCs) usage growth. Due to the rapid expansion of the WWW network; e-commerce software; and the peer business competitions, large number of dot-coms and Internet starts-ups appeared. Integrated with the commercialization of the Internet, Web invention, and PC networks these three important factors made electronic commerce possible and successful .

Here is the summary of Year and Event
1984
EDI, or electronic data interchange, was standardized through ASCX12. This
guaranteed that companies would be able to complete transactions with one another reliably.
1992
Compuserve offers online retail products to its customers. This gives people the first chance to buy things off their computer.
1994
Netscape arrived. Providing users a simple browser to surf the Internet and a safe online transaction technology called Secure Sockets Layer.
1995
Two of the biggest names in e-commerce are launched: Amazon.com and eBay.com.
1998
DSL, or Digital Subscriber Line, provides fast, always-on Internet service to subscribers across California. This prompts people to spend more time, and money, online.
1999
Retail spending over the Internet reaches $20 billion, according to Business.com.
2000
The U.S government extended the moratorium on Internet taxes until at least 2005.

Discuss how e-commerce can reduce cycle time, improve employees' empowerment and facilitate customer support

Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce, consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the internet and other computer networks. The amount of trade conducted electronically has grown extraordinarily since the spread of the internet.





Reduce cycle time

Cycle time reduction is identifying and implementing more efficient ways to do things. Reducing cycle time is eliminating or reducing non-value-added activity, which is defined as any activity that does not add value to the product. E-commerce can reduce the sales cycle time by selling the product through internet instead of face to face to meet the customer. Besides that, customer can order the product at anytime or anywhere through the website and the company can respond to the order immediately. The company and the customer can reduce the cycle time and save the cost.





Improve employees' empowerment

Employee empowerment means giving employees responsibility and authorityto make decision regarding all aspects of product development or customer services to engage personnel in an e-business culture. E-commerce can improve employees' empowerment where provides enabling technologies for the company's empowerment. Nowadays, many companies have develop their own intranet where employer can communicate with the employees easily. Morever, employees can respond to the customer's request directly with the permission of employers. Besides that, employees can get the latest company's news and announcement through the company intranet.





Facilitate customer support

E-commerce facilitate customer support by providing a wide range of technological solutions and communication opportunities. Besides that, consumer can select from many vendors and from more product through e-commerce. Morever, e-commerce allow customers to shop in many places and conduct a comparison when they want to buy things. In addition, consumer can locate relevant and the product information within a second, rahter than days or weeks. E-commerce also allow consumer to facilitate customization and personalization of the product and services like Dell company.



In conclusion, company can reduce cycle time, improve employees' empowerment and facilitate customer support through E-commerce.

An example of an E-commerce success and its causes

With the changing trends of globalization and the advancement of modern technology, the development of e-commerce has boomed in the past few years. E-commerce consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. Amazon.com was launched in 1999, which is an e-commerce best known as the first online retailer of the Internet world.

Amazon is presently ruling the Internet business with its best marketing techniques and expertise in relation to the market trends and demands of its customers. It is the only website that contains altogether web books, business brands and retails on a single web-based business. Once the world's largest bookstore, Amazon.com also offers the world's largest selection of just about everything. Whether want to buy some new kitchenware or baby clothes; browse every conceivable title of new and used CDs, DVDs and books; or contribute a few bucks to favorite presidential candidate, an online universe of commerce is a mouse-click away. So, it contains items related to all ages, all interests and all fields as well as all areas.

A popular feature of Amazon is the ability for users to submit reviews to the web page of each product. Users must rate the product on a rating scale from one to five stars. Such rating scales will provide a basic idea of the popularity and dependability of a product. The review feature is one of the main reasons for Amazon.com’s success at selling books. In recent years, Amazon had created that allowed users to comment on the reviews.

In addition, Amazon.com also offers a lower cost to its customers as compared with its competitors. The reason is the fact that they have lower operating costs, thus hold fewer inventories than the traditional stores in the market. With lower prices, it can attract new customers to maximize its market share. The adoption of a strong base of selling products lead Amazon.com to achieve success in the filed of e-commerce.

Furthermore, its major promotion activity is to make use of mass media which are print and broadcast like newspaper, TV, and radio. This will enable them to make initial contact with customers. Through advertising, Amazon increases its brand awareness. A recent study by Interbrand ranked Amazon.com as the 57th most valuable brand in the world. A separate study by Opinion Research Corp. indicated that 60% of US adults were aware of the Amazon brand name, the highest awareness for any eCommerce brand name.

In conclusion, the strong organizational as well as goal oriented strategies and team work along its excellent customer oriented policies are the major causes which lead Amazon.com to gain tremendous economic profits and recognition among the other competitors in the field of e-commerce.


News about Amazon.com:
http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2007/9/27/technology/20070926092740&sec=technology

Boyz & girlz, ladys or gentlemen, everybody...I'm here??!!!

First time blogging here, it’s kind of mixture lot of feeling…
Bit of awkward + bit of weird + bit of excited + …= My BLOG
Where I started…erm…okay, let me generally introducing myself first, my name is Chiang Wai Hui, 21 years old (actually is 20 years old only, because haven’t reach my birthday yet and why I care so much? Only women will know), female, hometown is in Bayan Lepas, Penang . Now taking my degree in University Tunku Abdul Rahman which is Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) Accounting .
I’m the only child in the family, ya, I know I know, how lucky I was but wasn’t much more lucky if there always have someone(sibling) that can share with. No lah, kidding, the truth is really not so bad to the only child in the family. HEHE.

