Our E-Commerce Blog

Thank You Everyone

2008-07-08T18:44:00.000+08:00

signing off
Juliana Jodee Catherine Amreek

Review:Another spammer gets jailed

2008-07-04T00:01:00.000+08:00

SPAM...?CAN i eat it? Well there's a different meaning in the IT world.As far as I know, spam is unsolicited email which is sent in bulk to a large number of email addresses and advertises some product. In other words, it is an email message that you did not ask for and do not want from somebody you do not know, who wants to sell you something. However not all unsolicited email is spam. Why spam cannot be stop? It is simply because it works as it is so cheap to send. By using means ranging from spam-friendly ISPs to ordinary people's computers turned spam-machines, spammers can send their junk inexpensively.

Spammers are bad as they used spam to spread computer viruses, trojan horses or other malicious software for identity theft, advance fee fraud or worse. Thus, spammers who get caught will be fine in huge amount and put into the jail for several years. For instance, Todd Moeller Todd Moeller were sentenced to 27 months jail and fined more than US$180,000 by a New York judge. And, spam king, Robert Alan Soloway might be given a penalty of USD$250,000 fine and maximum of 65 years jail as mentioned in Mr Hen’s blog: http://ecommerze.blogspot.com/search/label/Legal.

In Soloway’s case, he used computers infected with malicious code to send out millions of junk e-mails since 2003. The computers are called “zombies” because owners typically have no idea their machines have been infected.
He continued his activities even after payment of $7 million to Microsoft and $10 million to the operator of a small Internet service provider in Oklahoma.
Thus, I doubt how much he actually earn from spam business and whether the fine imposed to him adequate to stop him to practice spamming again.
Perhaps, the government need to impose a significant penalty to spammer to refrain from spamming.

related web sites:

One of world's top 10 spammers held in Seattle
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18955115/

How Spam Works — and Drives You Crazy! http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/56/07645596/0764559656.pdf

Spamhaus Statistics : The Top 10
http://www.spamhaus.org/statistics/spammers.lasso

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

2008-07-01T20:03:00.000+08:00

E-Government or Electronic Government is defined as the use of information technology in public sector as a medium of delivering information and services. It is to provide citizens and organizations with more convenient access to government information and public services to citizens. It is an efficient and effective way of conducting government business transaction with citizens and business and within governments themselves. Through the adoption of e-government, government objectives can be achieved by integrating the processing and communication technology. Furthermore, government processes can also be improved through the adoption of e-government delivery of services to Malaysia people. It seeks to improve the convenience, accessibility and quality of interactions with citizens and businesses as well as, improving the speed and quality of policy development, coordination and enforcement by improving the flow of information and processes within government in connecting citizens and building interactions with and within the society.

The E-Government was launched in Malaysia to lead the country into the Information Age. It will improve the government internal operations and the Malaysia so far has implemented systems such as Electronic Services System (E-services), Human Resource Management Information System (HRIMS), E-Syariah and myGovernment Portal, which serve the purpose of providing government information and services to the citizens. For example, the myGovernment (My-Gov) portal acts as a one-stop source of Malaysian government information and services to the citizens. Recently, it has won Global ICT Awards at the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) 2008, held at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC). Some of successful applications of e-government are:

Electronic Labor Exchange (ELX) (http://www.elx.gov.my/) which is a one stop-centre for labor market information, as supervised by the Ministry of Human Resource (MOHR) has matched 75,000 potential employees with employers since 2005. It enables employers and potential employees to communicate. The purpose is to create an effective job matching process and to ensure man power's utilization is optimized. Over the years, many Malaysians have started to use ELX to search for jobs.

Online renewal of driving licenses

E-Filing or Electronic filing of income tax forms.

Voter’s information

Details for government tenders

The adoption of e-government has brought a lot more convenient to Malaysia citizens. This is because most of the transactions can be done at a single click, at any time infact people no longer need to queue up to perform certain government transaction such as filing the income tax form. Eventhough, e-government is still unpopular among the citizens but sooner people will realize its importance.

Learn more about e-government: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-Government

Credit:
http://www.american.edu/initeb/ym6974a/egovernment.html

Review :Q Jelly Bakery Shop

2008-07-01T05:38:00.000+08:00

Jelly Cakes Goes Online!!!

Q JELLY BAKERY SHOP, previously known as Homemade Jelly Cake. The 1st booth located in Sunway Pyramid in year 2000 and now they goes online. Promoting a healthy lifestyle with jelly cakes that are low in cholesterol, contain nearly 87% water and are rich in vitamins as well as other important nutrients and most of all the food colour dyes are approved by The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States.

Having to surf around their site is a fun loving moment whereby you can see more than 1,000 designs of colourful jellies cake that are available for you to choose from.If you are interested,just click on and fill in your particulars.TADA~ delivery is on the way!

I know..there are too many to choose but little money to pay,and you wish to get a perfect design that suit your taste, no hassle ,the site provides you a shopping cart, ,that allows you to choose first and decide later.

Besides that ,if you are curious on whatever they are selling in the site,dont worry, FAQ serves you right. All information on food safety,whether or not it is Halal,how to keep the jelly cakes in an upmost quality before you serve is all there to answer you.

Well i can say it is a user friendly site where the outlay of the website speaks it all.Easy and Simple.

