E-Commerce Airline

A review on 'Legal' from My E-Commerce blog - "New rules for cyber cafe soon"

2009-07-12T23:59:00.000+08:00

Malaysian government announced that there will be some new guidelines to be enforced soon on Internet and cyber cafes.

From my point of view, this is good to have guidelines to control the cyber cafe. As we know, the cyber cafe in the market nowadays normally attracts kids and children to play games. This is not a good sign as social ills will be caused. Initially cyber cafe should be the place for the public to obtain Internet access services but not the place for the children to play games. Therefore, I strongly agree that enforcement of new guidelines onto the cyber cafes is a starting point to reduce the social ills.

One of the guidelines to be enforced is those under 12 years old must be accompanied by parents and only allowed to stay up to 10pm. This would be a good way to restrict the children from being addicted to the Internet games. Parents are playing an important role to control their children in this case. They should always educate their children and guide them while using the Internet.

Besides, the cyber cafe is prohibited from providing gaming activities, gambling, pornography, music and publications with negative elements. Moreover, cigarettes and alcohol are also to be prohibited from being sold. This is good way to prevent the cyber cafe from turning into the possible source of social ills.

Illegal cyber cafe should be punished. For example, those who fail to meet the important guidelines will have their licenses revoked. This would be a good way to reduce the social ills that are happened seriously in our country recently. However, commitment from each party is important in order to deal with this cyber cafe problem.

~ For more information, please visit this website:

http://ecommerze.blogspot.com/search/label/Legal

E-learning offered in Malaysian universities: Pros and Cons from the students perspective

2009-07-11T18:58:00.023+08:00

Nowadays, E-learning has become more and more popular in Malaysian universities due to the rapidly changing of technology. E-learning is a modern method of education where part of the learning experience takes place without the face to face communication between the lecturer and the students. The lecturers will use the technology devices to post up all their teaching materials to educate the students.

In Malaysia, there are some universities has begun to implement E-learning such as Universiti Malaya(UM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Open University Malaysia (OUM) and so on.

The persons that have impact the most by using the E-learning are the students. Hence, below are the pros and cons of E-learning from the students perspective.

Pros

Time flexibility
Students can learn anytime and anywhere but in the condition that they must have Internet access. They are not bound to a specific day/time to phisically attend classes. Therefore, they can adjust their time more effectively.

Convenience
Students do not need to travel to the campus to attend the class personally. By having the Internet access, they can download all the online education resources from the Internet. Besides, if they find difficulties on study, they can just drop an email to the lecturer. It is easy and convenient.

Capability to study at own pace
In traditional education setting, students always need to submit the assignments in a particular period of time in order to meet the set deadline. However, through E-learning, students can study whenever they are free. The online faculty will assign projects with a deadline and students can finish their projects at whatever time that they find feasible within that particular deadline.

Cons

Lack of face to face communication with the lecturer
Students find it difficult to understand the course well without the face to face communication with the lecturer. The lecturer may not understand the students' demands, interests and behaviors. Moreover, miscommunication can also be occured by using the email between the lecturer and the students. As a result, the learning progress of the students has been obstructed.

Lack of motivation
Students need to study and do their assignments by their own. They will not get any guidance from the lecturer easily when they are facing problems in their studies. They have to do all the work under unsupervision. Hence, the students will become lazy and have no motivation to study hard.

E-learning brings a lot of benefits for the students. However, there are some drawbacks that can limit the student's learning progress. Therefore, those limitations need to be solved in order to get better outcomes form E-learning.

~For more information, please visit to the following websites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_learning
http://www.kst.utm.my/kst/download/eLearning%20Implementation%20in%20Malaysian%20Universities_the%20UTM%20Experience.pdf

Corporate Blogging: A new marketing communication tool for companies

2009-07-09T22:50:00.001+08:00

Corporate blogging is a great marketing tool. It is an investment that may produce a measurable return to the company which is same as other marketing initiatives. One of the advantages of blogs is that post and comments are easy to reach and follow due to the centralized hosting and generally structured conversation threads. So, it can create and maintain a conversation with the customers and stakeholders and build thought leadership.

The three successful corporate blogging are as follows:

GK from Elite Sportswear

In 2008, GK fro Elite Sportswear which is a manufacturer of gymnastics apparel around the world began to turn to business blogging as a means of increasing organic search traffic and converting more business. The 30 blogs launched by GK Elite had increased its revenue from organic search by 39 percent, and also increased 30 percent for the net online revenue as a result of the blogs.

Roto-Rooter

Roto-Rooter is the largest provider of plumbing and drain services in North America. In a competitive environment, the company’s blogs has humanized the company in the eyes of consumers. Rota-Rooter blogging about the way its plumbing service professionals double as superheroes to rescue family pets, needy animals and prized personal possessions for customers. These blogs give Roto-Rooter a true personality and give confidence to the customer for the company’s professional services.

HH Gregg

HH Gregg is one of the nation’s leading retailers of home appliances and consumer electronic with more than 111 stores. HH Gregg has established several hundred blogs that focused on its product and also community involvement when notice that much of its products are researched online before customer ever go to the store for purchase it.

All of these examples represent great corporate blogs because they were initiated with specific goals in mind. These organizations have all looked to leverage social media to help building their business in ways that are both human and mutually beneficial to both their clients and their companies.

~For more information, please visit the following websites:

Corporate blog

Corporate blogs list

15 companies that really get corporate blogging

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

2009-07-06T23:11:00.017+08:00

“A Government-Connected People, A People-Connected Government”-a message from managing director, Microsoft Malsysia.

Do you all know that what is the meaning of E-Government?
E-Government is an E-commerce model in which a government entity buys or provides goods, services, or information to businesses or individual citizens.

For example, Malaysia government’s main portal is http://www.malaysia.gov.my/EN/Pages/default.aspx.

According to the news of Thestar online (25 June 2009), I found that Malaysia’s government portal (myGovt) has been ranked top 11 among 198 countries which provide E-Government services.

Goals of E-Government...

