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

Internet auction fraud is a growing epidemic worldwide, as online shopping has grown significantly every year that online shopping has been available. 51,000 cases of internet fraud cases were reported in 2002. In 2006, that number ballooned to 97,000. The numbers are staggering, but everyone can lower their risk by knowing what auction fraud is, how to detect it, and how to prevent falling for it.

However, e-auctions have several limitations such as limited aprticipation,lack of security, fraud or limited software solutions that can support the dynamis commerce. These may because of the buyers cannot see the items, so they may get a defective product. Most internet auction fraud cases involve straightforward scams where consumers allegedly win merchandise by being the highest bidder. All sounds good until they send the payment and never receive the merchandise.

Below are some tips take note to prevent e-auciton fraud when a consumer participating in an e-auction:

i) Become familiar with the auction website. Look into the websites protection policies. Never assume you are protected from auction fraud.

ii) Before placing a bid, learn as much as you can about the seller. If you can't find anything out about the seller, than avoid doing business with them. Never fall for promises of better deals by moving away from the original auction website.

iii) If the seller wants you to use an escrow service you've never heard of, look into it. Check out the website. Call up customer support. Contact them to digg up data on the business in question. If you can't confirm the legitimacy, don't use it.

iv) Never ever give out your social security number, drivers license number, credit card number, or bank account information until you have thoroughly checked out the seller and the escrow service.

v) Always save 100% of the transaction information. You'll be glad you did in the event your case makes it to court.

vi) If after the sale you feel the item/payment should have been delivered already, try to work it out with the seller/buyer. If at that point you feel that fraud is involved, immediately contact your state attorney general's office.

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

In this century, millions of people are expected to own mobile phones. A mobile payment or m-payment may be defined is as any payment where a mobile device is used to initiate, authorize and confirm an exchange of financial value in return for goods and services. Mobile devices may include mobile phones, PDAs, wireless tablets and any other device that connect to mobile telecommunication network and make it possible for payments to be made.

There have two primary models for mobile payment: Premium SMS based transactional payments and Mobile web payment (WAP). Mobile payment can be used to pay any number fees of digital or physical goods, such as videos, ringtones, games, wallpapers, books, magazines, tickets and other goods. There are a few different purpose uses by the consumers. The most common one is that they use it to pay their credit card bills, telephone bills and so on. They just have to activate their telephones by logging into websites. After registering their mobile telephone numbers, they can enjoy the services. Mobile payment service is developing fast recently in Malaysia. It will work best in those areas where it can emphasize the core virtue of mobile networks-convenience.

The potential of mobile payment systems is that it is easy and convenient for mobile users to make payment through mobile devices. This will help to save their time to go from one place to another place. Other than that, it is very simple to use. They can make their payments by registering their mobile phone numbers. This means that user do not have to go thru sophisticated steps. This will ease those users who are not well educated.

Review a local e-commerce site

Lelong.com is an online store doing selling and buying transaction. A mean of identifying Lelong.com.my is to use an international comparison that everyone is familiar with. Styled and functioning similar to the international auction site, eBay.com, Lelong.com.my powers a robust and secure avenue for trading in Malaysia. The idea of an auction site in Malaysia has taken off with tremendous response. With a local flavour, members feel a sense of belonging and constantly keep in contact with the Lelong Development Team to give feedback, be it positive or negative. Starting based on Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) transactions, Lelong.com.my is now moving to becoming a channel for Business-to-Consumer (B2C) relationships. Many distributors have realised the power of using the auction system and are now using our site to trade and grow their business.

The website use white color as the background color caused the pictures of the product looks clearly and attractive. The font of the word is around 8, it is too small and inconvenience for some users. However, the website is user friendly because user can search the desired product through categories such as beauty&health, car&transport, clothing&accessories etc. There are also a lot of links that may help the users link to the home page, online order ways, payment method, and contact supplier easily.

Lelong.com provides detailed information about their products, display pictures, regular price, online order price, number of order unit, shopping cart etc. Function of request a quote for the consumer who cannot find the product they wish to find also available at the website, so consumer can describe the product they wish to buy to them. At the bottom of the website, there have an e-mail address for enquiries. So have a look at this popular local e-commerce website now, you may figure out your desired products through this site.

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

The Electronic Government initiative was launched to lead the country into the Information Age. It will improve 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. At the same time, it will improve information flows and processes within government to improve the speed and quality of policy development, coordination and enforcement.

To accelerate the objectives of Malaysia Vision 2020, a path has already been defined through seven innovative Flagship Applications such as Electronic Government, Multipurpose Card, Smart School, Telehealth, R&D Cluster, E-business, and Technopreneur Development.
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.