Being a regulars to the site, I've noticed some changes going on...yes..they added new features allowing customers to subscribe to their Newsletter.Well isn't it cool that you can receive latest cake's design in your mailbox.

If there is a birthday..anniversary..special occasion, try get a jelly cake online this year. Happy surfing (and eating too).

Credit:

Corporate Blogging

2008-06-29T16:59:00.000+08:00

A New Marketing Communication Tool??

Corporate blogs can be a useful communication channel. By providing companies with unvarnished feedback from customers, it can serve as an early-warning system for product or service problems. It can also provide an easy and inexpensive way to deliver specialized information to narrow segments of the market.

What can it Do?
1. National branding. They allow companies to present accurate information without the filter of the media or advertising.
2. Amplify marketing messages-through traditional channels. The use of a blog allows a company to provide a destination of information for consumers, from commercials to promotional coupons, to directions on how to use products.
3. Connection-Employment blogs allow a direct connection to online communities, increasing the number of qualified applicants by identifying communities of interest and building a loyal talent pool.
4. Human Touch-Public Relations blogs allow a corporation to put a human touch in place of the often used “corporatespeak.”

Corporate Blogging Risks:
1)Negative Comments. Companies are often very sensitive to criticism. Negative comments can be offset somewhat with a consistent and clear comment and moderation policy. Also, most readers tend to trust a site more that includes both positive and negative information.
2)Neglect- Companies need to spend time and incur costs to maintain and update their blogs regularly.
3) Misunderstanding the Audience-The blog audience is not the same as the company’s typical customer base, as blog readers are universally more tech-savvy, up-to-date on industry news, and more passionate about the company’s products and the organization, and also likely to be highly critical of dishonesty or insincerity.

Blogs are basically beneficial to the company if used well, and a menace if used poorly. Therefore, companies which participate in blogging should reduce its risks by managing effectively with the correct corporate blogging strategy to the benefit of their companies.

Want to know who won the 2008 Bloggers Choice Awards 'Best Corporate Blog award'?
visit www.bloggerschoiceawards.com/categories/3

Also Visit: Top 15 Corporate Blogs(Ranked-May 2008)-mariosundar.wordpress.com/2008/05/05/top-15-corporate-blogs-ranked-may-2008/

Credit:

Corporate Blog-en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_blog
Conference & Corporate Blogging as a Marketing Tool-www.internetviz-newsletters.com/bulldoge_article000404957.cfm
Lessons in Corporate Blogging-www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jul2006/tc20060718_932217.htm

Electronic Currency

2008-06-28T14:07:00.000+08:00

The Evolution...

Over the years, money as we know it has been undergoing transformation. The shape and form of money has changed from precious metals to metal coins and paper money with no intrinsic value and today it presents us with a formless form in the name of digital or e-money. Electronic currency is also known as e-money, electronic cash, electronic money, digital money, digital cash or digital currency.

Electronic currency allows consumers to pay for goods and services by transmitting a number from one computer to another. These numbers function much like the serial numbers on "real money." They are unique, and represent a specific amount of actual cash. Unlike credit-card transactions, electronic-cash transactions are anonymous. E-cash works just like paper cash. Once it is withdrawn from an account it does not leave a trail of digital crumbs. E-cash by its nature is portable and therefore more convenient for mobile commerce (Internet-capable cell phones and personal digital assistants).

The Pros

1) Convenience-With the introduction of online banking, debit cards, online bill payments and internet business, Debit cards and online bill payments allow immediate transfer of funds from an individual’s personal account to a business’s account without any actual paper transfer of money. This offers a great convenience to many people and businesses alike.

2) Ease of transter-Banks now offer many services whereby a customer can transfer funds, purchase stocks, contribute to their retirement plans and offer a variety of other services without having to handle physical cash or cheques.Customers do not have to wait in lines, and this provides a lower-hassle environment.

The Cons

1) Fraud-over digital cash has been a pressing issue in recent years. Hacking into bank accounts and illegal retrieval of banking records has led to a widespread invasion of privacy and has promoted identity theft.

2) Failure of technology- There is also a pressing issue regarding the technology involved in digital cash. Power failures, loss of records and undependable software often cause a major setback in promoting the technology.

3) Possible tracking of individuals and loss of human interaction- There is a fear that the use of debit cards will lead to the creation by the banking industry of a global tracking system. Some people are working on anonymous ecash to try to address this issue. The issue of providing anonymity to users itself introduces more problems, where there is a possibility that a fully anonymous digital cash system could induce people to commit the “perfect crime” to occur, where a criminal uses someone else’s electronic cash to make a payment, but cannot be traced.

Electronic Cash Payment Systems

Examples of providers:

Pay Pal- an e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet.
eCash- a computer generated system which allows items to be purchased by credit card, check or by money order, providing secure on-line transactions and processing.
First-E – an Internet-only bank.

Credit:

THE APPLICATION OF PRE-PAID CASH CARD FOR CONSUMERS

2008-06-28T12:13:00.000+08:00

Pre-paid cash card is a card that has similar function as a credit card, but the only difference is a certain amount of money must be deposited or reloaded before it can be used. It is better known as a stored-value card that gives the consumer the ability to purchase the products and services by just swapping the card at the counter. Basically, a prepaid card, limits consumer’s spending by the amount of money that has been loaded onto the card. It is a good way to keep track of our spending so that we don’t overspend. Whenever, a consumer make a purchase with the pre-paid card, the purchase amount will be deducted from the card balance. A consumer can add more money whenever the balance runs low because he or she can’t spend more than the balance left in the card. Infact, a pre-paid cash card is very convenient as a consumer no need to carry cash with them.

