The Application of Pre-Paid Cash Card For Consumers

Prepaid cash card is an electronic cash cards. There are some differences from credit card and debit card. As their name indicates, prepaid cash cards have been pay in advance. Prepaid cash card need personal identification number to make transaction, thus you no need worry when someone steal your information.

Example : Touch n Go

Touch ’n Go as a prepaid card use around us. It is easy and convenient to use like its name touch and then go. Before this, we know that Touch ‘n Go not only for toll fares but also theme park, parking services and common ticket system (CTS) for rail transit system. Nowadays, Touch ‘n Go also applicable for retail payments. Six retail merchants comprising fast food chain A&W, Dunkin Donuts, Burger King, Caltex Starmat, Cathay Cineplexes and 7-Eleven together make up a total 15 outlets for payment purpose. Otherwise, Touch ‘n Go application also applicable for payments at outlets with drive-thru lanes. The purposes for the company continue come out these applications is to increase awareness of customer figure out a cashless society.

Example : Octopus Card

>The Octopus card is a rechargeable contact less stored value smart card used to transfer electronic payments in online or offline system in Hong Kong. The transportation payment process only takes a few second that is very instantly. Before this, Octopus is use to collect fares for the city’s mass transit system and now it can used for payment system for all public transport in Hong Kong. And it also used for payment at supermarkets, fast-food restaurants, convenient stores, on-street parking meters, car parks, and other point-of-sale application.

Example : EZ-Link

>In Singapore, EZ-Link is one of the prepaid cash cards that are using from year 2001. EZ-Link is a contact less smartcard based on Sony’s FeliCa smartcard technology. The card commonly use for paying transportation fees in the city-state’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRS), Light Rapid Transit (LRT) and public bus services. Besides that, EZ-Link cards also used for payments in Singapore branches of McDonald’s, supermarkets, food centers and even soft drink purchase from vending machines. Now, some of schools in Singapore also start to adopt this card as a way to mark attendance of students.

Review on the post "New Spamming Tactics"

As refer to the post “New Spamming Tactics”, Mr.Hen pointed out a useful tip, DON’T click on any link in the mail, or download any attachment until you get confirmation from the sender. Some malicious software may auto generate spam by searching through the contact list in the address book. Hence, be aware when you receive adnormal mail from your friends.

In my opinion, using spam filter is not a very good option. The chances of successfully filter out the spam is not guarantee, at the same time it may accidently filter out your important mail.

The best way of avoiding spam is not to open any suspected mail. An important mail or official messages from companies always have proper mail title and sender name where immiately tell you what is the content about.

Most importantly, stop forward the spam mail around. For example, “MSN is full…, Please reverting this message to keep you account live…. Etc”. Mail service provider as well as other web site will never delete user account.

I appreciate Mr.Hen bring out the tactic of using PDF spam. I never thought of this as spam before I read this post. In addition to this, some malicious software make use of “.zip.exe, .doc.exe, .xls.exe” to trick their victims.

How Safe Is Our Data??

Just about anyone that gets online is at risk!!!
Online security threats are one of the biggest challenges on the Internet today.
Want to know what are the threats are heading your way ? Here, we bring you the updates on the viruses.


Cyber attacks fall under several categories, accidental actions and malicious attacks. Under this, there also include computer viruses, denial of service attacks and distributed denial ofservice attacks. Thus, identity theft and data theft also included.MySpace, Facebook has been the primary attack of the hackers.

• Accidental Actions
  ¤This category encompasses problems arising from lack of knowledge about online security concepts such as poor passwords choices, business transactions and outdated software

• Malicious Attacks>
  
  ¤ Attacks that specifically aim to do harm which can be further broken down into attacks will caused intential misinterpretation. Malicious code, on the other hand, so called "cracking" and "hackings"
  
  

• Denial Of Service Attacks
  >
  ¤ Denial of service attacks, another form of malicious code, are carefully craftedand executed. Distributed DoS is a type of attack used on popular sites, such as Yahoo!®. In this type of attack, the hacker infects computers on the Internet via a virus or other means. This attack not only causes the target site to experience problems, but also the entire Internet as the number of packets is routed via many different paths
  to the target.
  