The implementation of Malaysia E-Government project in progress:
1. Project Monitoring System (SPP II)

2. Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS)

3. Generic Office Environment (GOE)

4. Electronic Procurement (EP)

5. Electronic Services (E-Services)

6. Electronic Labour Exchange (ELX)

7. E-Syariah

The implementation of e-government would bring benefits to the public administration and Malaysian society in several ways:

i) First, e-government improves efficiency since the use of information technology enables improvement in mass processing tasks and public administration operations.

ii) Second, e-government improves services, as the main element in reforming government operations is to adopt a customer-focused approach. These applications will provide a seamless online service and thus improve traditional government services.

iii) Next, e-government would help to achieve specific outcome. The Internet can help stakeholders share information and ideas and contribute to specific policy outcomes.

Citizen's adoption strategies:

In Malaysia, the internal processes for human resources, procurement and funding rank second in the hierarchy of challenges. The main challenge in e-government in Malaysia is the technological challenge, which includes issues like standards, data integration, legacy maintenance and privacy and security. The key priority in Malaysia now is to improve the core government applications and integrating more services across agencies. At the same time, market the e-government services to the public and businesses.
In order to make the right decisions and avoid falling behind, government must identify and resolve the different issues that have arisen from the transition period during which traditional and e-government co-exist.

Corporate Blogging: New marketing communication tool for companies.

How corporate blog does help the organizations? How can we benefit from promoting corporate blogging within our company?

Corporate blog: an official blog from a company, which signals that the blog is an official communications channel for the company.

Corporate blogging can help organization feel more human to the world and it is a way for company to become intertwined with the Internet community depending on organization and their business model. If corporate blog gains popularity, there could have thousands of people subscribing to the company feed. This can equate to instant success and popularity of company products. Actually, organization also may start to accepted use of blogging as a part of corporate policy. A corporate blog can be a tool that helps the organization fulfills a business goal. It is also a useful extension of the company image in the marketplace because there was no substitute for bad products or lack of commitment to customer. Besides, it is an opportunity to open a two-way channel between employees and customers. Employee can tell what their wants and needs to the organization and fight for their right as they can have more benefits in the organization. It helps organization have a new relationship with customers and build network because customer may communicate with organization communities unfiltered and promote the instant feedback helps the organization increase service quality. There are many positive outcomes that businesses can derive from adopting social media. Internet is humanizing and corporate blog may helps to humanize organization to customer. It can make the company have good reputation, likability and thus purchase consideration.

An example of corporate blog implementation and it’s effect.

Ex: Google

(http://googleblog.blogspot.com/)

Google blogs are one of the corporate blog which called Blogger in Google (BIG ). Google was successful in implemented the internet Web log system behind its firewall. Few years ago, Google already saw the fantastic benefits in the future by providing corporate blogging tools and expertise to interested clients. Google set up an internal blog for its employees shortly after acquiring the blogging service Blogger in early 2003 and its staffs found that internal blogs has many useful and creative ways. There were a lot of different uses of blogs within the firewall such as employees keeping track of meeting notes, sharing the problem solving information, snippets of code, and interaction within co-workers via company’s internal blogs.

Besides, it also helps intranet and internal base of documents growth. The officials of Google are around 619,000 RSS subscribers and the company has a very extensive blogroll. So, for Google it is growing interest among businesses towards blogs as business communication tools, especially among IT departments. There was because the command of IT organizations today is to do more with less, so the better they can communicate and share things, the more efficient their operations will be. So, there is a huge benefit in blogging for Google in implementing IT projects.

Nowadays, Google so successful in corporate blog so it has a great business idea about the opportunity in providing software and consulting to those companies interested in set up an internal Blogger version and needed it in the future. Google are competing head-to-head against enterprise document management products vendor and enterprise publishing software vendors if they really invest in these business. Corporate blog is going to be a growing trend over the next couple of years.

Pros and cons of corporate blogs:

Pros:

• 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.

Cons:

• 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.
• Negative comment
• Loss of control over message
• Neglect

How to start a corporate blog? Here are some steps show that how a corporate start a blog.