An example of pre-paid card widely used in Malaysia is Touch 'n Go which was used to pay the highway toll payment. It is very convenient for highway user as they don’t have to go through the long queue congestion at toll plazas. Users just need to tab the card on the sensor and the amount will be automatically deducted. User can reload the card at many places such as toll plazas, train stations, Automated Teller Machines, and Cash Deposit Machines.

Nowadays, touch 'n Go card usage becoming wider as it can be used for parking services, public transport, theme park and cashless payment at retail outlets. Another extension of Touch’n Go card is Smart Tag which has slightly advanced technology whereby the card is inserted into reader device installed in the vehicle for fully non-stop payment at toll plazas. All you have to do is just drive through the toll and the sensor will automatically read the device installed in the vehicle. More on Touch n Go...

Another foreign example of pre-paid cash card is the Octopus cash card used in Hong Kong. Basically, the application of this card is similar to Touch’n Go card. The people in Hong Kong use this card to pay public transportation fees whereby it only take a couple of seconds and even easier as they no need to carry coins(Yes!it is the card that you always see in HK drama). Octopus card can also be used in some retail shops that accept this card, such as convenience stores, supermarkets or even restaurants. The user only need to wave the card over the Octopus Reader (even if it's in your wallet or handbag), payments will be deducted instantly (provided there is enough money in the card). The reader will also show the new balance of the Octopus Card. It is very convenient to use Octopus cash card as it can be purchased from any public transportation company's customer service centre, such as MTR's or KCR's and infact, can top-up the card easily.

Some other, country’s pre-paid cash card are Coinstar prepaid debit card in Canada, Advance Visa prepaid card in America, Just Cash Maestro prepaid card in West Yorkshire and ACE Cash Express prepaid card at United States. In conclusion pre-paid cash card is gaining its popularity among other countries and there is no risk for the user to get themselves into debt as it has no credit or overdraft facility.

CREDIT:

http://www.touchngo.com.my/
http://www.hong-kong-travel.org/Octopus.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:AdultOctopusCard.jpg

Credit card debts: Causes and Prevention

2008-06-28T00:22:00.000+08:00

Do you know when and who has invented the credit card? The concept of paying merchants using a card was invented in 1950 by Ralph Schneider and Frank X. McNamara in order to consolidate multiple cards. The Diners Club, which was created partially through a merger with Dine and Sign, produced the first "general purpose" charge card, which is similar but required the entire bill to be paid with each statement. It was followed shortly thereafter by American Express and Carte Blanche.

Credit card debt is a burgeoning problem throughout the world undoubtedly. As a credit card holder you must be one that with budget and good in self-control. Otherwise, you might unable to pay off accumulated debts and then lead to bankruptcy.
what causes credit card debts? Here it goes:
1. Poor money management~ you may encounter problem like over spending, non-payment of the debts without money spending plan. With that, you will know that how much money you can spend on. Thus it is vital to have it.

2. Multiple credit cards ~ there are some people like to show off their social status by having multiple cards which in turn creating sky high credit card debts.

3. Financial illiteracy ~ many people do not realise how money works and grows and how to save and invest money for future needs. Financial mistakes are increasingly expensive and complicated to resolve. Thus, it is essential to learn from expert and get in control.

when comes to debts it is to say prevention is better than cure.
Below are methods to prevent credit card debts:
1. You can pay off smaller balances first. It is common for a person to try to focus on their cards with larger balances first. Pay off the smaller ones. It will take less time and you will feel a sense of satisfaction when you have actually completed your goal. This will boost your confidence and make it easier to tackle the higher balances.

2. You can pay double the minimum payment if affordable. The minimum payment usually pays just enough to cover the interest and a little more that pays down the balance. Paying extra will pay your balance more quickly.

3. You can keep your credit cards to a limited number. It is not necessary to have more than one credit card. If you want to have a card that you can use everywhere, try just having a Visa, MasterCard, or American express card which are all used everywhere

4. You can create a letter to your credit card company stating that you are thinking of switching to their competition because other companies are offering a far more reasonable interest rate. Most probably Credit card companies will match or even offer a lower rate than the competitor as they do not want to lose your business.

5. You can also avoid making any purchases with your credit during peak buying season. As credit card companies charge you more interest during these peak seasons because they know that everyone is buying more items with their credit

6. You can have a direct debit set up. So that you have to pay back full amount each month.

credit:

WORLD'S FIRST CREDIT CARD

Diner's Club, Inc. (Early Credit Card Company) - New York1963

The first credit card was issued in 1951

Credit Card Debt Prevention

You may also want to have a look at this sites:

Top 10: Best Credit Cards http://www.askmen.com/money/investing_200/225b_investing.html

Review:OpenTable.com - Online restaurant reservations

2008-06-25T10:37:00.000+08:00

Online restaurant reservations
Read more ...
Have you ever made a reservation trough the net?? Well such e-commerce business model is not something new in the overseas but certainly an innovative idea to be implemented in Malaysia itself.

Imagine, you making a reservation in a single click within seconds? It just spells convenience isn’t it?, what else better than being F.O.C (Free of Charge). All you need to do is to click upon the restaurant ,fill in your particulars, number of seats ,time and date..Voila~..here’s you reservation sir/miss.

