2. WHAT IS E-COMMERCE? E-COMMERCE is a online service that helps the seller/buyer complete their transaction through a secure server. Throughout the past year E-commerce has been enhanced for better use and the interface which makes it easier for the user to understand on how to use the programme. E-COMMERCE provides a great service for the user such as making a transaction through a secure server, which prevents the user/seller’s information being sent to third party company which they use to steal money from, it has a strong firewall which no one could hack into, it also comes with a virus checker which checks for unknown files on the users PC/Laptop making it threat free for the user, it’s compatible with MAC OS, Windows XP, 7 and 8.

3. HARDWARE Bridge A bridge goes one step up on a hub in that it looks at the destination of the packet before sending. If the destination address is not on the other side of the bridge, it will not send the data which prevents you from sending your money to the wrong person on the other side. For example, if you are to send an email to “user123@hotmail.co.uk” the bridge is allowed to decide if the message should continue on. It reads the address “user123@hotmail.co.uk”, and decides if there is a “user123@hotmail.co.uk” on the other side. If there isn’t, the message will not be transmitted. Therefore, the transaction will not be completed. Hubs In data communications, a hub is a place of convergence where data arrives from one or more directions and is forwarded out in one or more other directions. A hub usually includes a switch of some kind. The “Switch” makes sure of how and where the data is forwarded from the place where the data comes together. This then is up to the receiver to decide if the data is any of interest to them.

4. Web Server Web servers are computers that delivers web pages. Every web server has a IP Address, therefore if you enter the URL www.google.com/index.html in your browser, this sends a request to the domain server whose name is “google.com”, the webserver then fetches the name index.html and sends it to you, which makes it secure for you by sending you to the right page you are looking for, this helps all the E-Commerce user purchase goods from the right website.www.google.com/index.html Routers A router can use IP address which allows the network to go across different protocol. The most common home use for routers is to share a broadband internet connection. The router has a public IP address and that address is shared with the network. When data comes through the router it is forwarded to the correct computer, for example if you are trying to make a payment to “Amazon.com”, the data will be forwarded to the correct computer (to Amazon), making sure your payment goes to the right person.

5. Network Card Network cards can be added as extension to a PC, most PCs now days come with built in network card, network cards are used to communicate wirelessly with routers. They are also called network adaptors

6. SOFTWARE Browser E-Commerce is compatible with all browsers such as Google chrome, safari, Internet Explorer, and Mozilla Firefox. The minimum ping required to use E-COMMERCE is 5MS, download speed between 5-8Mbps, upload speed up to 0.9Mbs. Database Systems Database are created to maintain large quantities of information by inputting, strong, retrieving and managing information. E-Commerce database system makes notes of customer records and other business information so if the buyer requests for a refund/exchange.

7. Firewall Firewall is a programme that is designed to protect your PC from unauthorized users and application. It works by taking stock of all the applications running your computer. It will then allow you to set exceptions for specific programs and windows services. Once the firewall is activated, it will display a visual notification to the user if it blocks a specific program. You have the choice of allowing or denying the same at your discretion. A Firewall is best suited for blocking unwanted computer viruses and Trojans from reaching your PC, however the firewall programme is not best suited for you to for blocking unwanted computer viruses and Trojans from reaching your PC, so it’s best that you have a anti-virus, E-Commerce comes with a free anti- virus system to protect your PC.

8. Web Authoring Tools software that enables the user to develop a Web site in a desktop publishing format. The software will generate the required HTML coding for the layout of the Web pages based on what the user designs. Therefore, this no longer require the user to be an IT expert. Software such as FrontPage, Dreamweaver, Visual Café, Visual Page 1.1.1 Platform E-commerce is compatible with all the web browsers, but by using it in a certain plat form such as using E-commerce on a Windows PC would be different than using it on a MAC OS, on one the HTML text might show up and on the other one it might not.

9. Network Technologies TCP/IP addresses ports and protocol TCP/IP is a protocol that is used when secure servers are transferring data across a network, all computers use the same language and have the same protocol, each computer are given unique numbers which is called “IP ADDRESS” so for example a computer with IP 192.168.55.33 would address a specific computer on a network.

10. BUSINESSES NEED TO CONSIDER A NUMBER OF FACTORS BEFORE THEY CAN CONDUCT AN E ‐ COMMERCE WEBSITE: Domain Names Domain names are used to identifying computers IP address, domain names are used on the URL bar to identify certain specific pages such as in the URL bar “http://www.ecommerce.com/index.html” the domain name would be ecommerce.com Multiple registration of domains A great domain name is vital for starting up a new website for your business, or if you are making a blog, personal website and ecommerce. programming requirements Programming is one of the essential skill that is required to create a website, the requirement of using an appropriate programming language software that can function on every web browser and make it compatible is important.

11. Download speed Download speed is basically the speed of how fast a file or application can be downloaded from the internet, this is one of the key things that is need to be considered by ecommerce company, also not having enough download speed will affect how efficiently the company will function and without enough download speed all the employee in the work place won’t be able to access the internet. Browser and platform compatibility E-commerce companies need to consider the support of websites by certain web browsers, this needs to be taken into consideration because most web browsers might not support a ecommerce website and this can affect the functioning of the website.