1. Identify what area of communications you want to improve.

· External communication

i. Brand awareness/Brand positioning

ii. Business development

iii. Issues management/lobbying

iv. Crisis communication

v. Media relations

vi. Recruitment marketing

vii. Customer support

viii. Reseller/dealer support

ix. Community relations

· Internal Communication

i. Knowledge management

ii. Sales support

iii. Project communication

2. Choose to start a corporate blog or to encourage an employee blog.

3. Should you start a group blog or an individual blog?

4. What geographic area should the blog cover (global or one country? What language should you use?

5. Company wide blog or blog per practice group, market unit, product group, industry sector?

6. Find employees who are good communicators and willing to spend the time posting on the blog.

7. Get the accept from CEO or whoever has the final say.

8. Create an editorial policy about who gets to blog, tone of voice, areas to cover, length and frequency of posts, information sources to cover, copyright aspects, target audience, do’s and dont’s.

9. Get accept from your IT department. They will worry about security and the risks of having several individuals post information live on a website. Get their help in selecting administration software and setting up the blog, domain, RSS feeds and tracking/measurement capabilities.

10. Create a corporate blog with the correct graphic profile according to your brand guidelines. Include biographies and photos of the bloggers.

11. Create an extensive list of information sources for the bloggers to cover in order to get information to comment on. Include official news sources, media, other blogs, press releases etc.

12. Give your bloggers access to a news aggregator so that they get the feel of RSS feeds and how it works.

13. Give your bloggers a list of blogs to read. Most people are not used to reading blogs and need to become familiar with blogging style writing and netiquette (linking policies etc).

14. Allow a trial period for some weeks, to be able to fine tune and make adjustments.

15. Start an RSS-feed and make the blog public.

16. Begin marketing your blog. List the blog in blog directories
Link to the blog in your email signature and from your corporate web page. Tell your customers and your employees. Don’t send out a press release about it, to get credit let blogs market your blog.

17. Evaluate, adjust and evaluate again.

Electronic Currency

What is Electronic Currency?
Electronic Currency is simply known as it’s own form of currency that has been developed and utilized on the Internet. It's also known as Internet money, electronic money, electronic cash, electronic currency, digital money, digital cash or digital currency, which refers to money or scrip which is exchanged only electronically. E-commerce has caused exponential growth in the use of Electronic Currency, and therefore, more people are getting involved, and greater profits are being made for those who know how to profit from Electronic Currency.

E-currency fact sheet
E-currency is precious metal-backed Internet currency. To open an account, an individual "deposits" money with an online e-currency company that then converts the amount into gold bullion. Via the Internet, the account holder can transfer ownership of some or all of that gold into someone else's e-currency account. Ownership can be repeatedly transferred. E-currency is a sort of online version of "warehouse banks," which similarly converted account holders' deposits into gold or silver bullion stored in the bank. These institutions became popular in the 1980s among domestic right-wing extremists, who used them to launder money, hide assets and to commit other financial abuses. E-currency has been widely used by perpetrators of pyramid scams. Swindlers demand payment in e-currency because, unlike with checks or credits cards, the charges clear instantly and cannot be cancelled. Experts estimate that about half of e-currency transactions are related to scams or online games.

Example of E-currency
Many systems will sell their electronic currency directly to the end user, such as Paypal and WebMoney, but other systems, such as e-gold, sell only through third party digital currency exchangers. In the case of Octopus Card in Hong Kong, deposits work similarly to banks'. After Octopus Card Limited receives money for deposit from users, the money is deposited into banks, which is similar to debit-card-issuing banks redepositing money at central banks.

Future evolution
The main focuses of digital cash development are being able to use it through a wider range of hardware such as secured credit cards; and linked bank accounts that would generally be used over an internet means, for exchange with a secure micropayment system such as in large corporations (PayPal). Furthering network evolution in terms of the use of digital cash, a company named DigiCash is at the focus of creating an e-cash system that would allow issuers to sell electronic coins at some value. When they are purchased they come under someone’s own name and are stored on his computer or under his online identity. At all times, the e-cash is linked to the e-cash company and all transactions go through it, so the e-cash company secures anything that is purchased. Only the company knows your information and will properly direct purchases to your location.

The application of prepaid cash card for consumer

Nowadays, prepaid cash card are one of the newest and most interesting financial products on the market, and there are something that consumer should be made aware of. However, many people do not know what prepaid cards are and how it can benefit them. Prepaid cash card is new types of payment that buyers without bringing cash but still can paid for everything. It was different with credit card, it is a type of card such as debit card that contains a concept of “Pay first, spend later”. It means consumer pay money on a card and spend it only when they make purchase or transaction. Consumers prefer prepaid cash card because they acts virtually the same as cash, only with much more security. Prepaid cash cards can be useful for anyone who wants to control their spending but still have the security and usage features of a credit card.

What are the advantages?