**Assist strengthening government’s drive toward effective governance.

**Enhance access to and delivery of government services to benefit of citizens.

Malaysia E-Government successful applications...

Adoption of Government Open Source Projects
E-Syariah
Voter information
E-Procurement
Employment opportunities
Details for government tenders
Online renewal of driving licenses
SMS alert on E-government services
Electronic filing (E-filing) of income tax forms
Government’s drive for E-government services
Electronic Labour Exchange has matched 75,000 potential employees with employers since 2005.

Malaysia E-Government implementations so far...
The implementation of E-government requires strong leadership and vision. It also requires a comprehensive strategy that is not only benchmarked on global best practices, but also sensitive to existing political realities and economic conditions.

Advantages of E-Government...

**Reduce costs: E-Government allows harvesting of data from different systems and different areas.

**Good quality: E-Government increases the quality of feedback to managers and policy makers.

**Well management: E-Government reinforces traditional bureaucratic structures, cultures, and links from administration to citizens and politics.

Problems faced in E-Government implementation in Malaysia...

**Language barriers: Some of the government websites use only Bahasa Malaysia version. So, government should design the multi language websites to citizens.

**Take slow action: Some complaints have not been responded quickly due to without any action from concerned specific authorities.

**IT infrastructure: Shortage of reliable networks and communication. It is very hard to redesign the websites due to the high complexity in understanding the process and systems.

**Operational costs: The cost of IT professionals and consultancies is high in developing countries.

Citizen’s adoption strategies...

In Malaysia, E-Government adoption requires citizens to show their high levels of satisfaction and security with the online services provided by the government.

The E-Government websites should provide:

**Best services: The problem solving is effective and efficient enough to reply to citizens such as E-complaint portal.

**Convenience: Save time to make the payment such as renew driving license online.

**Confidentiality: The information of citizens is protected.

**Cost saving: The E-transaction cut-off paper work and makes it easy to use.

**Friendly user websites: The websites is provided by multi language version.

In conclusion, E-government in Malaysia have improved our understanding of what works and what does not, what practices are transferable, and under what conditions.

~For more information, please refer to following websites

INFORMATION SHARING
Malaysia was ranked 157 out of 198 countries in 2005. In recent, the ranking leapfrogs to top 11!!! This proved that Malaysian government put efforts in promoting their E-Government services.

E-GOVERNMENT DATA EXCHANGE

Reference: http://www.egov-coe.com/

Review a local, transactional e-commerce site

2009-07-06T21:42:00.061+08:00

Hello passengers, we are in Malaysia Airline now~! We will fly you to the Malaysian Airline Company & find out what are the E-Commerce services offered by the company in malaysiaairlines.com!!!

Malaysia Airline System Bhd (MAS) is a local company that provides flight services to its customers through online. The high quality of online ticket booking services assisted the company to gain competitive advantage from its competitors.

What are the Features of E-Commerce Services provided in MAS Website?

Allows customers to book the flight tickets through online at anytime & anywhere

Facilitates the registration & payment of airline tickets through online

Fast & secure online payment services

Permits its customers to choose their prefer destinations when online

Different holiday packages are provided for customers to choose through online

Ticket booking information & timetable are available on the company website

Attracts customers by offering stimulus packages on internet

User-friendly online services such as dealing with queries from customers

Flight Packages Promotion on MAS Website:

MAS offered its Free & Easy Packages to customers and allow them to book the tickets through online. This E-Commerce strategy is able to attract more customers to use the services offered by MAS.

Destiinations Available on Free & Easy Packages:

What are the Potential Impacts from E-Commerce provided by MAS?

Trust, loyalty, & satisfaction of customers increased

Reputations of MAS enhanced

Long-term competitive advantage of MAS developed

Enhance public confidence

Conclusion:

E-Commerce is useful to the company who trades goods & services to customers through electronic online. The implementation of an E-Commerce site from Malaysian Airlines Bhd not only can create benefits for both company & consumers, but it also able to assist the company to sustain long-term achievement.

Related Website Links:

Malaysia Airlines

Selamat Datang > Welcome to Malaysia Airlines

Malaysia Airlines - Free & Easy Packages

A review on a post on e-tailing from My E-Commerce blog

2009-07-05T22:28:00.001+08:00

After reviewing the evolution of E-Commerce from My E-Commerce blog, I found that online retailing in UK is growing at its fastest rate after the dotcom started to grow up. From the research, the amount of money spent by consumers in shopping online has increased by 33.4% to £10.9 billion in year 2007.

Why online retailing or e-retailing has become so famous?

These are the reasons:

Convenience

Saves time

Avoids crowds

Allow more time to research

Lower prices

No salesperson involved

Product customization

Better information

Can shopping anytime, anywhere

There are several models for e-retailing which are specialized e-store, generalized e-store, E-mall, direct selling by the manufacturer, supplementary distribution channel, E-broker and E-services.

The e-retail players are from all over the world such as Amazon.com, Buy.com, eBay, Dell, GenericWear.com, REI.com and myCloset.com. They are popular retailers that have developed e-commerce sites specifically to serve markets.

The rapid growth of electronic retailing brings a lot of benefits for the consumers. However, there may have frauds committed by sellers:

Receiving payment and not shipping merchandise

Shipping items other than those described

Giving a deliberately misleading description

Selling counterfeit or bootleg merchandise

Selling stolen goods

Misrepresenting the cost of shipping

As the customers, we need to ensure the transactions are dealt with the legal company. This can avoid the fraud of e-retailing.

~For more information, please visit the following websites:

Online retailing 'surging ahead'

E-retailing benefits both consumers and marketers

The application of pre-paid cash card for consumers

2009-07-03T21:09:00.052+08:00

In this global technology world, Pre-paid Cash Card is highly demanded by the consumers who prefer to conduct financial transactions with high security, convenience, & speed. It is a payment tool that requires consumers to load the card with a sum of money before it can be used to make payment for goods & services.

Why Pre-paid Cash Cards are used?