  
• Data Theft
  >
  ¤ Data theft over the Internet has dramatically increased in recent years. There have already been around one hundred known cases around the world in which 40 million credit cards numbers have been stolen. Many card providers now have added security and software designed to protect credit card holders. One example is The Falcon, fraud detection software that watches all accounts constantly, looking for irregularities, such as unusually large transactions, irregular spending or simultaneous purchases in two different places.
  
  
  
• Trojan Horse
  >
  ¤ The file infector which means the virus will attach with other files when you’re running it in your computer. The threats can destroy the computer functions and significant information even can spoil the device of the computer.
  

Sources :

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2007/tc2007119_234494.htm
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/websphere/library/techarticles/0504_mckegney/0504_mckegney.html http://www.buzzle.com/articles/different-types-of-computer-viruses.html

Phishing: Examples and its Prevention Method

Phishing is the process of attempting to criminally and fradulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Pay Pal, eBay ,MSN, Yahoo and online banks are common targets.

How phishing works?

The perpetrator carried out using email addresses and instant messaging. They will use fake website they have created instead of legitimate one to entice people to share sensitive information, like usernames, password and credit-card details.

Examples :

1. The "From Field" appears to be from the legitimate company mentioned in the e-mail. It is important to note, however, that it is very simple to change the "from" information in any e-mail client.

2. The e-mail will usually contain logos or images that have been taken from the Web site of the company mentioned in the scam e-mail.

3.The e-mail will contain a clickable link with text suggesting you use the inserted link to validate your information. In the image you will see that once the hyperlink is highlighted, the bottom left of the screen shows the real Web site address to which you will go. Note that the hyperlink does NOT point to the legitimate Citibank Web site URL

Prevention Method

1. Guard against spam
   ゅBe especially cautious of emails that, come from unrecognized senders.Which ask you to confirm personal or financial information over the Internet or make urgent requests for this information.
   ゅTry to upset you into acting quickly by threatening you with frightening information.


2. Do not click on links, download files or open attachments in emails from unknown senders. ゅIt is best to open attachments only when you are expecting them and know what they contain, even if you know the sender



3. Check your online accounts and bank statements regularly to ensure that no unauthorized transactions have been made



4. "Dear Valued Customer."
   ゅPhishing e-mail messages are usually sent out in bulk and do not contain your first or last name. Although, it is possible that con artists have this information. Most legitimate companies (but not all) should address you by first and last name.



5. Beware of pop-ups
   Never enter personal information in a pop-up screen.
   ゅDo not click on links in a pop-up screen.
   ゅDo not copy web addresses into your browser from pop-ups.
   ゅ Legitimate enterprises should never ask you to submit personal information in pop-up screens, so don’t do it.



6. Immediately Report Suspected Phishing Contacts
   ゅ If you do receive a message you suspect to be a phishing scam, call the customer service phone number right away to confirm whether you've received an actual message or not. In addition, almost every bank and credit card lender has a website where you can report suspicious emails and instant messages.

Sources

http://www.webopedia.com/didyouknow/internet/2005/phishing.asp
http://www.msun.edu/infotech/its/how/security/phishing-examples.htm
http://www.spywareremove.com/phishing/preventphishingscams.php
http://www.identitytheftkiller.com/prevent-phishing-scams.php

How to Safeguard Our Personal and Financial Data?

Why should we safeguard???
Having the thought of ,the personal data and your financial data being exposed to others. Who knows, some one will just hack your account or computer to steal all the information?
It is crucial that we have steps to guide us to prevent all these happened.
How do we prevent these?

• Use and maintain anti-virus software and a firewall

Protect yourself against viruses and Trojan horses that may steal or modify the data on your own computer and leave you vulnerable by using anti-virus software and a firewall.Make sure to keep your virus definitions up to date.

• Clear your browser cookies after every session.