The major advantage of a prepaid card is that consumer can easily keep track of their spending and limit themselves to a certain level of spending each month. Also, consumer no need to pay interest and don’t have to go through credit checks to get one. All of the funds on the card are completely controlled by the amount of money you wish to put on it. This means there is no risk of borrowing too much and getting into debt such as credit card function “Spend first, paid later”.

Different images of Touch 'n Go















Most common Prepaid cash card used in Malaysia

In Malaysia, the most common prepaid cash card that Malaysian used is Touch ’n Go card. It is an Electronic Payment System which provide by Touch 'n Go Sdn Bhd (formerly known as Rangkaian Segar Sdn Bhd). Touch ’n Go card are electronic purse that can be used at all highways in Malaysia and major public transports in Klang Valley, selected parking sites and theme park.

Touch ’n Go uses contactless smartcard technology. The electronic card reader will reduce the balance stored inside the card when the card approaches to the card reader. The card looks similar to a credit card. Consumer may use the card as long as it is preloaded with electronic cash. User can reload the card at toll plazas, train stations, Automated Teller Machines, Cash Deposit Machines, Petrol kiosks and at some authorized third party outlets by Touch ’n Go Company. Besides, it is also very convenient because consumer no need to queue and wait at the cash lane to complete the transaction. The reload value that Touch ’n Go Company allow is within minimum value RM20 to maximum value RM500.

Promo with partners:

Ticketless parking:

• Bangsar Shopping Centre
• Sg.Wang Plaza
• Pantai Medical Centre
• KL Sentral
• Pusat Bandar Damansara
• Hospital Pakar Damansara
• Dataran Palma, Ampang
• Megan Phileo Avenue
• One Utama Shopping Centre
• Others

Fast Foods Restaurants

• A&W
• Burger King
• Dunkin Donuts

Convenience stores

• 7-Eleven
• Caltex Star Mart

Hypermarkets

• Carrefour

Cinemas

• Cathay Cineleisure

Where can Reload and how much it charge?

Operator Service Charge

1. Highways = Nil
2. Public transports (LRT/KTM Komuter) = Nil
3. Petrol Stations = RM0.50
4. Banks – ATMs (users must have an ATM account) = RM0.50
5. Banks – CDMs (open to all customers) = RM1.00
6. Third party agents = RM0.50
   

What benefit by using Touch 'n Go?

The cards can be categorize into 4 types:

Prepaid card

Standard card


A standard Touch 'n Go cards fare structure currently available for adult fare for CTS and standard class vehicles with 2 axles and 3 or 4 wheels (Class 1) excluding taxis for toll fare.

Postpaid cards

Fleet Xs card




Biz Xs card



Auto-reload card




Zing Card


The Touch 'n Go Zing is a companion card (works as standard card) that is linked to Visa, MasterCard or American Express issued by participating banks in Malaysia.

Multi-purpose card

MyKad


A value added application for Malaysian identity card as e-purse.

Others countries pre-paid cash card are list as below and they have the same function with Touch n'Go in Malysia:

EZ-link (Singapore)

EZ-Link card is a contractless smartcard based on Sony's FeliCa smartcard technology, used for payments in Singapore especially for transportation for Singapore.It is established in year 2001, it was promoted as a means for faster travel due to speedier boarding times on buses, MRT, LRT, ERP and payment in some public services such as vending machine, food centre and supermarket.

Octopus(Hong Kong)

Octopus card is a rechargeable contractless stored value smart card used to transfer electronic payments in online or offline systems in Hong Kong. It was launched in September 1997 to collect fares for the city's mass transit system, the Octopus card system has since grown into a 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.

Oyster (United Kingdon-London)

The Oyster card is a form of electronic ticketing used on Transport of London and some National Rail services within the Greater London area of the United Kingdom. The card was first issued to the public in 2003 with a limited range of features and there continues to be a phased introduction of further functions. By March 2007 over 10 million Oyster cards had been issued, and more than 80% of all journeys on services run by Transport for London used the Oyster card.

Credit card debts: causes and prevention

As we know, credit cards are now easily being offered by the banks. With credit card, one can easily make purchases without using cash. Credit card should be on good use but most people use it in a wrong ways. Credit card debt is one of the major contributors to the growing number of bankruptcy filings each year.

There are a few reasons behind it:
First, poor financial management.
When one out of cash, they will use their credit card. They thought that since they can slowly pay back but they never thought that every time they use it, then the amount will keep on accumulate.

Next, people don't save.
Everyone should start saving once working. We can’t predict what will happen in future and when we will face financial difficulties. When this people don’t have a way, then they will use the credit card.

