Internet Security
Is eBay Safe?
Ebay has sophisticated social networking features that make it safe to shop.
This is not to say you can not be a victim of fraud but following the general rules and looking for sellers with good reputations can be a safe shopping experience.
Why use PayPal
Paypal founded in 1999 is now owned by eBay and is generally a very reliable way to transact on the web.
Refer to Online Payments and e-commerce for comparisons with other payment systems online.
Paypal has a very good reputation for managing fraud - it claims to have kept is fraud rate to below .50% compared to a typical 1.13% on the web.
What is a Phishing Attack?
The basic structure of a phishing attack is fairly simple. The attacker sends e-mail messages to a large number of recipients who might have an account at the targeted Web site. The e-mail message tells the recipient that his or her account has been compromised and it is necessary for the recipient to log in to the account to correct the matter. The e-mail message includes a link that appears to be a link to the login page of the Web site. However, the link actually leads the recipient to the phishing attack perpetrator's Web site, which is disguised to look like the targeted Web site. The unsuspecting recipient enters his or her login name and password, which the perpetrator captures and then uses to access the recipient's account. Once inside the victim's account, the perpetrator can access personal information, make purchases, or withdraw funds at will.
What is the difference between a virus and a worm?
A virus is software that attaches itself to another program and can cause damage when the host program is activated. A worm is a type of virus that replicates itself on the computers that it infects. Worms can spread quickly through the Internet.
What is a Credit Card Chargeback?
A chargeback is a reversal of a credit-card transaction, as viewed from the perspective of the merchant. It usually occurs when a consumer files a complaint with their bank or credit/debit card provider. This usually happens when a consumer discovers fraudulent transactions on their statement.
It is hard to prove a contract has formed online using offer, acceptance and consideration rule.
How do hackers obtain credit cards over the Internet?
There are a variety of ways this can happen.
If you have a website that uses SSL encryption you will be provided with code from the bank or payment gateway provider.
It is very important that you keep access to these files on your server safe.
If your web developer or host is not monitoring your site regularly it is possible for your files to be replaced with files that lead to another site.
The other site will more than likely be a site hackers have entered and placed code.
Sometimes that will look exactly like the original site, and you may not be aware anything is happening.
Hackers will oftern advertise their access to a site to other hackers and before long you can have a bunch of people operating on your site.
You may have logins that you consider secure but where are those logins stored and how?
If you outsource your programming like many designers do - you may have no one who is actually monitoring your site for these type of intrusions. It also may be that by using a standard shopping cart your developer may not know which files actually do what - this makes it very easy to plant code or alter links to an external site.