Ok, where am I, oh, how about what my hobbies is. Is sleeping call hobby? No? Haiz…after having a university life, my life become super busy, I have no extra time to rest and watch TV drama as use to be, be able to hang out with my friend when it’s semester break only. However, my only enjoyable period in the whole semester…semester break in Year Three might be no more if and only we can catch up the process of our degree thesis…(-.-) Oh ya, I also like to collect any unique thing with the condition that I affordable. Yup, anything no matter sea shell, stamp, boxes......even stone

The top 5 website that I will be visited the most will be yahoo(www.yahoo.com), Google(www.google.com), face book(www.face book.com), you tube(www.youtube.com) and UTAR(www.utar.edu.my) website.
Yahoo and Google is for the purpose of checking mail and finding information of the assignment or any other school work that needed extra information.
The next two website is actually for the entertainment purpose, Facebook…you know, meeting new people, poke friends, playing small online game or application and etc. Meanwhile, Youtube can let me search any video clip which is the latest or hottest discussion such as Wong Ming Chee case, you know young people must be always up to dated one.
Other top website I will be visited the most will be UTAR website, this is the website that I visit the most specially in the period of study week till the date the result been release.
Yaya, this is almost all the basic thing about me. So, if you would like/wish/free to know further about me…wait for my other post… coming soon.

About Khor Chun Fong

Dear friends,
Hi, let me introduce myself. My name is khor chun fong or u can call me smallchilly.Now i'm 22 year old. Currently i studying at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman at KL, Sungai Long. I'm taking the course of Bachelor Accounting. What i like to do in my freetime?
Hei hei, i like to play with my dog called BeBe, it's so cute. It's always bring joy to our lives. All my family members love BeBe so much. Nevertheless, i not always stay at home but i always miss it. I interest in listen the musics and watch the movie.

The 5 websites that i always surt are as follow:

http://www.friendster.com/
The websites allow me make more friends through online. Besides that allow me view the friends lives photo where they do and go. Regarding that, be interested in around their friends.

http://www.i-beauty.com.my/
The website allow me to e-shopping through online. The website provide new fashion clothes,begs,commestic and so on. When i interesting in that product i will buy online. The website is trusting because is created by my friends. Remember take a time login that website look-look and see-see.

http://www.msn.com/
The website provide me chit-chat with my friends that no need using the handphone. Haha can save the money. Any discussion regarding the homework i can share with my friends easily with click on the keyboard.

http://www.google.com/
The website allow me search the information that i want. This website is useful in helping me when doing the assignment.

http://www.skyme.com/
The website provide a lot of the movie and song. It can get the latest new information regarding the entertainment news of the artist. Its also introduce the new movie that which one will coming soon and the content of the movie. I didn't download the movie and song but i will directly enjoy online.

About Ching Siew Hooi

My name is Ching Siew Hooi, I am a 21 year old girl. I come from Kampung Jawi, Penang. Now I studying in University Tunku Abdul Rahman. I am a accounting student from group 13.

I like to surf internet when i am free. Besides that, i also like to read prose and magazine, watch movie , shopping, jogging and swimming.

The 5 top websites that i visit the most are:

http://www.youtube.com/

I can watch my favourite video clip through youtube. My favourite video clip is entertaiment shows.


http:///www.friendster.com

This website allow me to make more friends. Besides that, i can contact with my primary, secondary and college's friend through friendster. I also can view my friends' photo and check for my horoscope.

http://www.google.com/

This website is a search engine that allow me to search information, image, latest news and video. Morever, I use gmail to receive and send email. This website is very helpful when i doing my assignment.

http://www.hotmail.com/

I can check and read my mail through this website. Besides that, i also can send the forward message to my friends and share the information with them.

http://www.kwongwah.com.my/

I visit this website everyday because i can get the latest news around the world and keep me up-to-date.

About Bong Nyok Khim

My name is Bong Nyok Khim. I am a Malaysian female and am 21 years of age. Currently, I am a student of the Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman in Kuala Lumpur. I am taking the course of Bachelor of Commerce(Hons)Accounting. My wish is to gain weight because I am too thin.

Sometimes, i like to play badminton with friends, and also watch movie. Besides that, I also like to surf Internet during my free time. From surf the Internet, I gain a lot of benefits.

The following are the top five websites that I surf the most :

http://www.my.com.my/
This website enables me upgrade my music sense.This is because the latest news which relate to the music will be posted on this website. In addition, this website also provides online radio. I can know the schedule of my idol in Malaysia from the information posted on this website.

http://www.youtube.com/
This website enables the people to post their videos and sharing with friends. Through this website, I can watch the video that are very interesting.Youtube contains various videos which were posted by the people in different countries.

http://www.thestar.com.my/
I can get the latest news which relate to the politic,social,economic,and entertainment from visiting this website. Meanwhile, I also found that my english level had been improved because all the news in this website is in the form of english language.It also allows me to search the news which are needed on my assignment.

http://www.google.com/
This website is very useful when i am doing my assignment . I am more likely to use it rather than using http://www.yahoo.com/ in searching for information because it provides various information that i consider necessary on my assignment. This website also convenient when searching information.

http://www.hotmail.com/
This website allowed me to transfer the information to people through sending e-mail. Besides that, it also allowed me to check the mail that people send to me.

The internet activities that i like the most are chatting, search information and send e-mail.