(1) Avoid debts incurred

(2) Easy to carry

(3) High security
(4) Reduce transaction time
(5) Free balanced alerts

Pre-paid Cash Cards can be used for following purposes:

Online Shopping

Paying bills through online or over the phone

Reserving rooms in hotel

Topping up mobile phone

Toll Payment in highways

Withdrawing cash from an ATM

“Touch n Go”

Touch n Go Card is an example of pre-paid cash card used in Malaysia. It facilitates users to pass by the toll through scanning the card in a short distance away from the scanner. Touch n Go card saves the users’ time and it can be used anywhere at Malaysia highway.

Conclusion:

Pre-paid cash cards can be used to conduct varieties of trading activities. It is not only providing easy payment for consumers, but also contributing the success factors in the use of transactions. The increased in percentage of pre-paid cash cards users in recent years’ trend proved that pre-paid cash cards becoming highly reliable & demanded.

For further information, please refer to following websites:

Prepaid Cash Card - Patent 5621787

Daily Star Cash Card Prepaid Master Card

Prepaid Cards , MasterCard

Touch n Go Card

The Hindu Business Line: Pre-paid cash cards for train tickets gaining in popularity

Credit Card debts: Causes and Prevention

2009-07-01T23:03:00.008+08:00

Having credit card is very common nowadays. Credit card is convenient and useful if we use it properly. However, if abuse, credit card can be the start of a years-long nightmare and unbelievable stress. Those who are relying on the credit card too much will be in debt. This is because every time when they are using credit card, they are actually borrowing the money from the credit card issuer. Therefore, they are increasing their credit card debts.

Never fully repay the total sum of debts
Many credit card users only pay for the interest and a small amount of principal when the debt is due. They will never fully repay the total sum of debts. Hence, debts accumulate an increase via the interest.

Poor money management skills
People have poor money management skills. They are unaware to conduct a monthly spending plan and do not keep track of monthly bills. They will spend as much as they get and consequently lead to a rise in credit card debts.

Unemployment

When people are unemployed, they do not have income to spend. Therefore, they will use credit card to cover their basic living expenses but at the end, they are unable to pay back the expenses.

Inflation
The prices of goods and sevices are going up but the amout of income is still the same. Thus, people are forced to spend beyond their earnings. Consequently, they will use credit cards to purchase the goods and services and then unable to pay back the expenses.

Budgeting
People have to make a clear budget and stick on it in order to prevent from overspending and fall under deeper debt load.

Establish good credit card spending habits

Every credit card offers interest-free period. If possible, people are encouranged to settle all the payment before the period ends in order to avoid interest charged and stay out of debt.

Never use lots of credit cards at the same time

Use just one or two cards only. Remember that credit card is not the same as free money. The lesser cards you are holding, the less probability for debts.

Using cash for payment if possible
Use debit cards or pay by cash. Both of these paying method will reduce the risk to incur in credit card debts.

In conclusion, prevention is better than cure. Be smart when using the credit cards.

~For more information, please visit to these websites:
http://www.mozdex.com/prevent-credit-card-debt/
http://ezinearticles.com/?Why-Credit-Card-Abuse-Causes-So-Much-Debt&id=1018899

Electronic Currency

2009-06-30T21:26:00.060+08:00

E-Currency:

Electronic Currency is the virtual money that can be used through online or exchanged electronically. Generally, it is known as electronic money that involves in the use of internet, computer network, & digital stored value system. In this modern technology world, electronic payment is highly demanded as it provides high level of convenience and validity.

E-Gold:

E-Gold is one of the most common examples of e-currency. It is integrated into an account based payment system that enables users to trade by using gold as money. Besides, e-gold facilitates the instant transfer of gold ownership between users & can be used exclusively in the Online Auction or Micropayment market.

E-Currency consists of different subsets which stated as below:

Pappercoin

Digicash

Payloadz

PayStone

Firstgate Click & Buy

~ Advantages of Electronic Currency:

Low transaction cost

Opportunity to trade for profits

Leverage can be used to increase risk reward

Everyone can conduct electronic currency

~ Future Evolution of Electronic Currency:

To be used it through a wider range of hardware such as credit cards

Link bank accounts that would generally be used over an internet

Enable the currency exchange with a secure micropayment system

~ Conclusion:

As a conclusion, there are various types of electronic currency tools that available for users to use for online transactions through online. From our point of view, we think that different methods of these tools contain its benefits & able to facilitate the transactions between online sellers & buyers. Therefore, users are strongly encouraged to conduct their prefer business activities by using any of the above methods.

~ Suggested Materials:

E-Gold

Digital Cash

Electronic Currency Trading

Electronic Currency Derivatives: Prospects For The Future

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

2009-06-29T11:28:00.011+08:00

YoYo…New generation’s environment!!!

Nowadays, telecommunications industry is experiencing rapid growth on a global scale. One of the greatest growth areas is “Mobile Telecommunications”. Mobile telecommunication is a technology that allows the users to be connected by using the mobile devices. For example, using mobile phone services such as Mobile Payment Systems will make life easier for everyone!

What are mobile payment systems?
Mobile payment systems have been developed to facilitate purchasing of products, services, and content in mobile and electronic commerce and at physical points of sale. For example, mobile payment allows you to make payments to selected merchants by using your mobile phones.

Mobile banking, mobile money transfer, mobile trading, mobile commerce, advertising and marketing, location based advertising and mapping services, and information and news services are some of the areas to lead significant growth in the mobile payments market.

Which companies have launched mobile payment systems in Malaysia?
In Malaysia, there are some companies have already launched mobile payment systems such as Celcom, Maxis, Digi, TMtouch, Maybank, Hong Leong Bank, Mobile Money International Sdn Bhd, and others.

Potential of mobile phones to make the transformation...
According to the study of Bank Negara Malaysia, mobile telecommunication networks provide a mobile electronic payment channel when mobile phones are in the hands of most Malaysians, with 88% of the Malaysian population subscribing to mobile phone services.