>To take erasing your footprint a step further, do not accept any browser cookies by
default.Change your local username daily. Browsers and other software have been known to pass local

• Regularly scan your computer for spyware

>Spyware or adware hidden in software programs may affect the performance of your computer and give attackers access to your data. Use a legitimate anti-spyware program to scan your computer and remove any of these files.

• Avoid accessing financial information in public

>Resist logging on to check your bank balance when working from a coffee shop that offers wireless access. These systems are convenient, but also unknown.

• Look for "locks."

>How can you tell if your financial site is really secure before you log on? The Web address should start with "https," instead of "http," says Weston. Also, look for small lock icon in the lower-right corner of the browser window.

• Password

>Coming up with and storing secure passwords to protect the personal financial data. Like choose the passwords that would be difficult for someone who can figure out, do not use personal information, and keep a record of important passwords that guard financial data

Sources:
http://gigaom.com/2007/12/26/how-to-safeguard-your-privacy-online/
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/103893/Six-Ways-to-Safeguard-Your-Online-Assets
http://cordis.europa.eu/ictresults/index.cfm/section/news/tpl/article/BrowsingType/Features/ID/88408
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/ST06-008.html

Ways E-Commerce can reduce cycle time, improve employees' empowerment and facilitate customer support

E-Commerce Reduce Cycle Time

Do you want to be your customer's preferred supplier?

Would delivering a quality product in less time than competition increase sales?

If YES, you should consider implementing a plan to reduce cycle time….

What is cycle time ? Cycle time is the time required to complete a given process.Example,the cycle time required to process a customer order might start with the customer phone call and end with the order being shipped in. E-Commerce has help in reduce cycle time by eliminating non-value added activities like inspection, test and schedule delays, and also queuing time on buying products. By implementing cycle time reduction, it is more efficient hence quickly respond to consumer wants.

Dell company has been implementing reduction cycle time day-by-day. When we purchase orders online, the orders will instantly send to the manufacturing department. Hence, it save processing time, cost and hours. From this, it creates convenient to consumers and it is very efficient in delivering the products.

E-Commerce Improves Employee's Empowerment

Besides that, due to the advanced technology that our world has,employees been learned to be more independent in making decision. Example, when consumers online purchase goods, the employees in charge will need to check the availability of the credit card number that the consumer gave to confirm the purchases. Thus, it also provide customer satisfaction to fulfill customer needs.

E-Commerce Facilitates Customer Support

Dell website which keeps customers in touch with the location of their goods and when they will arrive. Provision of this sort of information creates greater customer satisfaction and sense of control. Publishing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) on a website saves customers time and money waiting on the phone for a response.

Automatic email responses provide customers with instant information to their inquiries and helpcreate more sales by answering general queries more quickly and comprehensively. Websites with interactive features, eg chat line, bulletin board, email, e-forms. These facilities help keep thecustomer in touch with the “real person” in the business. Some customers respond better in this environment and the business owner can ask more direct questions of the customer to help build personal profile information.

The History and evolution of E-Commerce

What is E-Commerce ?

It is the online transaction of business which links the computer system with vendor, host and buyer thus also transfers of ownership or rights to use a good or service. The most famous activities on the Web are shopping. Everyone can shop everywhere and every time when online.

History of E-Commerce

History of ecommerce dates back to the invention of the very old notion of “sell and buy”, electricity, cables, computers, modems, and the Internet. Ecommerce became possible in 1991 when the Internet was opened to commercial use. Since that date thousands of businesses have taken up residence at web sites.

Year	Event
1984	EDI, or electronic data interchange, was standardized through ASC X12. 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.

Evolution of E-Commerce

E-commerce has come a long way in the last 14 years. From the evolution since startup, it has become from unprofitable to profitable idea. Companies like Amazon.com have successfully brokenthrough, being a long term business and playing an important role of E-commerce. Even though there are companies that failed to have positive impact on the brands, thus poorly implemented E-commerce actually serves to impait the industry as a whole, giving people lessons on how to establish an E-Commerce company.

However, as the evolution of E-Commerce continues. The technology also will need to improve, from the perspectives of organizational and support. Only then, a relationship of trust will ne build that makes E-Commerce more important in our life rather than just a tool in varying small percentage in our society.