Finally, gambling
Gambling can cause a disaster to a family. Gambling can be very tempting and when one keeps on losing and out of cash, the only way is to go for cash advance using the credit card.

So, it is important to prevent those debts and to stay debts-free:
First, manage your financial well. It is important to maintain a good financial management such as preparing a budget base on your salary. This will help you to think twice before making any purchases.
Keep the credit card at home when you go shopping. Use cash when making any purchases. Other than that, spend only when you are afford to make the payment on time. Don’t just thought of rewarding yourself and without thinking twice.
Remember, credit card should be use only when there is emergency and not for shopping or leisure purpose.

The threat of online security: How safe is our data?

In this century, Internet is becoming more and more famous. It is becoming part of our life as a lot of things can be done with Internet such as online banking, online shopping, communicating with our overseas friends and so on. However, it is important to safeguard our data when online. It is an important issue on online security for all Internet users. It is sad to say that there are various threats to online security such as viruses, Malware, Adware, hackers’ attacks and Trojans. These are the common online threat and this can lead web users to financial loss, information theft and so on.

Viruses in the computer is a program or programming code that replicates by being copied or initiating its copying to another program, computer boot sector or document. Virus can be transmitted through downloaded file, attachment from e-mail and so on. Some of the virus can be quite harmful, erasing data or causing your hard disk to require reformatting. A virus replicates itself by resending itself as an e-mail attachment or as part of a network message is known as a worm. Spyware is malicious software that is designed to take partial or full control of a computer's operation without the knowledge of its user. Thus the user’s data no longer safeguarded as Spyware program can gain access to e-mail accounts, to obtain passwords or personal information.

There are several steps of security for your computer:
First, install a firewall. It is software that runs on another computer, which inspects network traffic passing through it, and denies or permits passage based on a set of rules. It creates protective barriers between your computer and potential harmful attacks.
Secondly, use anti-virus software. Nowadays, there are a lot of new viruses. So, anti-virus programs need regular updates so they can recognize the new threats. It is better if you update it more frequently.
All and all, it is important to secure the data in your computer and do not simple leak out your password to anyone.

How to safeguard our personal and financial data?

Personal data refers to as "data which relate to a living individual who can be identified from those data, or from those data and other information which is in the possession of, or is likely to come into the possession of, the data controller, and includes any expression of opinion about the individual and any indication of the intentions of the data controller or any other person in respect of the individual". Financial usually refers to as matters concerned with money matters or transactions of some size or importance.


There are few ways to safeguard our personal and financial data such as passwords, encryption, and so on. As we know, password is a word or string of characters, entered, often along with a user name, into a computer system to log in or to gain access to some resource. Passwords are a popular form of authentication. So, we should protect the data by putting passwords so that no one can access to it.

We can also install a firewall. It is software that runs on another computer, which inspects network traffic passing through it, and denies or permits passage based on a set of rules. A firewall's function within a network is similar to firewalls with fire doors in building construction. Most computers came with firewall integrated into their operating systems.

Install and update anti-spyware and antivirus programs. Microsoft and numerous application vendors offer users regular updates to existing antispyware programs, so be on the lookout. Your computer will be clean and its performance will be better. Other than that, your privacy such as personal information, financial data, will be protected. In the information age, where having just one piece of your personal information can ruin your life, protecting your personal privacy while online is importance.

We should also turn off our computer when not in use so that the chances of virus to access to our computer. In order to safeguard your personal information, always remember that never reply any e-mail which are request your passwords, user name or other important personal information. We should not open any attachment sent to you by an unknown party.

As a conclusion, it is important for every individual to safeguard their personal data and financial data in order to maintain clean and clear information.

A review on a post on Internet Security from My E-Commerce blog.

After reviewing the blog, i have learn a lot of things about internet security. I realize that computer viruses have more than 1 million types in circulation, new spamming tactics, different types of viruses may have different type of threat to our computer, how to prevent threats and blog being hacked, mobile Malware and so on. In so many topic, i found that one of the case is quite special and challenging because it have a question stated there and let me to think about it.

These case is refer to a Singaporean teenager which be the first person who charged under Singapore new law--Computer Misuse Act for tapping to gain unauthorized access into other's home WiFi. His neighbor has made a police report on this incident against him. If these incident convicted, he would be jail up to 3 years and fined up to Singapore Dollar $10,000.