The high penetration rate states that mobile phone network is an increasingly popular channel for Malaysians to perform a plethora of activities beyond voice communication, encompassing all forms of digital communication, commerce, banking and payments. Indeed, mobile payments via text messaging have the potential to grow currently in Malaysia.

With the favorable market conditions, various potential mobile payment initiatives have been launched in recent years. It has potential to continue growing if a consumer’s confidence on mobile payment system continues growing.

Consumers’ adoption strategies for using mobile payment systems...

**Security: Mobile payment systems provide an alternate payment mechanism that would not only lower cost of transactions but also give a security to the users.

**Low transaction cost: Mobile payment systems provide an efficient and cost-effective method of delivering financial services in the remote areas.

**Convenience: Mobile payment systems provide high-speed transaction and convenience for users as users do not need to carry any cash.

**Easy to use: Mobile payment systems are easy to use. Transaction can be done by just sending a SMS.

Latest news for mobile payment systems in Malaysia...
In April 9, 2009, contactless mobile payment service utilizing Near Field Communication (NFC) technology was introduced by Visa, Maybank, Maxis and Touch n' Go.

Relevant News Website:

Maxis FastTap: The World’s first multi-payment NFC mobile service

World’s first contactless mobile payment system’ launches in Malaysia

~For more information, please refer to following websites

A review on a post on internet security from My E-Commerce Blog

2009-06-27T23:23:00.003+08:00

After reviewing the Internet Security Threats – Its Changing Faces (Part 2) from My E-Commerce blog, I try to figure out the information about the internet security threats and I found that many experts have predicted that rootkit malware will soon be thought of as equally troublesome as viruses and spyware. Rootkit malware will become more common and their sources will be more surprising.

A rootkit malware allows someone either legitimate or malicious to maintain command and control over a computer system. Rootkit malware can disrupt the computer systems without the computer system user knowing about it.

Mostly, rookit malware is used by attackers or spies to infiltrate and monitor the computer systems. Beside that, they will install rootkit malware by spreading with a malware threat such as virus.

Prevention Method:

Don't accept files or open email file attachments from unknown sources
Search and check the computer system memory
Keep abreast of the latest antivirus and malware protection software from leading antivirus and security vendors
Update your firewall protection
If possible, harden the workstation or server against attack
Choose the right rootkit detection tool
- Eg: Sysinternals' RootkitRevealer, F-Secure BlackLight, Sophos Anti-Rootkit, and Rootkit Hook Analyzer.

Sysinternals' RootkitRevealer

F-Secure BlackLight

~For more information, please refer to following websites:

http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2007/07/03/224064/rootkit-and-malware-detection-and-removal-guide.htm

http://netsecurity.about.com/od/frequentlyaskedquestions/f/faq_rootkit.htm

The application of 3rd party certification programme in Malaysia.

2009-06-25T22:08:00.011+08:00

Certification authority (CA) is an entity that issues digital certificates for used by other parties. CA is also called as 3rd party certification. The most famous application of third party certification programme in Malaysia is provided by the MSC
Trustgate.com Sdn Bhd.

MSC Trustgate.com Sdn Bhd is one of the licensed of Certification Authority (CA) in Malaysia since 1999 under the Digital Signature Act 1997 (DSA). They offer complete security solutions and leading trust services that are needed by individuals, enterprises, government, and e-commerce services providers using digital certificates, encryption and decryption. The goal of Trustgate enables the organizations to conduct their business securely over the Internet, as much as what they have been enjoying in the physical world.

The application of 3^rd party certification programmes includes SSL Certificate, Managed PKI, Personal ID, MyTRUST, MyKAD ID, SSL VPN, Managed Security Services, VerSign Certified Training, and Application Developmrnt in the Trustgate.

Our MyKad is one of the 3^rd party certification authorities. MyKad can be used to store critical medical information and digital certificate. There are some applications that Malaysians can utilize this new generation identity card.

The applications of MyKad are included as follows:

1. National Identity Card: MyKad will replace the traditional paper based laminated document to provide extra security and access future to future E-government application.

2. Driving License: Any Malaysians will only need to have their MyKad instead of a separate driving license as identification document. It reduces the wastage of resources and increases the processing speed.

3. Passport Information: MyKad does not replace passport for travelling oversea. However, it can help to increase efficiency at immigration check-points for exit and re-entry of Malaysians.

4. Medical Information: Medical history will be stored in the chip of the smart card. It allows for immediate and accurate diagnosis of disease.

By using a Certificate Authorities (CA), online users could perform secure transaction and communications through the internet. As a result, integrity and the authenticity of the information is preserved and protected from anyone.

Other information sharing:

Besides that, Digicert is a joint venture company between POS MALAYSIA Berhad and MMOS Berhad. It was incorporated in February 1998 to pursue its objective as a premier licensed Certification Authority (CA).

It is in the center of an effective trust model that the government is creating to address the issue of information security such as digital signatures, encryption, and the infrastructures to support their use are becoming essential for further growth of E-business in Malaysia.

Encryption

How to safeguard our personal and financial data?

2009-06-24T23:11:00.016+08:00

Internet is a public network of nearly 50,000 networks connecting millions of computers throughout the world. Nowadays, computer and Internet are very common to everyone. We will rely on computers to save our personal data and also use online financial services to do financial transactions such as online banking. However, information transmitted over the Internet is more vulnerable and has a high degree of security risk than internal networks because they are opened to everyone. Therefore, it is important for the users to take adequate safeguards to protect their data from being stolen and misused.

Here are a few approaches on how to safeguard our personal and financial data:

Password protect

Use a strong password to protect your access data. Do not use passwords that are easy for someone to guess such as your date of birth and your pet’s name. Never write your password down and never carry it in your wallet.

Install antispyware and antivirus software

Norton, Symantec and AVG antivirus are popular software used to protect personal and financial data against viruses that may steal or modify the data in your computer. You must make sure to update your antivirus software in order to have a well protection.