I've tried myself by just searching randomly with a keyword "Steaks", pops, here it goes, information on the restaurant just pop out within seconds.Easy,Fast and Useful.OpenTable.com is certainly a recommending site.Our neighbour, Singapore is now starting to implement such concept. If you have any chance to be in Singapore,try to make a reservation online.

Though in Malaysia we don’t own site with such services, we shouldn’t be ashamed of as we had site with similar characteristic, Foodvenue.com which provides food delivery trough the net, reviews on food from hawkers to high end restaurants in Malaysia and listing almost 3000 restaurant in their list. What the site is lacking of is online reservation like OpenTable. Haha, should I make a suggestion to Foodvenue, telling them to include such features? instead of just plainly listing the restaurant's name.
credit:

REVIEW:INTERNET SECURITY

2008-06-20T14:11:00.000+08:00

After reviewing the post (http://ecommerze.blogspot.com/2008/04/more-than-1-million-computer-viruses-in.html) I realized that using computers can create headache and make me feel not to use computers at all. But computers cannot be omitted from being used as it is becoming an essential tool in our daily life. What I notice from this post, it is not secure to perform internet transaction due to unauthorized access or damage to computer systems via internet transaction. It could be Denial-of-service (DoS) attack, virus, worms, Trojan horses, crackers, hackers, malware, spyware, and other attacks.

I even realized how dangerous computer viruses can be and the problems encounter by computer users such as data lost, important information being deleted, computer system breakdown, and others. The most common attack for me would be virus which is defined as a computer program that can copy itself, change computer settings and slow computer down without the knowledge of the user. The most common way these viruses come into contact is through online whereby, the user who may surfing the internet for some information may be unaware of the risk contacting with virus. Virus can also be transferred through device such as thumbdrive or could be due to some incomplete coding. Over the years, many types of viruses have been discovered such as e-mail worm, file infecting virus, or macro virus.

In order to prevent virus attack, a user should install a reliable antivirus software that helps to eliminate, identify, or neutralize wide range of threats, including worms, phishing attacks, trojan horses and other malware. Installing a good antivirus is not sufficient, the virus definition should be updated regularly and it is advised to scan the computer at least 2 to 3 times per week before switching off the computer off. Furthermore, always remember to scan those portable drives before opening it eventhough you assume it is clean from those viruses.

Ways to Safeguard your personal and financial data

2008-06-17T22:40:00.000+08:00

As you know internet brings a lot of benefits to users . You can perform online transaction via internet for instance online banking and shopping just to name two. These are significantly convenient as compared to traditional way in terms of time saving and petrol saving indeed especially when during peak hour. However, Internet is also convenient for attackers, giving them multiple ways to access the personal and financial information of unsuspecting user. Attackers may use other people’s private information for their own financial gain, either by making purchases themselves or by selling the information to someone else. Thus it is vital that users take some precaution steps to prevent their vital data from being stolen.

The followings are some ways to help internet user to protect their essential data.

1. Use and maintain anti-virus software, a firewall, and anti-spyware software regularly
It is strongly recommended to use anti-virus software and a firewall in your computer as it helps to protect you against viruses and Trojan horses that may steal the data on your computer and leave you vulnerable. Besides, whenever possible make sure you keep the virus definitions up to date. Use a legitimate anti-spyware program to scan your computer and remove any sypware or adware hidden in software programs as it may also gives attackers access to your data.Review 2008 top ten internet security software.

Watch this!

2. Keep software up to date especially web browser

Install software patches in your computer so that attackers cannot take advantage of known problems or vulnerabilities. Patches are updates that fix a particular problem or vulnerability within a program. It repairs holes in software programs.

3. Evaluate your software's settings
The default settings of the majority software enable all available functionality. However, attackers may be able to take advantage of this functionality to access your computer. It is particularly crucial to check the settings for software that connects to the Internet such as browsers, email clients and so forth. Apply the highest level of security available that still gives you the functionality you need.

4. Develop a strong password
Through a strong password may add layers of protection from attackers. Avoid using readily available information, such as your mother's maiden name, your birthday.

5. Be cautious of emails requesting information
Never open an attachment or click on a link by an unknown party. Attachments can contain viruses and links can lead unsuspecting users to dummy sites where they are asked to input financial information or requesting you to confirm purchase or account information. Legitimate businesses will not request this type of information through email.

6. Dealing with reputable vendors
It is encouraged to interact with a reputable, established vendor before providing any personal or financial information as many attackers are trying to trick via creating malicious web sites that appear to be legitimate. Hence you should verify the legitimacy before supplying any information

7. Make certain that your information is being encrypted
Many sites use secure sockets layer (SSL) to encrypt information. Indications that your information will be encrypted include a URL that begins with "https:" instead of "http:" and a lock icon in the bottom right corner of the window.

Credit:

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/103893/Six-Ways-to-Safeguard-Your-Online-Assets

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spyware

The Threat of Online Security

2008-06-17T15:20:00.000+08:00

How Safe
is Our Data??

Most of us know full well the degree to which our lives can be affected as a result of others getting their hands on our data. Financial fraud and identity theft have become commonplace these days, with fraudsters using increasingly sophisticated methods to try and get a hold of our details. In fact, fraudsters can use all sorts of documents or items that belong to us in order to commit a crime or steal an identity and information.

