Hacker's arrest hurts appeal of e-commerce

June 1, 1997

By JIM BROOKS

Consumers' confidence in shopping by credit card on the Internet may have taken a hit this week with the arrest of a hacker.

Federal agents last week arrested a 36-year-old Daly City, Calif. man who allegedly stole credit card information of more than 100,000 people -- and then tried to sell the information to undercover agents.

According to the story posted on the San Francisco Examiner's online edition, Carlos Felipe Salgado Jr., 36, obtained the information from an unidentified company's online sales database by using a program called a "packet sniffer."

The charges Salgado face include unlawfully intruding into a computer network database for the purpose of theft, and selling confidential credit card information via the Internet. If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a fine of $500,000.

FBI agents were alerted by workers performing maintenance at the unidentified San Diego-based Internet Service Provider of the presence of the hacker's program.

The agents set up two small buys of credit card information before arranging to buy the 100,000 numbers for $260,000 -- some with credit limits up to $25,000.

Salgado's arrest is a black eye for online commerce, but as an editorial at PC Week Online pointed out this week, it is an unfortunate -- but most likely unavoidable -- pothole in the road to cyber commerce.

The "state-of-the-art" continues to change rapidly. Several top guns in the industry, including Microsoft, IBM, Netscape and Visa, have lined up recently to support a standard for more secure data-encryption technology -- meaning safer online shopping by credit card.

In my opinion, online commerce is still safe -- and just like in-person sales, a little common sense goes a long way:

-- If your World Wide Web browser doesn't support secure transactions, upgrade to one that does. Current versions of Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer support secure transactions.

-- To minimize risks, make sure you're dealing with a reputable company. If you have doubts, contact them by telephone and their local Better Business Bureau.

-- Don't order from a online site that has no telephone contact information. Write down or print out the information for your records.

-- Check your monthly statements closely for misbilled charges. Immediately report any errors or suspicious charges to your credit card company.

-- Never fax or e-mail your credit card information. It can easily be re-faxed or the e-mail forwarded to another person.

-- If you're still worried about safety, call the company and place your order by telephone.

-- And as is true anytime, if a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is.

MORE MODEM MADNESS. While modem maker U.S. Robotics and chip maker Rockwell continue to promote their competing -- and incompatible -- technologies for creating fast 56kbps modems, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are left to wonder which to choose.

USR's "x2" TV and print ads have successfully gotten the public's attention -- and ISPs are feeling the heat from consumers.

But since the two competing technologies are incompatible, being an early adopter of either is pretty much a crap shoot for ISPs.

To make matters worse, a standard for 56k modems doesn't exist -- though both companies promise to support that standard once it is written.

Just don't hold your breath.

The ITU, the international body that approves standards and protocols, won't have a standard for 56k modems until mid-1998.

The U.S.-based Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) is also working on a "standard" of its own -- one that would cover only North America.

This standard will likely be approved later this year, though there's no guarantee that the TIA standard will also become the ITU standard. The bright spot is that the TIA's decision will bring an end to the USR-Rockwell incompatibility problem, and allow ISPs across the country to support the new standard.

To that end, U.S. Robotics announced this week that it would guarantee buyers of its "x2" modems free upgrades to whatever becomes the 56k modem standard.

If you're buying a new modem, the 56k modem may be the smart buy. It will eventually become the standard, and rest assured that either technology will be software upgradeable.

LINE CHECK. Once the dust settles in the battle for a 56k standard, there's still the question of determining if one of the high-speed modems will work at your location.

The chances of connecting at 56k seem to diminish as the distance from the dial-in connection increases. Other factors that will trip-up even slower modems include line noise, faulty in-house wiring and even poor network connections between your home and the telephone company.

U.S. Robotics is offering a service that can determine the quality of your telephone connection, and if you're likely to be able to connect at 56k if you're using one of their modems.

The toll-free number goes into their dial-up computer bulletin board system (BBS), and in moments analyzes your connection and responds with a message.

Using a terminal program, call 1-888-877-9248 with your modem. Once it answers, enter the name "Line Test" as the first and last names.

In moments you'll have an answer to see if the USR "x2" technology will work from your home or office. USR recommends making multiple calls to the number, since other variables may change the results.

My line tests gave me a big thumbs down -- 56k technology won't work from my home until the quality of the line or the telco's network improve.

For more details on U.S. Robotics, point your Web browser to www.usr.com.

ANNIVERSARY APPLE. If your a Macintosh fan, you'll want to get your checkbook and line up to place your order for Apple Computer's Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh computer.

The 250-MHz-speed anniversary model will feature a 12.1-inch active matrix flat-panel screen, 32 MB of RAM and a 2 GB hard drive, and includes a total entertainment center with sound by Bose; vertically mounted CD player; a TV and FM radio tuner; and a custom keyboard with Italian leather palm rests.

The limited-edition Mac will also come with a three-year warranty and three-years of free technical support.

For details, visit their Web site at http://twentiethanniversary.apple.com -- and don't forget to set aside the $7,500 it will cost to buy one.

Comments and questions about this column may be sent to jbrooks@myoldkentuckyhome.com, or visit www.myoldkentuckyhome.com on the World Wide Web.

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