Keeps credit cards to a minimum

Use a credit card with a small limit when doing online purchases. It is very easy for a dishonest sales clerk to use your credit card information. If the card you use for these purchases has a low credit limit, at least the thieves would not be able to use up a lot of your money.

Avoid using public computers for assessing financial information

Do not use public computers to check your bank account balances. If you are using the public computers such as in Internet café or in the public library, remember to close the browser window. This is to prevent other users from reading your personal information and email.

Avoid clicking on pop-up

You are not encouraged to click on any pop-up advertisements or download any information from unknown sites. Do not open a link sent to you by an unknown party. Attachments can contain viruses and links may lead unsuspecting users to dummy sites where they are asked to input their financial information.

Protect your Social Security number

Please ensure that you do not print out your Social Security number on checks or in other highly visible places. Store your card in a safe place and avoid giving the number to others.

Review credit card report frequently

Always review your credit card report after having an online purchase. This is to ensure that the amount that you pay is accurate.

~ For more information, pease refer to following website:

http://www.fool.com/personal-finance/general/2006/09/23/safeguard-

your-financial-life.aspx

Phishing: Examples and its prevention methods

2009-06-23T22:13:00.005+08:00

Phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by concealing as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.

It is usually done by sending fake emails and redirecting unsuspecting users by using fake websites which the URL will use legitimate form like email address, logos and link of reputable business such as SunTrust, eBay, Citibank, Chapter One Bank, PayPal and IRS Tax Refund in the message.

The examples of phishing scam are as follows:

Ebay

Trusted Bank

Citibank

The ways to prevent phishing scam:

Check where the email comes from
- Checking the sender of the email. If the email address is not the domain of a legitimate bank/service, then it is certainly a phishing scam

Do not follow a “click here” link in the email
- The email will contain the link which named as “Click here” or link which may re-enter to your user information. Please measure whether the link is meeting to the legitimate website or content before you click on it.

Check contact information provided in the email
- Double check the contact information by using your recorded contact information such as phone number, fax number and address of that company to the email.

Check your personal information that provided in the email
- You can check out the information that stated in the email by figuring out whether it suits your original information such as when you register for this website or account.

Make sure a site's URL as listed in the browser is legitimate
- Verify the legitimacy of a web address with the company directly.

Avoid filling out forms in e-mail messages

~For more information, please refer to following websites:

http://www.privacyrights.org/ar/phishing.htm

http://antivirus.about.com/od/emailscams/ss/phishing_8.htm

http://chris.pirillo.com/top-five-ways-to-prevent-phishing

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

The Threat of Online Security: How Safe Is Our Data?

2009-06-22T20:11:00.027+08:00

Virus…!!! It’s scary…!!! Online security issues always become the major concern of most of the computer users in protecting their data from losses. For me, I experienced once. My computer was attacked by virus one day before my assignment due date. Have you ever experienced it before???

Online security threat is any danger software that can damage the computer system. It is obviously one of the biggest challenges on internet in today IT world. There are several potential threats to online security that can create possible attacks on personal computer. These threats are listed as below:

(1) Computer Viruses:

A small computer program that copies itself & spreads it from one computer to another computer without the knowledge of the computer owner.

Such viruses can be infected easily through E-mail attachment, USB drive, CD, & floppy disks.

(2) Torjan Horses:

A program that contains hidden function that carry security risk

Designed to allow hacker remote assessing to a target computer system

Deletion of files and keystroke logging can be caused by Trojan Horses

(3) Denial of Service (DOS):

Attempt to make a computer resource unavailable to its intended users
DOS criminal will normally target sites or services hosted on high-profile web servers such as banks and credit card payment gateways

(4) Phishing:

Acquired users’ personal & financial information such as credit card details through acting as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication

Collect information through fake websites

Most likely carried out by instant messaging or Email

(5) Worm:

A self-replicating computer program that sends copies of itself to other codes until it interrupts the operation of a computer network.

The transfer of computer worm can be done without any interventions of the computer users

~Effects of online security threats:

Confidential information might be loss or damaged
Computer & network can be harmed
Theft of intellectual property will be increased
More people will involve in cyber crime
Copyright material such as music and videos will be illegally used

~ Looming Online Security in 2008:

Research shows that famous social networks such as Facebook & MySpace are most common targets for hackers to obtain users’ sensitive information. Hackers will turn their attention into these social network websites as majority of the internet users like to display their personal information on these websites.

~ Conclusion:

From our point of view, we think that online security threats not only can destroy users’ data, but it also able to harm the users’ computer. As a result, safeguards such as backup procedures & firewall should be developed & updated in order to strengthen the defenses against the threats.

~ Video:

Crazy Virus Can Harm Our Computer!!!

~ Related Website Links:

Revenue Model of Google, Amazon.com and eBay

2009-06-20T17:10:00.006+08:00

Google is globally well known for its search engine. It provides high level of services to all users who seek information and resources. Besides global Internet search solution, Google also offers targeted advertising solution. This is the revenue model of Google.

AdWords

Google generates most of its revenue from Google AdWords. It is a pay per click advertising program of Google designed to allow the advertisers to present advertisements to people at the instant the people are looking for information related to what the advertiser has to offer. The advertisements are usually placed on the right side of the screen or sometimes above the main search results. The advertisers need to pay for their advertisements once the Google users click on it.

AdSense

AdSense is another advertisement application run by Google. Website owner can enroll in this program to enable text, image and video advertisement on the Google’s search result pages. Google generates revenue on either a per-click or per-impression basis. When a visitor clicks one of the advertisements, the AdSense publisher will share the cost-per-click advertisement revenue with Google.

Amazon.com is known as the America’s largest online retailer. It started as an online bookstore but soon diversified to product line of computer software, music DVDs, video games, electronics, and so on. Therefore, it is clear that Amazon.com generates the revenue through sales.

Besides that, Amazon.com also generates revenue by transaction fees and affiliate fees. Amazon.com will charge transaction fees on the sales and also affiliate fees on those who advertise in the Amazon website.

eBay is an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a board variety of goods and services worldwide. Besides that, eBay also owns PayPal and Skype.

eBay is very similar to Amazon.com. Both are using sales and transaction revenue model. eBay will gain revenue for every successful transaction. Besides that, PayPal can earn revenue through online payment. PayPal has gained users trust worldwide and has become a global leader in online payment solution.

