1. Networking E-commerce

2. E-commerce ► A general term used to describe the buying and selling of products or services over the Internet. ► This covers a wide range of activities including marketing, sales, advertising & government.

3. E-sales ► Using electronic funds transfer with credit/debit cards to purchase goods from online shops at any time of the day in any country.

4. E-sales - Software ► Software can be distributed via the Internet. ► Software can be locked or set to expire after a period of time. Payment of a fee results in the code to unlock the software being sent. ► Once enough bandwidth is available, software could be rented.

5. E-marketing ► Many large companies don’t actually sell their products online but instead use their web sites to advertise their products and give customers as much information about their products. ► http://www.bmw.com/com/en/newvehicles/1series/coupe/2007/visualizer.html http://www.bmw.com/com/en/newvehicles/1series/coupe/2007/visualizer.html ► Many estate agents use the Internet to give people a ‘virtual tour’ of the houses they have for sale.

6. E-Government ► Local and central government both use the Internet to communicate with the pupils. ► Local government publicise opening hours of pool & libraries and refuse collection times etc.

7. Customer Advantages ► Goods & services can be purchased any time day or night. ► They can be purchased from anywhere. ► Products can quickly be researched and compared in terms of price & specification without leaving home. ► Goods arrive by post, reducing the need to travel.

8. Customer Disadvantages ► If goods from another country don’t arrive – you may have difficulty getting a refund. ► You are relying on companies to keep your credit card details secure. ► You pay more for delivery & packaging. ► Local business may suffer. ► You may have to pay import tax.

9. Merchant - Advantages ► Direct transaction with customer – no retailers to reduce profit. ► Customer base is worldwide.. ► Your on-line profile does not actually depend on the size of your business. ► You can automate the packing & delivery of your product.

10. Merchant - Disadvantages ► You need good security in place to avoid credit card fraud. ► You need to employ people to keep your website and catalogue up to date. ► Your web site needs to be secure and your servers protected from hacker attack.

11. Fraud ► Concerns about credit card fraud are widespread. ► Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a protocol that ensures: Authentication – client and seller are who they say they are. Confidentiality – The message has not been read in transit. Integrity – the message has not been altered. ► A lock icon appears in your browser. ► It uses encryption and digital certificates.

12. Fraud ► On other sites you may see SHTTP or HTTPS. This is the HTTP protocol used over a secure socket layer. ► It encrypts web pages. ► Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) All the methods used for secure transaction (SSL, SHHT & SET) use encryption.