On-line Purchases
Friday's post, "Using Your Credit Card Online ?", may have shocked you and given you something to think about. The question you are asking yourself - Can I safely use my credit card online? Well, they say you can, but I try not to.
As a web designer, the scope of things I can do for a client is vast, but there are several things I choose not to do:
1. I won't design a page that uses frames - it's just too pretentious. To me, it smacks too much of "Hey, look how smart I am!"
2. I won't use flash on a page - see #1 above. And besides, can you imagine the work involved to produce something like that? I have better things to do with my time, and yours if you are paying me to produce a web page. The fact that I've never gone about to learn flash has nothing to do with it.
3. I won't design a web page with an on-line shopping cart. Not for reasons of #1 and #2 above, but because I just don't trust on-line purchasing. Have I even taken the time to learn how to do one? No, and I won't. A recent web page I did for a business here on the Island wanted such a shopping cart - I talked the client out of it citing security concerns for her and her clients and instead developed a system where the client prints off a form from the web page and sends in the order form by snail mail (the postal service) along with the cheque for the purchase.
Having said the above, I hope I haven't scared you off from using my services. But I hope I have scared you enough to becoming more responsible when you are on the net!
Just to expand on this on-line purchasing thingie a bit more, I suggest you read the following items:
Maybe having gone through all of the above you are thinking I'm being too cautious, or overreacting to this. Probably my long years in law enforcement and my working closely with criminals has led me to be more than aware of what the criminal mind is capable of. For example:
1. A toothbrush to you or me is a toothbrush, something we use to clean our teeth. To the criminal mind, a toothbrush becomes a weapon when sharpened.
2. You and I use ballpoint pens everyday in our lifes. A criminal can fashion a ballpoint pen to become a makeshift gun.
3. While you and I surf the net for entertainment or research, a criminal looks at the net as a way to infiltrate your harddrive and steal money from your banking account. Check your Inbox and see how many phishing episodes have come your way in the past week.
Go Ahead Punk, Make My Day!
As a web designer, the scope of things I can do for a client is vast, but there are several things I choose not to do:
1. I won't design a page that uses frames - it's just too pretentious. To me, it smacks too much of "Hey, look how smart I am!"
2. I won't use flash on a page - see #1 above. And besides, can you imagine the work involved to produce something like that? I have better things to do with my time, and yours if you are paying me to produce a web page. The fact that I've never gone about to learn flash has nothing to do with it.
3. I won't design a web page with an on-line shopping cart. Not for reasons of #1 and #2 above, but because I just don't trust on-line purchasing. Have I even taken the time to learn how to do one? No, and I won't. A recent web page I did for a business here on the Island wanted such a shopping cart - I talked the client out of it citing security concerns for her and her clients and instead developed a system where the client prints off a form from the web page and sends in the order form by snail mail (the postal service) along with the cheque for the purchase.
 Not Accepted Here |
Having said the above, I hope I haven't scared you off from using my services. But I hope I have scared you enough to becoming more responsible when you are on the net!
Just to expand on this on-line purchasing thingie a bit more, I suggest you read the following items:
During the past two years, American consumers spent more than $9 billion on computer repairs, parts and replacement to solve problems caused by viruses and spyware—despite shelling out more than $2.6 billion for protective software. That's just one of the disturbing findings in a recent Consumer Reports survey of Internet users. The comprehensive September report includes articles on major Internet threats, good online practices, ratings of antivirus programs and antispyware, CR Quick Recommendations and the CR State of the Net. Read it here. ChoicePoint Inc. agreed Thursday to pay $15 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that the data warehouser's security and record-handling procedures violated consumers' privacy rights when thieves infiltrated the company's massive database. Read the story here. Ameriprise Financial, the investment advisory unit spun off from American Express last year, said yesterday that lists containing the personal information of about 230,000 customers and advisers had been compromised. Read this embarrassing story here. A Consumer Reports WebWatch research report, prepared by Princeton Survey Research Associates, says web users are demanding more of web sites while becoming less trustful of them, and are adjusting their behavior in response to what they see as real threats online. Read the report here. The UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) has warned banks that they must do more to help consumers to deal with online banking fraud, warning that consumer confidence in internet banking is currently very fragile. More here. A recent study by analyst Forrester Research has unearthed conflicting views about the safety or otherwise of online banking. The survey of 11,300 UK net users found that while many online banking consumers are complacent about security, a large minority have given up online banking as a direct result of security fears. More on this here. |
Maybe having gone through all of the above you are thinking I'm being too cautious, or overreacting to this. Probably my long years in law enforcement and my working closely with criminals has led me to be more than aware of what the criminal mind is capable of. For example:
1. A toothbrush to you or me is a toothbrush, something we use to clean our teeth. To the criminal mind, a toothbrush becomes a weapon when sharpened.
2. You and I use ballpoint pens everyday in our lifes. A criminal can fashion a ballpoint pen to become a makeshift gun.
3. While you and I surf the net for entertainment or research, a criminal looks at the net as a way to infiltrate your harddrive and steal money from your banking account. Check your Inbox and see how many phishing episodes have come your way in the past week.
Go Ahead Punk, Make My Day!