Conclusion

Most of the revenues for Amazon.com and eBay are from sales and transaction fees. On the other hand, Google is earning from advertising the most. In conclusion, we can say that every company has their own revenue model.

~ For more information, please refer to the following websites:

Google
http://www.organicspam.com/google_revenue_model.asp

Amazon.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon.com
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-5-Best-Revenue-Models-in-E-Commerce-History&id=102842

eBay
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EBay

A review on Real-World Case: Google is changing everything

2009-06-19T13:11:00.012+08:00

Assignment! Assignment!

Actually most of the UTAR students always use “Google” as the main search engine to find the information in order to complete their assignment. This is because Google co-founder Larry Page says that “Google search engine would understand exactly what you mean and give back exactly what you want.”

Nowadays, Google has become the big dog of search engines and successfully concerns the market on popularity among internet users. Although Google may be the favorite search engine by users, it is always aware that a “king” position can be deposed. As we know that “Microsoft” is a powerful and potential competitor against Google and thus as a result, Google is changing everything in order to achieve their organization’s goals.

Given the state of Google’s technology today, Google’s goal is to provide a much higher level of service to all those who seek information and resources. Besides that, Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Google’s vision is requiring more research, development and innovation to realize.

A glimpse at Google’s activities such as their own products, technology, and the Google culture, some innovative changing will be discovered.

Besides the Google Spreadsheet products, Google has introduced a new Web Browser which is called Google Chrome, aimed at wresting dominance of the browser market from Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. The function of Chrome browser is more effective and efficient than Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, Mozilla’s Firefox and Apple’s Safari. I believe that if Google succeeds, it will be a big challenge with major ramifications for the future of the Web.

Google Chrome Icon Project

According to “Personal Technology” from The Wall Street Journal, the author who is Walter S. Mossberg stated the reasons of why Google ignites the new browser war. The reasons actually involve competing with Microsoft. There are two reasons.

First, Google is in fear that its search engine and other major products will depend on the Microsoft’s browser because it might be able to gain an advantage by altering the design of Internet Explorer, which has roughly 75% market share.

Second, Chrome was designed to be the world’s speediest browser at handling JavaScript. This is because Google sees the Web as a platform for the software programs or web applications that it is currently running directly on computer operating systems, notably Microsoft’s Windows. Moreover, current browsers lack the underlying architecture but more powerful web applications that will rely more greatly on a common Web programming language which called JavaScript. That is why Google would like to create a new browser.

In conclusion, I agree that “Google is changing everything” because Google has persistently pursued innovation and pushed the limits of existing technology to provide a fast, accurate and easy-to-use search service or search engine in real world.

INFORMATION SHARING - Google’s software:

“Picasa” is a software application for organizing, editing, transferring, finding, printing, and sharing digital photos. Based on my experience, I use Picasa software helps me to manage the photo on my computer because it is the fastest way to categorize all photos. Therefore, the latest version of Picasa 3.1 greatly improves the collage tool and adds a basic movie maker that let me intersperse a wide range of video.

~For more information, please refer to following websites

An Example of E-Commerce Failure and its causes

2009-06-18T21:48:00.021+08:00

Story of Webvan

Webvan was an online credit and delivery grocery business. It was headquartered in Foster City, California, USA, near Silicon Valley. It delivered products to customers’ homes within a 30-minute window of their choosing. At its peak, it offered service in ten U.S. markets which included San Francisco Bay Area, Dallas, San Diego, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, Atlanta, Sacramento and Orange Country. The company had originally hoped to expand to 26 cities. However, this hope was spoiled when this company went into bankruptcy in year 2001. Approximately 2000 employees had been let go as a result of the shut down.

What causes this matter to be happened?

Too focus on customer service and neglect the profit in long term

Customer service is important. Any business could provide infinitely good customer service but have to balance the need to serve customers with profits. In this case, Webvan was popular with its good customer service but this company was too focus on this short term profit and had neglected that this service would not bring any profit for them in the long term. Not all people could afford its high delivery fees and as a result, it had not attracted enough customers to sustain its business and thus it need to shut down the company.

Too much of capital expenditure

While Webvan was building up its empire of tech warehouses and fleets of delivery trucks, it eventually ran out of money because the money spent on infrastructure far exceeded sales growth of the company. The $1 billion spent on the infrastructure had affected the company’s financial liquidity. Webvan was unable to cover all these expenses and in the end, it had no choice to wind up the company.

Conclusion

The demise of Webvan indicates an unhappy tale for other companies which having online grocery business. It is not easy to conduct E-commerce. Good knowledge and experience in IT and management is important to conduct a business online. Therefore, I hope that Webvan’s failure may help you a lot.

~For more information, please refer to following websites

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

http://news.cnet.com/2100-1017-269594.html

http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2001/07/45098

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/12028.html

An example of an E-Commerce success and its causes

2009-06-17T22:26:00.023+08:00

When all passengers visit our blog which is “E-Commerce Airline”, can you think of any airline companies in Malaysia? My inspired answers is AirAsia and Malaysia Airlines which both are successful in E-Commerce online transaction but the most popular E-Commerce website of airline companies is AirAsia.

Story of AirAsia in E-Commerce success and its causes

AirAsia Berhad is a low-cost airline in Malaysia. It operates scheduled domestic and international flights and it is Asia’s largest low fare, no frills airline. The most important is AirAsia is the first airline in the region to implement fully ticketless travel and unassigned seats.

