Hey Mister, Hey Mister! What should I do?

Computer Life column for 12/13/97 by
Richard Gordon

I've been getting a lot of questions over the past month. Herewith some of the questions more than one reader has asked.

Q: Do you really send your credit card number to companies over the Web?

A: Yes, I do. Buying on-line is safer than giving credit information to a telemarketer who calls you and every bit as safe as giving credit information to a catalog house that you've called.
But note that I don't send confidential information in unencrypted e-mail. I only send my credit card number to those on-line merchants who encrypt my transaction.
Basically, encryption is the process whereby plain text gets scrambled before it goes out over the Net. For this to be a useful process, the recipient uses a "key" to reassemble the text. If someone were snooping on the data line, she'd see a stream of apparently random babble, meaning that she cannot steal my credit card number. But the merchant has the "key" to decode the information so he can charge me $24.95 plus $3.19 shipping and handling.
I've had no problem so far with my credit card number falling into the wrong hands; to date I've bought books, soccer coaching material, music CDs, on-line services, and a guitar over the Web.
Recent versions of Netscape and Internet Explorer can both be set up to show security information; the newest versions display a small icon of a lock when you go to a secure document. Further, merchants often tell you that you are entering a secure portion of their Web site. If you are unsure, you can always e-mail the merchant and ask.

Q: Who's policing Web merchants?

A: That's a complicated issue.
In my non-lawyerly opinion, there are indications that the laws that govern where you live, not the laws that are in force where an on-line merchant has his office, seem to have the "tie-breaker" when the laws of those areas are in conflict. The outcomes of two separate cases in which on-line "gambling" concerns are being prosecuted by the attorneys general of two separate "non-gambling" states will affect this area of the law.
A representative of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) e-mailed me about this issue as well, reminding me that the BBB is on the Web (www.bbb.org). Their goal is "to provide a safe harbor in the uncharted waters of Internet commerce."
However, only a handful of businesses have signed up with their on-line program; they hope to have 3,000 companies signed up by the end of 1997.
In addition to increasing consumers' general comfort level with Web shopping, the BBB is trying to give specific guidance. That is, the BBB seal on a member's Web page is supposed to be a link to a document that lists what BBB standards that merchant has met. However, the BBB Web page contains this caution:
"Watch Out!! A few unscrupulous companies are falsely claiming to be participants in our new program. If you came directly to this page by clicking on a BBB logo on a commercial site, don't be fooled, and let us know right away."

Q: You said I should wait, but my son really wants a computer for Christmas.

A: Then get him one. Prices have continued to drop even during this holiday shopping period. For example, Hewlett Packard and Compaq both recently announced price cuts.
New microchips expected in the 1st half of 1998 will probably cause larger price drops than usual. Hence my cautionary comments. But right now you can get a fast, cool system for under $1,900-including printer, monitor, modem, and other goodies.
So, buy now; just be forewarned that prices may drop faster than usual over the next 6 months.

Q: Did you really lose all your files? How come you didn't back them up?

A: I'm still getting asked about this. Most recently a banjo player handed me a poster that asks, "Did you backup that data?" Yes, I lost my files. Yes, it was stupid not to have had back-ups. But to be bugged about it by a banjo player?
So here's advice that will never be wrong: always, always, make back-up copies of your work.

Computer Life Index

Richard Gordon helps support faculty, staff and student computing at the University of Delaware. E-mail questions, comments or suggestions to richard@inet.net, or write him at The News Journal, Box 15505, Wilmington, DE 19850. Although each note cannot be answered individually, reader comments and questions will often be incorporated in future columns.

Q:	Do you really send your credit card number to companies over the Web?
A:	Yes, I do. Buying on-line is safer than giving credit information to a telemarketer who calls you and every bit as safe as giving credit information to a catalog house that you've called. But note that I don't send confidential information in unencrypted e-mail. I only send my credit card number to those on-line merchants who encrypt my transaction. Basically, encryption is the process whereby plain text gets scrambled before it goes out over the Net. For this to be a useful process, the recipient uses a "key" to reassemble the text. If someone were snooping on the data line, she'd see a stream of apparently random babble, meaning that she cannot steal my credit card number. But the merchant has the "key" to decode the information so he can charge me $24.95 plus $3.19 shipping and handling. I've had no problem so far with my credit card number falling into the wrong hands; to date I've bought books, soccer coaching material, music CDs, on-line services, and a guitar over the Web. Recent versions of Netscape and Internet Explorer can both be set up to show security information; the newest versions display a small icon of a lock when you go to a secure document. Further, merchants often tell you that you are entering a secure portion of their Web site. If you are unsure, you can always e-mail the merchant and ask.
Q:	Who's policing Web merchants?
A:	That's a complicated issue. In my non-lawyerly opinion, there are indications that the laws that govern where you live, not the laws that are in force where an on-line merchant has his office, seem to have the "tie-breaker" when the laws of those areas are in conflict. The outcomes of two separate cases in which on-line "gambling" concerns are being prosecuted by the attorneys general of two separate "non-gambling" states will affect this area of the law. A representative of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) e-mailed me about this issue as well, reminding me that the BBB is on the Web (www.bbb.org). Their goal is "to provide a safe harbor in the uncharted waters of Internet commerce." However, only a handful of businesses have signed up with their on-line program; they hope to have 3,000 companies signed up by the end of 1997. In addition to increasing consumers' general comfort level with Web shopping, the BBB is trying to give specific guidance. That is, the BBB seal on a member's Web page is supposed to be a link to a document that lists what BBB standards that merchant has met. However, the BBB Web page contains this caution: "Watch Out!! A few unscrupulous companies are falsely claiming to be participants in our new program. If you came directly to this page by clicking on a BBB logo on a commercial site, don't be fooled, and let us know right away."
Q:	You said I should wait, but my son really wants a computer for Christmas.
A:	Then get him one. Prices have continued to drop even during this holiday shopping period. For example, Hewlett Packard and Compaq both recently announced price cuts. New microchips expected in the 1st half of 1998 will probably cause larger price drops than usual. Hence my cautionary comments. But right now you can get a fast, cool system for under $1,900-including printer, monitor, modem, and other goodies. So, buy now; just be forewarned that prices may drop faster than usual over the next 6 months.
Q:	Did you really lose all your files? How come you didn't back them up?
A:	I'm still getting asked about this. Most recently a banjo player handed me a poster that asks, "Did you backup that data?" Yes, I lost my files. Yes, it was stupid not to have had back-ups. But to be bugged about it by a banjo player? So here's advice that will never be wrong: always, always, make back-up copies of your work.