However, worryingly many of us fail to take precautions to minimize the chances of our data falling into the wrong hands. Although numerous measures have been taken to prevent data theft and misuse, our data online is still insecure, and we are still susceptible to viruses, worms, and Trojan Horses.

Our data still faces threats from:

Virus is a potentially damaging computer program that affects, or infects, a computer negatively by altering the way computer works without the user’s knowledge or permission. Once the virus infects the computer, it can spread throughout and may damage files and system software.

Worm is a program that copies itself repeatedly, for example in memory or on network, using up resources and possibly shutting down the computer or network. It exploits vulnerabilities in operating systems (OSs), network services, and applications to propagate and cause damage

Trojan horses(named after a Greek myth) is a program that hides within or appear to be legitimate, but in fact contain malware such as keyloggers

and spyware

The countermeasures developed for detecting viruses can often detect other forms of malware as well.A nother effective, but easily overlooked, countermeasure is security awareness training. It is common knowledge now that you should not open an email attachment sent from someone you do not know. Less well known are tips such as avoiding sites that may harbor malware, such as peer-to-peer file sharing sites, and not downloading browser plug-ins that may be Trojan horses. Keeping users aware of the changing tricks and techniques used by malware developers and cyber-attackers is an effective complement to the technical countermeasures that are essential to preserving information assets.

Just for laughs.......

Credit:

Information Security-en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_security
Defining Malware-www.microsoft.com/technet/security/alerts/info/malware.mspx
Malware: what it is and how to prevent it-arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/malware.ars

Phishing:Examples and its prevention methods

2008-06-16T23:02:00.000+08:00

Fishing..Phishing...What??!
The average home computer user like us is always bamboozled by technology jargon which is used to warn people about the most serious security threats online. This is what we called 'Geek speak' confuses net users..Hehe.
So what is phishing all about?Well according to Wikipedia.org , "Phishing" in computing 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.In layman's terms,Phishing is basically describe as faked e-mail scams.

Wants to know more?There's couple of example of banks in Malaysia becoming the victims of Phishing.

RHB BANK
In the year of 2006, nonetheless,RHB Bank was once a target of phishing scam. Fake e-mails are widely sent to mislead customers.Example of email sent by unauthorized party.
Example :

Remark:Click to enlarge

CITIBANK
On 2 September 2004,a Citibank phishing email began making the rounds via email in Malaysia, warning Citibank customers of possible fraud affecting their accounts and urging them to login to check the status.
Example:

Remark :Click to enlarge

We always say prevention is better than cure, there's step for computer users like us to avoid being phished.

Dont ever trust emails urgently requesting personal financial information.Phishers want you to react immediately and therefore include upsetting or exciting statements which trigger fear or happiness.They may falsely claim suspicious withdrawals from your banking account or present you as the winner of a lottery(so don't be silly,there's no free lunch in the world).
Do not fill any forms in email messages that ask for personal financial information
Typicall phishing scams or hoaxes ask for information such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, social security numbers through an online form.
Be suspicious of email links.The link from the email is the key to successful phishing scamming which will send you to the phishers own internet site with an online registration of account information. If the link in question shows www.hacker.com it is likely to scare of most of its target audience. One way the scammers have to go about this is to buy a new domain with an apparent link similarity to the bank or e-commerce it’s trying to be portrayed. For example,www.citibnkupdates.com.

Just a couple a game i would like to share with you guys.
Lets see how you good are you in differentiating legitimate site or just another phishing scams

Remark:Click on the image to play

A video on Phishing

credit:

The revenue model for Google, Amazon.com and eBay.

2008-06-14T11:26:00.000+08:00

There are five sources of revenue model namely sales, transaction fees, subscription fees, advertising fees, and affiliate fees as well as other revenue sources. Sales revenue model is basically the revenue earned from sales of goods and services. It is main source of revenue for Amazon.com and eBay. Amazon.com earns revenue from its online bookstore that sells books, music CD, DVD, computer software, video games, electronics, and others that let its customers to sell used items. Infact, Amazon has started selling products under its own private label “Pinzon” mainly selling downloads exclusively in MP3 format. Whereas, eBay earns revenue through online auction and shopping whereby people and businesses buy and sell goods and services worldwide. It offers millions of collectibles, appliances, computers, equipment, vehicles, and other miscellaneous items that are listed, bought, and sold daily. EBay have opened its new eBay Express site, designed to work like a standard Internet shopping site to consumers with United States.

Commission that is received from the product's sale is known as transaction fees. Ebay adopt transaction revenue model as their primary income whereby the auctioneer is given a space to auction their items or products and will be charged an insertion fees. In other words, transaction fees will be received from those who are interested to post their product using the name of eBay. If the product is successfully sold, yet another commission will be received.

A subscription fee is a monthly or yearly fixed amount paid to get some services. It is designed to obtain up-front payments from customers that access to specific content or services. This subscription model attracts customers with services that enable them to maintain continuous contact with the company.

Advertising fees is derived from companies paying a fee to advertise their products on a portal

.Google a much known search engine earns almost 99% of its revenue mainly from advertising fees whereby the advertiser is charged once the user click on the advertisement which will link to the advertiser’s website. One of the Google’s offered advertising service is Google AdWords whereby the advertisers are allowed to present advertisements to people that are looking for information related to what the advertiser has to offer. This service is a pay per click advertising program of Google. Besides Google, Amazon.com also uses advertising fees to earn its revenue by allowing advertiser to publish their advertisement in their website.