1. Low-cost airline
AirAsia pioneered low cost travelling in Asia so it is one of the airlines which is based on Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT). The vision of AirAsia is to serve the 3 billion people who are currently underserved with poor connectivity and high fares. Thus, this is one of the secret of success for the AirAsia low fare airline’s company.
2. Perfect online booking system
AirAsia is belonged to Business-to-Customer (B2C) transaction. It is also the first airline to launch the online booking facility that enables bookings through its website. When the online booking facility was launched on 10th May 2002, the airline has recorded over RM5 million sales through the internet (From AirAsia’s Press Release).
3. Multi-language website
AirAsia’s website is available in seven languages which are Bahasa Malaysia, English, Mandarin, Tamil, Thai, Tagalog and Bahasa Indonesia. Therefore, it is proved that around 70 percent of AirAsia’s business comes from Internet booking due to its friendly user website.
4. Convenient web check-in system
In addition, AirAsia introduced the web check-in in 2007. This web check-in has created AirAsia to become the first airline in Malaysia to offer the ability to check in online and print out boarding passes. In the end of 2007, a new service named “Xpress Boarding” had been launched. This new service enables passengers to get priority boarding with minimum fees.
Besides web check in and kiosk check in, AirAsia also introduces PDA check-in. As a result, this service enables the passengers to get a low price and choose seats at ease.
5. High security and reliability online system
Furthermore, AirAsia has expanding rapidly and it is a very popular airline industry nowadays. AirAsia’s online system is performed around the world and customers can book or buy air ticket from Internet. The transaction with AirAsia through Internet is secured because they use a high standard encryption mode to guarantee that customer transaction is secured and saved. Hence, this security system increases the customer’s loyalty through internet.
Based on my opinion, AirAsia.com is a successful E-Commerce website because it is a convenient online booking which ensures a hassle-free and friendly user experience.

In conclusion, I agree that “Now Everyone Can Fly”.

PICK A SEAT

Now you can pick your favorite seat when you fly with us!

~For more information, please refer to following websites

The History and Evolution of E-commerce

2009-06-15T22:56:00.065+08:00

Every IT tools has its own development & evolution. Is every single of E-Commerce development process contributing success to E-Commerce? Can E-Commerce reach today’s evolution without passing through its growing process? Well, we are going to tell you how important is the development process of E-Commerce.

E-Commerce has changed over the last 30 years and grows steadily from its past history until now. It was first introduced by Michael Aldrich in 1979 to allow electronic commercial transactions to be done through EDI & EFT.

~The information below shows the trend of E-Commerce:

~1980s	E-Commerce was used extensively by auto manufacturers such as Nissan. Credit cards, automated teller machine (ATM), & airline reservation system were introduced as electronic transactions.
~1984	EDI was standardized by using ASC X12 to enable companies to transfer large amount of transactions with one another reliably.
~1990s	World Wide Web was first written by Tim Berners-Lee. ERP, data mining, & data warehousing were also used to support daily transaction process & keep data into shared databases.
~1992	CompuServe offered online retail products to its customers. Thereafter, the development of Security protocol, DSL, & Mosaic Browser allowing quicker access and connection to E-Commerce.
~1994	Pizza Hut offered pizza ordering on its web page for customers to order pizza grocery through online. Next, Netscape provided users a simple browser to surf Internet & safe online transaction technology.
~1995	Amazon was launched by Jess Bezos to permit its customers purchase books & magazines through online while eBay was created by Pierre Omidyar to allow sales take place in set-time format.
~1998	The growth of E-Commerce continues as Electronic Postal Stamp was created for users to download it for printing from the web.

~ Current Trend:

E-Commerce is heavily relying by consumers as it allows them to purchase various goods through internet by using secure protocols & electronic payment services.

Series of companies such as Air Asia, Amazon, Dell, & Yahoo are also using E-Commerce continuously to promote their products or services to generate revenue.

In our opinion, the overall development process of E-Commerce should be given credit in contributing the success of E-Commerce today. The successful E-Commerce companies like Dell & Amazon will not be able to provide online transaction services to its customers if E-Commerce does not pass through all its growing process.

~For more information, please refer to following websites:

E-Commerce

eBay

History of E-Commerce

E-Commerce as a Revenue Stream: History of E-Commerce

4th Pilot - Chin Han

2009-06-12T02:26:00.014+08:00

Looking at the azure sky, I see a “Boeing 767 airplane” flying in the sky. I wish I can fulfill my dream to travel around the world in one day. Yes! I’m indeed that person…

Hello, everyone! Nice to meet you. This is my first trying to write the web log (blog). Welcome to our blog, E-Commerce Airline.

I am the 4^th pilot. My name is Lee Chin Han. I am coming from Johor Bahru. I am 21 years old for this year and I live in Skudai since I was a child. Currently, I am an Accounting student, Year 3 Trimester 1 in Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR). Regarding to my education background, I was graduated from S.J.K(C) Pu Sze during primary school before going to Foon Yew High School and after that I continue further my studies in UTAR.

My ambition is to become an accountant and I wish I can travel all around the world after my graduation. Besides that, I hope to contribute more to my family by providing them a better life when I come out to work in a commercial world. Moreover, I wish I can create my own business in future.

Besides that, I have several hobbies. These hobbies include watching dramas, travelling, chatting, doing gym, and reading. Having hobbies is very beneficial to me as it can make me feel relaxed and happy. For instance, I like to watch Hong Kong dramas and join some travelling activities during my leisure time. Besides that, when I am free, I like to chat with my friends through MSN and facebook to foster our friendship. Furthermore, I like to go for gym to keep my body fit and healthy. I also read the newspapers everyday in order to enhance my knowledge.

The top 5 websites that I visited the most are ChinaPress, Facebook, WBLE, Hotmail, and HdZone. I am able to know the latest news and information such as politic, economic, technology, entertainment and so on through the related website. Besides Chinapress, I also browse to the website of Nanyang, Sinchew and The Star.

Facebook is a useful website for me because it allows me to obtain the most updated information from my friend. I can play online games, chat with friends, and share some photos or videos with them through Facebook. Besides Facebook, I also have Friendster account. Friendster plays the same roles and functions as Facebook. Sometimes, I also like to spend my time to check my course syllabus and e-mail messages through WBLE and Hotmail websites. Lastly, I always download new songs and exciting movies in Hdzone.

