Janea Taylor – COMPUTERS ARE FUN!

Nearly all businesses today have some sort of presence on the Internet. Even if the only information they have available on their website is a phone number and address, most companies have something on the Internet with their name on it (Cashman, Shelly, & Vermaat, 2004, p. 58). Many of these companies even offer their products or services for purchase through their websites. This type of business is called e-commerce (Cashman et al., 2004, p. 62). E-commerce is a type of business transaction that takes places over a secure internet connection (Cashman et al., 2004, p. 63). Typically, the customer selects the items they would like to purchase and then places them into an online shopping cart (Cashman et al., 2004, p. 63). They then provide a username and password, along with their payment method and billing information (Cashman et al., 2004, p. 356). This information is usually encrypted as it is sent over the Internet (Cashman et al., 2004, p. 361). Almost all businesses that accept online payments offer these types of secure transactions (Cashman et al., 2004, p. 364).

Data encryption and secure transactions are used to protect customers and their privacy (Cashman et al., 2004, p. 367). As a result of things like identity theft and consumer fraud, customers are becoming more concerned about their privacy when doing business online. Any company that offers their products or services for purchase online should be aware of how to take the necessary precautions to protect their customer’s privacy. Using encryption and secured transactions will allow the company to provide their customers with protection against identity theft and consumer fraud (Federal Trade Commission, 2005).

Some of the other concerns a company might have when they choose to do business online include data storage and integrity as well as system installation and maintenance. If the company chooses to host their website in-house, they will have to set up a system that will be used for online transactions. This system will be vulnerable to various types of security breaches. Some security concerns include attacks by hackers and crackers (Cashman et al., 2004, p. 354). They will also need to protect themselves and their customers against system failure and data loss (Cashman et al., 2004, p. 361). However, if the company were to outsource the system, they will likely have to be less concerned with these areas as the company that hosts the website will be responsible for system availability and maintenance.

References:

Cashman, T.J., Shelly, G.B, & Vermaat, M. E. (2004). Discovering Computers: Fundamentals editions. Boston: Course Technology

Federal Trade Commission (2005). Retrieved December 8, 2005 from http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/con_minimize.htm