An affiliate fee is a commission earned for referring new customers to the buyer. 1% of Google’s revenue comes from affiliate fees which provide a link on their website that highlights web address or images of an another website. Google earns a referral fee if a customer clicks on the link and purchases goods at the transaction site, registers for the site, or some other services for which a commission is paid. Besides Google, Amazon.com also uses this revenue model with other websites to generate side income. Basically, Amazon.com will receive a certain amount of fee when a visitor of advertiser site purchases an item through a link on their website. Similarly, Ebay also generate its income through affiliate revenue model mainly from three sources of business which are auctions, payments (PayPal) and communications (Skype).
In conclusion, the revenue model adopted by Google, Amazon.com and eBay varies according to the nature of the business.

Sources:
http://www.organicspam.com/google_revenue_model.asp
http://www.ebstrategy.com/mobile/articles/port_rev_mod.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebay
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon.com

E-commerce success and its causes

2008-06-13T23:48:00.000+08:00

Have you ever heard of VerticalResponse..?VerticalResponses, is headquartered in San Francisco, California. It is a leading provider of self-service solutions for email marketing,direct mail services and surveys,empowering businesses of all sizes to create, manage,analyze and send their own direct marketing campaigns in minutes.All these require no technical expertise.VerticalResponse's flagship product, which allows customers to deliver sophisticated yet easily deployed email campaigns.With VerticalResponse companies of any size can quickly and affordably communicate with their valued customers and then track the results in real-time via verticalresponses gadget..They offer a Pay-As-You-Go pricing model so you are not locked into any contracts, monthly minimums or set-up costs. Furthermore they also provide free test driveThus, it is the most intuitive and affordable Web-based direct marketing solution available.They has won the gold prize winner for The Absolute Best in Small Business Award specialised in online marketing this year(2008). It has won by a large margin with more than 66 percent of the vote.

In conclusion,VerticalResponse is success due to following reasons:

Feature Set
Vertical response can ensures your emails are properly delivered whereby you can run a SPAM check and send a test email to yourself before you send it out to your customers. This program will also automatically add an unsubscribe link to the bottom of the email.

Ease of Use
Vertical Response has a user-friendly main control center where you can see all the options that are available to create your email campaign. There is a tab to manage your emails, reports, postcards and mailing lists. In addition, this program has a tour that will show you exactly how to use the program before you even start

Email Campaign Creation
Through Vertical Response you can create a plain text email message, use a pre-existing template or a freeform where you can upload your HTML page.

When you start creating your email campaign, the service directs

you to a page where the creation process is broken up into different steps. These steps make it easier to create your message and navigate the entire process.

Campaign Reporting
The reporting section is located on the homepage dashboard. The page includes all the campaigns you have sent. It will show you summary of how many emails were sent, opened, bounced, unsubscribed and display the number of times each link was clicked.
There is also a report based on the email domain. This shows how many of the emails have been sent, opened, clicked, bounced and unsubscribed by a specific domain name like Yahoo.com, MSN.com and others.

Help and Support
Vertical Response includes a searchable knowledgebase that frequently answered people questions. They also include email, phone and live chat support. The community and blog were interesting and good for some minor tips and tricks.

To know more on Verticalresponse and the advantages of verticalresponse you can click on the following links-

Credit

Webvan.com-the Number 1 Dot-Com Flop

2008-06-12T18:58:00.000+08:00

Webvan...Who??

History
Webvan.com was founded by Louis Borders which originally set out to create a full service online retailer that offered the customers a convenient and affordable way to shop for groceries and other items through the net. Webvan launched it’s operations in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1999. Webvan wanted to create a sophisticated and highly automated information systems centered around warehouses, and therefore started to built vast infrastructure to effectively store and deliver merchandise to customers. Customers could order online and Webvan would deliver the groceries within a 30 minute window. In just 18 months, Webvan succeeded in raising $375 million in Initial Public Offering, expanded its business rapidly to eight cities in the United States, and build a gigantic infrastructure(high-tech warehouses). At a point, Webvan worthed a staggering amount of $1.2 billion. However, Webvan was unable to sustain its business, and declared bankruptcy in 2001, causing thousands to lose their jobs.

So what went wrong with Webvan?

Financial problems- Webvan's high-tech order-picking centers were so expensive that the company was heavily financial burdened from the day the first center was built. The centers might have performed efficiently at scale, but the company did not survive long enough to prove it.

Poor understanding of consumer needs and behaviour- Although selling groceries online was an innovative move and considered as something novel at that time, Webvan failed to consider that their customers were mainly traditional consumers, and were mostly not technologically oriented and well knowledgeable with the internet. As a result, they faced financial losses due to high administrative costs, lacked strong customer base, and failed to implement proper costs controls.

Aggressive expansion strategy- Webvan emphasized on “GBF” of “Grow Big Fast” and built large infrastructure consisting of large warehouses, and incurred high costs in purchasing costly technology equipment.

Groceries are perishables-Customers must be at home to receive a grocery delivery so that they may store the perishables. Webvan scheduled deliveries in 30-minute timeslots, and was usually quite good and making them. However, deliveries would sometimes be late, and customers would soon grow annoyed at waiting, and many might simply purchase their groceries from their local supermarket. Few such dissatisfied customers would be likely to try Webvan again.