I hope every passenger can enjoy visiting our blog and give us some useful feedback and comments! Let’s start our cheerful flight now. Thank you.

3rd Pilot - Mia Hang

2009-06-11T22:54:00.005+08:00

Hi everyone. We always introduce ourselves for quite a number of times when coming to a new place and meeting a lot of new people. Although I have done it for hundreds of times ago, I am willing to introduce myself for another time by using electronic device (blog). Welcome to our blog, E-Commerce Airline.

My name is Chua Mia Hang, and you can call me Bryant. I am from Kuantan, a beautiful town in the eastern part of Pahang, Malaysia. I spent the past twelve years of my life there, going to school, doing my civil service and then I further my studies at Kuala Lumpur. Before that, I lived in a small Perak village for five years which is called Hutan Melintang.

When mentioning about university, the question immediately arising is what course I am taking now. I am pursing Accounting at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, one of the local universities in Malaysia. I strongly believe that it will become the top 100 university in the world in future. I am very proud to become one of the students in this university. The goal of my studies is to become an accountant in Malaysia.

Everyday, I will spend few hours to browse the newspaper website such as Chinapress, TheStar or SinChew. This can save the cost of buying newspaper everyday and it is more convenient to us who are from generation-Y which is more expert on Information Technology. First, I will read the sport part before local news or political news. But after entering UTAR, I start to learn reading the economic part.

Google is one of my favorite visited website. When doing our group assignment, Google is a necessary tool to assist us to search data, information, articles, journals and so on. In addition, it also can provide us different useful answer for my tutorial question in order to cope with tutor’s query in tutorial class.

Furthermore, I will visit National Basketball Association website (NBA) to get latest news or results of my favorite team, Lakers. Now, Lakers already lead 2-0 against Magic in the final game. If Lakers win two more games, it will be the champion for this season. I hope this will be come true, I believe my favorite team, Lakers is the best basketball team in this world.

I hope you can enjoy travelling with us. Please stay tune to E-Commerce Airline and we will share our information with you weekly. You may drop us your comments too. We highly appreciate it.

2nd pilot - JIAN ZHONG

2009-06-11T00:47:00.023+08:00

Welcome to E-Commerce Airline~! I am Koay Jian Zhong from Tutorial Group 8. Currently I am a Year 3 Trimester 1 student and pursing an Accounting degree in Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) which located at Bandar Sungai Long in Kajang. I am 21st this year and was born in Ipoh in year 1988. Liverpool FC is my favourite football club since I was 14. I admire the way how Fernando Torres puts his top class performance in driving Liverpool forward to score incredible goals.

Sport is my favorite since I was a child because I love to involve in many sport activities such as swimming, futsal, and taekwondo. I feel that these series of activities are beneficial to me as it improves my body fitness and self-defense techniques. Apart from that, I like to join my friends in Green Box when I am free because singing would be a great way to reduce my stress and soothe my nerves. Furthermore, traveling is also one of my hobbies as a lot of cultures can be learnt and shared through traveling at different countries all around the world.

The top 5 websites that I visited the most are Soccernet, Facebook, Google, Youtube, and SinChew. I like to browse soccernet website as it allows me to search some exciting football news and live football matches from different football competitions across the countries. Apart from that, Facebook website is useful for me to enhance my social networking by sharing varieties of background information and recent pictures with my friends. Next, I like to visit Google website because it provides useful search engines for me to gather reliable source of data for assignment and personal knowledge purposes. Other than that, Youtube website allows me to view some exciting videos of artists’ concert and interesting acts from actors. Furthermore, I like to spend some of my time to browse Sin Chew website. By having this website, I am able to view some updated politic and sport news that available in Sin Chew daily.

Instead of visiting these websites, I usually open my e-mail accounts to check the updated news and messages. Moreover, I often login to MSN because it allows me to share music and pictures among friends, and also enables me to keep in touch with my other friends who stay in different places at the same time.

Last but not least, I wish you can always visit to E-Commerce Airline to share your experience with us. We will update our blog weekly.

Introduction of The 1st Pilot - LAY CHIN

2009-06-10T22:33:00.004+08:00

Hello passengers! Welcome to E-Commerce Airline, a place where we can share our E-Commerce’s knowledge. Well, let me introduce myself. I am Gan Lay Chin, the only female pilot in this plane.

I was born in a historical state in Malaysia, Melaka. There are a lot of historical sites here such as St. Paul’s Hill, The Stadthuys, A Famosa and so on. You will be enchanted by Melaka’s charm and its multi-cultural population if you have the opportunity to drop by here.

There are 5 members in my family. They are my parents and 3 siblings. I am the youngest in my family. My eldest sister is 10 years older than me and she got married about 5 years ago. Hence, I have become the youngest aunt in my family as I have a 5 year old adorable nephew since I was 16 years old.

My favorite past time is surfing the Internet. The websites that I browse the most are Facebook and Friendster. These are the only websites that I can stay connected with my friends and relatives. I strongly believe that people network is very important to a person. You can foster your relationship with others through all these community websites. Besides that, I also like to visit Google and Yahoo. These two websites always provide me some valuable information which I require in completing my assignment. In addition, WBLE is also one of the top websites that I visited the most. I usually will browse to WBLE to look for the updated notes and recent notices posted by the lecturers.

Our plane will drop you at different areas every week. So, lets us carry you to every destination and we promise to provide you a happy journey flying towards the E-Commerce world. Enjoy flying with us!

Flying towards E-Commerce World

2009-06-09T20:24:00.001+08:00

Attention to all the passengers in E-Commerce Airline, please tie up your safety belts. The plane is going to fly towards the E-Commerce World. Do not worry about your safety. Our 4 experienced pilots will guide you the way safely and promise to bring you to a fascinating destination.

GAN LAY CHIN KOAY JIAN ZHONG

CHUA MIA HANG LEE CHIN HAN

E-Commerce World

A place where you can obtain valuable commercial information in all over the world. You may also share your experience and information about E-Commerce here.