As everybody know that stealing our's neighbor WiFi is an unethical things but why the teenager do so? Is it the applying and installation for Internet access fees is too high? Or the teenager just want to find some excitement? Does he think about the consequences before he take action?It's a funny thing, since he was not stealing anything tangible but still be charged under Singapore law. So the question asking "who's responsibility to secure the home WiFi systems? Owner or Service Provider?"

In my opinion, owner have more responsibilities to secure the home WiFi system. Service provider can provide the service such as teach the owner about how to setup 'Security Enabled' wireless network to avoid other people unauthorized access into their home WiFi. The owner need to set a password while setup security-enabled wireless network and it was a kind of privacy for the owner which cannot be exposure to other included service provider. Besides, some of the owner did not set up a security-enabled wireless network and it could be automatically accessed by other. So, in these case the service provider does not held any responsibility to secure the home WiFi system. However, the owner his or her own/ manage the network is responsible for anything that happens on the network.

Do you think piggy-backing on the neighbour's connection is an unethical actions?

Some of the people think it is not only unethical, it is technically trespassing. In my opinion, if someone stealing their neighbour's connection but they will share the cost of service openly with their neighbours, it is consider ethical. 'Tacit' approval does not work neither as most open wireless networks are there as the owner is not technically aware. So, we should not use someone ignorance as a approval. Besides, some of the people open their networks but it doesn't mean they were a "free game". For instance, many business LAN networks can be accessed, if you just enter the building and plug in but you are still not paying for that service. So, if we want to piggy-backing our neighbour's wireless, we should ask them first before we using it and also tell them what we will be using it in order to avoid being sued by our neighbours.

Here are some steps on how to prevent and setup a secure home WiFi network.

Step 1: Before Beginning

Creating a customize home WiFi start by assessing your networking equipment.

• A wireless route

• Wireless adapter or a wireless-enabled laptop or desktop PC.

• A Broadband connection to the internet (typically via cable or DSL modem)
  
  

Ethernet Cable

• The IP address assigned to you system by your ISP (Internet Service Provider) if you use a static IP address.

• Username and password assigned to you by your ISP.

• The MAC address for all wireless network adapters.

Step 2: Preparing for the Installation Job

Before you start your installation, you need to know if your ISP provides a static IP address.

In Windows XP

• Click Start – Settings – Control Panel – Network Connections – Local Area Connection – Properties – Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) – Properties.

In Windows Vista

• Click Start – Control Panel – Network and Sharing Center – Connection – View status –Properties – Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) – Properties.

• 

• 
  

• 

• Click Start – Programs – Accessories – Command Prompt
• A new text-only window opens. Type ipconfig/all and press Enter
• The numbers and letters listed on the line titled Physical Address is your MAC Address.

• 

Step 3: Installing the Wireless Router

Before you install the router, power down your PC and modem
Disconnect Ethernet cable from PC and connect it to router's WAN port
Connect a second Ethernet cable from your PC's Ethernet port to one of the router's LAN ports.

• 

Turn on the modem, wait until connects to the Internet (check the activity lights).

Plug in and power on the router and turn on your PC.

When Windows boots, open a browser window and try a few Web sites to test your Internet connection.

Step 4: Configuring the Router

Using the PC connected to the router, launch your browser. In the URL address field, enter the router configuration IP address provided in the router’s documentation. You will also need to enter the User Name and default password.

Jotted down an IP address, set the router to use a static IP address and enter the address and other information. Enter the username and password you selected to log on to your ISP. Leave other settings such as encryption and SSID at their defaults for now, exit your router's configuration routine, and check your Internet connection. If you can't access any Web sites, check your router's documentation for troubleshooting advice and call the manufacturer for technical support.

• 

Step 5: Setting the Password

• Click TOOLS – ADMIN
• Enter a password for the administrator
• Click Save Settings

• 

Step 6: Setting the Service Set Identifier (SSID)

• Click SETUP – WIRELESS – MANUAL SETUP
• Enter a new name for your network
• Click Save Settings

• 

Step 7: Enable Encryption

• Select WPA-Personal Security Mode
• Enter a new Pre-Shared Key
• Click Save Settings

• 

Step 8: Installing the Wireless Adapters

Laptop cards install in the card port. For desktop PCs, shut down your system, install the adapter (as shown following) and reboot. Note: If you have a PC with built-in Wi-FI you won’t need the PC card adaptor.

• 

Step 9: Configuring, Part 2


If you've followed our instructions faithfully, your network is now secure and you will need to enter your pass phrase to connect to the router with your wireless connections. Your computers will see your router, but lack the pass phrase to connect. Both Windows XP and Vista will pop-up messages in the bottom right-hand corner of your desktop asking if you would like to connect to an available network. Select View Available Networks and choose your network, in this we used the name test1. Click Connect.