The combination of these factors was devastating for Webvan. Their highly ambitious infrastructure rollout depended on massive customer growth, while the nature of their market meant that any failures would be very damaging to customer growth. Unfortunately, some failures were inevitable.

What we caan learn from the case of Webvan is that even though we have a great idea, we should plan our expansion carefully and not grow too fast too soon. But online grocer Webvan was the poster child for doing just that, making the celebrated company our number one dot-com flop.

Credit:

The history & revolution of E-commerce

2008-06-11T21:13:00.000+08:00

I know it's kinda boring..but we must at least know who are our ancestors (in regards of E-commerce) right?HEHE.

The history of e-commerce comes in few phases, it was all started with the development of the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). The standards of EDI is widely applied in the 1960’s to exchange business information and to do electronic transactions This includes in handling all aspects of business transactions such as ordering, acknowledgements, pricing, status, scheduling, shipping, receiving, invoices, payments, and financial reporting. Although there are few EDI format being practices in the early years, due to some limitations companies are still unable to interact with other companies.

However, in 1984 the Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12 develops standards for cross-industry electronic exchange of business information. These standards became stable and reliable in transferring large amounts of transactions .Today, ASC X12's members include companies shaping the new global economy and pioneering the next generation of cross-industry, interoperable e-commerce standards.

The next major phase occurred in 1992 when the Mosaic web-browser was made available. It was the first ‘point and click’ browser and quickly being adapted into a downloadable browser, Netscape, which allowed easier access to electronic commerce.This has allowed Pizza Hut in attempting to have its pizza ordering made online(incredible huh..) follows by the first online bank,flowers delivery and magazine subscriptions to be done by only one click(convenience makes it all).

Whilst in 1995, it was a hype when two biggest competitors in e-commerce are launched, Amazon.com and Ebay .com .Both companies provide global online shopping and online auctions.

In the of 1998, Digital Subscriber Line has provided a fast, always-on Internet service to subscribers across California. This prompts people to spend more time, and money through Internet.E-commerce becomes common to everyone and "boom" retail spending over the Internet reaches US 20 mil by the year of 1999.

Today the largest electronic commerce is Business-to-Business (B2B). Businesses involved in B2B sell their goods to other businesses. In 2001, this form of e-commerce had around US700 bil in transactions. Other varieties growing today include Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) where consumers sell to each other, for example through auction sites. Peer-to-Peer (P2P) is another form of e-commerce that allows users to share resources and files directly,for examples Napster(music files sharing) in the early years til Bitcomet(multi format files sharing).

While in Malaysia(Malaysia BOLEH..LOL) ,E- commerce has gain much attention from governments, businesses and regional bodies.

Malaysia are seen to have a bright future in years to come. However, it can only remain so if there is consumer trust and confidence in it. Therefore, there is a need for online traders to be accountable and responsible to the consumer. Governments and businesses need to work together on an international platform to ensure specific standards are set, which will assist the electronic traders to meet their responsibilities more systematically. Both the business and government have a role to play in international consumer protection in the online marketplace, which can be global and borderless.

The government needs to provide a baseline for international consumer protection to ensure effectiveness of industry self-regulation and thus strengthen consumer confidence. Industry’s expertise and knowledge of commerce, and its ability to take that information and translate it into procedures for operating in the digital world at the same pace as the underlying technology evolves will allow it to implement the necessary codes of conduct (Kiranjit, 2004).

credit :

2008-06-06T13:30:00.000+08:00

"Amreek In The House!"

Hey everyone out there this is Amreek kaur.To tell you the truth I hate blogs but this time i could not escape as it is part of my assignment question therefore i can say that this is my very first entry. I am from Pandan Perdana,Cheras and currently a year 3 semester 1 student doing degree in accounting at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, in short UTAR.Basically i travel everyday to UTAR sungai Long campus by public transport as it is cheaper as compare to driving since the petrol price went up by 78sen.

As for my hobbies i enjoy cleaning my house apart from watching movies actually the list goes on and on but to keep it short this are most two preferable hobbies.My favourite animal is dog.This is because dogs are easy to train and look after.

As for the 5 most frequently visited websites:

It is my normal routine to visit this 5 websites which is mainly for communication and knowledge purpose.Basically i use yahoo to check my mails and also for assignment purpose.The friendster website i use it to stay connected with my friends and the UTAR website is used to check results,timetable,announcement and academic calendar.The google website is used to search information and the youtube website to search for music and movies.I think that's all for now from me and hope at the end of this assignment my perception towards blogging would change.

CatHeRine in the house..!! ^^

2008-06-04T13:23:00.000+08:00

halor there..this is CatHeRine here..This is also my very first blogging..keke..Another beginner in the house..keke Xp well, let me to further introduce myself to you guys out there. Firstly, i'm a girl (don tell me you don't know that), who quite blur..or maybe u can consider as easily forget things..i'm borne and stays in Petaling Jaya together with my lovely family members..I got 7 members in my family which consists of parent and 5 sibling..i'm the second elder among sibling..Currently, i'm pursuing Bachelor Of Commerce (Hons) Accounting in Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman(UTAR)in Sungai Long Campus.

My favourite colour is purple,pink and orange. i like to write diary..especially when i got "feeling" toward somethings happened around me..thus, my diary book will always stays in my bag..besides that,i like to watch movie especially those touching and funny movie..But its doesn't mean that i don't watch scary movie..i watch that in deed..it is just a matter of how frequently..i also like to listen to music like others.other than that, i like to see sky and feel the wind blow as well..(can it be counted..?can be gua..kaka)especially when i was depressed..it really do "cure" me from any negative feeling..u may want to experience it in somedays..

The top5 website I like to visit are Friendster,Yahoo,Facebook,google and lastly Youtube.

Friendster

i started to use this since i was pursuing foundation in KTAR in 2006 if not mistaken. i like to visit it because it enables me to stay connect with my dear friends from primary school to university even making new friends throughout the Malaysia.

Yahoo

using yahoo is on the ground of seaching for information,products as well as receive,forward and reply mails to friends.i like to use yahoo as there is no expiry date..

Facebook
i just started to use facebook since last year,2007. it is because many of my friends are using facebook as well..thus, in order to keep contact with them especially those who further their study abroad.Besides,there are many interesting applications in Facebook such as hugging people,superpoke friends and many more.

Youtube

i like to visit youtube as it consists of many music video and movie..And, it is operating fastly..

That's all for now..thanks for viewing our blog^^

Juliana in the house!!

2008-06-03T12:03:00.000+08:00

Hi guys,Juliana here..
Well I've stop blogging for quite sometime,nothing much happen in my life = nothing much to blog on, i lead a very routine life,wakes up every morning,rushing to University , I eat in the same restaurant, same food, using the same public transport..and I meet the same bunch of people everyday...so nothing much to tell or writes on.

Oh nearly forget to do a brief introduction on me (the main purpose for this entry)..Ok,here it goes:

My name is Juliana ..nice to meet you all.
Currently pursuing my degree in University Tunku Abdul Rahman(UTAR)
I stay in Taman Sungai Besi Indah(a garden beside The Mines Shopping Center)
Im 20 ehem *cough 22 plus plus cough* this year..hmm people just stop counting the candles in their birthday cake when they grow older..I'm one of them.

What else to talk on?Erm..I like being straightforward, too starightforward sometimes as my friend used to tell me.I have no intention to hurt anyone..so forgive me if I've once hurt your feeling.I'm ~~a super lazy~~ not an active person..I enjoy staying at home basically doing nothing,hehe, as for hobbies..if I have to say..it would be surfing the net for latest news.
The five websites I visited the most or should I say everyday are as below

http://www.google.com/

http://www.thestar.com.my/

http://www.jay-chou.net/

http://www.youtube.com/

http://www.crunchyroll.com/

Google..not to say the best search engine in the world but certainly adequate enough for me to complete most of my assignments.Especially Google Scholar.

The Star Online,the only medium i can get connected to my country.Come on! lets save some ~~money~~ trees! Read your paper online instead of getting yourself a hardcopy.

Jay Chou..if you don't know him.I'm speechless.I'm a regulars to the site.Well despite of keeping myself updated to his news,I get know alot of people around the world through the forum!I mean ALOT! We have activities such as culture swapping ..festive games like Easter Egg hunting, Winter Games..and alot more.

Youtube..I enjoy watching music videos and Vlogs .

Crunchyroll.. a site that allows you to watch free dramas,animes..and movies.See..penniless student always looks for free stuff.

Ya..that's me and I dont think you want to know more too.C ya!

XOXO

PS:// SAVE TREES ya !!

Jo Dee in the house!!

2008-06-03T11:29:00.000+08:00

Hi, Jo Dee here..

This is actually my first time blogging. So, I am kind of a ‘newbie’ here.

Surprised??? Don’t be.

Well, there’s nothing much to tell about myself. This self introduction is required by Mr. Hen, our E-Commerce lecturer. So, here goes..

I am currently a year 3 semester 1 Accounting student in Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman(UTAR). I am 21 this year. I was borne in Kedah, but moved to Melaka my home sweet home when I was 4 years of age. Basically, I am more of an indoor person. Lame as it may sound, I enjoy reading and listening to good music during my free time. For those who know me, I am not much of a sports person. So please refrain from pulling me out in the sun in the future!hahaa..

Well, the top 5 websites that I visit are:

1. http://www.google.com/

2. http://www.yahoo.com/

3. http://www.thestar.com/

4. http://www.friendster.com/

5. http://www.crunchyroll.com/

Among all the search engines, I love Google as it is fast, and enables me to search for information in a blink of an eye. Google scholar is also very useful for students like me when we have to search for information to complete our never-ending assignments.

As for Yahoo, I usually visit this website to check and send e-mails. I also use it to search information occasionally.

The Star’s online newspaper is also one of my usual internet ‘haunt’. We have to keep in touch with everything that goes around us, especially the recent hike in petrol prices. Ridiculous isn’t it?

As for Friendster, it is a place where I can keep in touch with my friends, make new acquaintances, and show off pictures. haha..

Crunchyroll is a website that allows us to watch movies online. However, it contains mainly of Chinese movies. So, any recommendation of good websites to watch English movies??

Well, I guess that’s all about me for now.

Signing off…

Juliana,Jodee,Amreek and lastly Catherine" In the house".Yo Yo

2008-06-01T22:57:00.000+08:00

Hi guys,

Juliana,Jodee,Amreek and Wan Jin are here..
Students from Y3S1 BAC T10