• 

• 

• 

Phishing: Examples and its prevention methods

Phishing is also known as carding or spoofing, derives its name from the use of sophisticated lures such as emails designed to look like they come from a real company or institution, that are created by unsavory characters to "fish" for users' financial information, credit card details, and passwords.
Generally ,in computing, phishing is an attempt to criminally and fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. 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 is an example of social engineering techniques used to fool users. Attempts to deal with the growing number of reported phishing incidents include legislation, user training, public awareness, and technical measures.

An example of phishing is Paypal. In an example PayPal phish,
spelling mistakes in the e-mail and the presence of an IP address in the link (visible in the tooltip under the yellow box) are both clues that this is a phishing attempt. Another giveaway is the lack of a personal greeting,
although the presence of personal details would not be a guarantee of legitimacy. Other signs that the message is a fraud are misspellings of simple words and the threat of consequences such as account suspension if the recipient fails to comply with the message's requests.

There are several prevention methods available. We can separate online interaction into 4steps:
(i) Message retrieval. An email message or web page arrives at the user's personal
computer from the Internet.
(ii) Presentation. The message is displayed in the user interface, the user perceives it, and
the user forms a mental model.
(iii) Action. Guided by the mental model, the user performs an action in the user interface,
such as clicking a link or filling in a form.
(iv) System operation. The user's action is translated into system operations, such as
connecting to a web server and submitting data.
In this section, we survey existing defenses against phishing attacks, classifying them according to which of these four steps they address.

An example of an E-Commerce failure and its causes

In this business world, there was many business work sucessful and also many business went bankrupcy everyday. One of an example of an e-commerce failure is Webvan. Webvan was an online credit and delivery grocery retailer. Webvan was founded in the heyday of the dot-com boom and it was started in 1999 by Louis Borders, the co-founded of Borders bookstore. While the investors saw the first mover advantage strategy popularized by Amazon.com was so sucessful and can gain so many market share and they start to do the online groceries industry as to gain the first mover advantage.

Firstly, the company offered e-groceries services in ten U.S. market and hoped can expand to 26 cities. Webvan use a customer satisfaction model to retain their customer which is 30 minute window delivery without considering that many working customers would like their groceries delivered at home at night. The company spent an extraordinary amount of money in a short term and pure play as an internet retailer but unfortunately the company also failure and need to shut down in year 2001.

What are the factors cause Webvan failure?
The root cause of Webvan's failure was its promise to deliver groceries at the same price as in-store service, which was unable to do profitably. Webvan limited the number of deliveries available per time slot, based on truck availability, in an effort to increase drop density and reduce costs. In other words, Webvan reserves the right to refuse service to any customer without a matching improvement in picking efficiency. Secondly, there have poor management team. None of Webvan's senior executives or major investors had any management experience in the supermarket industry, including its CEO -- George Shaheen. The management of virtual space carries with it temporal consequences, and vice versa. Virtual stores operating `24 hours' also require 24 hours call centres to act as helplines for confused customers, new customer registrations, and for order problems.

Besides, one of the problem is while Webvan popular, the money spent on infrastructure far exceeded sales growth, and the company eventually ran out of money. Webvan failed because of infrastructure costs of more than US $30 million per fulfilment warehouse and accumulated losses of US $815 million on sales of $271m. Lastly, Webvan also failed to capitalise on the abundant publicity the media afforded them, and the list of outright failures grows ever longer. Above are all the factor and causes why E-Commerce can be failure.

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

E-commerce is the secure electronic exchange of data which formerly had to be dealt with manually. By using E-Commerce, it can help a company to shortens the time taken for a business to complete because we it can reduce the cycle time. Saving time means saving money that is because once the cycle times reduce, it will help the company immediately and intermediately decrease their carrying cost, decrease their company shrinkage cost, improve the cash flow and gain the competitive advantage among their competitors. As the order cycle times reduce, it will intermediately help the company increase the sales order. It also easy for customer to reaching the supplier by using internet because they 24 hours anytime anyway also can get the online purchase and no need to go the shop to purchase it. Besides, the customers also can online auctions to obtain real-time competitive bids for selected product and services that they want within their ideal budget. These activity can shorten the cycle time, supplier also can benefit by seeing where they stand with their bid.

On the other hands, E-Commerce also helps to improve employees' empowerment. E-Commerce is allow the employee have their own authority to make decision and managerial level can passing considerable responsibility for operational management to individuals or teams to collaborate commerce. By using E-Commerce, it also can get different point of view by all of the employees discuss together come out a best decision. Empowerment employee can develops broader horizons, maximizes employee on the job learning and job design, inspires confidence and high self-esteem of the employee, and increase well-being. It manage expectations and encourage idea generations from all employees. The staff development review and performance monitoring focused on the right things. It can create a positive non-blame climate within employees.

In order to facilitate customer support, sales services and after sales service are very important. Many companies have no provide this kind of service and made the customer less loyalty to those company. By using E-Commerce it can facilitate the customer support because customer can provide feedback via internet and let the manufacturer know whether the customer satisfied to their company product and services or not. They can base on those feedbacks to improve in the future as to retain and gain more customers. Some of the E-Commerce company will provide refund policy to fulfill customer needs and to facilitate customer support. E-Commerce creates an easier way for customer to purchases goods and services compare to traditional store. Besides, customer can bid the product they want on their ideal price via online, it also a kind of way to facilitate customer support.

ngai xin

Hello, everybody! Let’s me introduce myself. My name is Yew Ngai Xin. I am a 22 years old girl, I am very short, so climbing up a higher place is one of the things i like to do, the reason is i hope i can taller than others. Most of my friend are taller than me, so when i hang out with them i will wear a high hills to make me feel that i am also as taller as them. Although i am a girl but all of my friends treat me as a boy, they like to bully me. I am a pet lovers, i love dogs. I have five doggies, although they sometimes very naughty i still like them very much.

Stuart and Linda McFarlane say– ‘Each act of kindness. Each moment shared. Each word of praise is comfort. These are the ways, the paths, which through time become highways, along which lie the journey of friendship.” So, friendship occurs when people meet and share a common perspective, experience, insight, treasure, or burden. Within the six years high school life, i was stay at hostel. I recognize so many silly guys and girls and we organize a gang call “hostel gang”. It was our sweet memories forever. I like to make friends because I found that friendship and socialization is very important in these societies.

The top five websites that I surf the most are btchina.net, hotmail.com, google.com, puppy.com and multiply.com. The purpose i surf the btchina.net because i can download the drama from there by free of charges. Besides, i like to surf hotmail.com because i need to check the email, send the assignment via internet to my group member and contact with some of my friends by email. I also like to surf google.com to find some information for assignment and for the research preparation for final year thesis. On the other hands, i like to surf puppy .com to chit chat with those pets lover for exchange some opinion and check for the recent activities that they organize. Lastly, i like to surf the multiply.com because i can create a blog and add some comments to my friend’s blogs as to keep in touch with friends.

Nowadays, technology are so successful in our society, mostly everything can be do via internet. For examples, Email, E-payment, E-banking, E- learning, E-radio, E-loan, E- business, E- library, E- auctions, even thought E- government. The new generation will more slightly to be staying at home at done all the things via internet without hanging out from the house. In my opinion, in the future, the generation Z will be a generation that rely on internet and computer all of the time. Do you agree?how you think so?

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. There are several examples which using e-commerce to do their business successfully such as eBay, Amazon.com and others.
I would like to talk about example of Amazon.com and its causes to success. Amazon.com, one of the pioneers of e-commerce, was launched by Jeff Bezos in 1994. Bezos initial plan for Amazon.com entailed a service that provided customers with access to an extensive selection of books, while eliminating the hassles for Amazon.com, associated with the time and expense required to build physical stores and warehouses, to purchase and house inventory.
Amazon.com is a very successful example of e-commerce business because of several reasons. Basically, there are three strategies that have helped Amazon.com to enhance its competitive advantage, including cost-leadership, customer differentiation and focus strategies. The first strategy, cost-leadership is pursued by Amazon.com by differentiating itself primarily on the basis of price. Due to this strategy, Amazon.com always makes sure that it offers the same quality products as other companies for a considerably less price. Their second strategy is customer diffentiation. Amazon.com provides current and prospective customers with differentiation though design, quality or convenience and Amazon.com always selects a differentiator that is different among the competitor. So, Amazon.com consumers can recognise and differentiate its product from competitors. The last strategy that it uses, is a focus strategy. This strategy takes one of the two earlier strategies and applies it to a niche within the market. Amazon.com fouses on outstanding customer service as a niche but not the whole market because each niche has its own demand and requirement.
Amazon.com strives to be Earth's most customer-centric company where people can find and discover virtually anything they want to buy online. By giving customers more of what they want which include low prices, vast selection, and convenience, Amazon.com continues to grow and evolve as a world-class e-commerce platform.