E-commerce and privacy concerns in digital retail

E-Commerce and Privacy

Internet security has become a big issue because post people use it, at least in some capacity, and there are many unscrupulous people also who would love to profit from the security lapses of web sites. Since this is a factor in whether a web business can make money, it is just as important for the site as it is for the customer to make sure that an individual site is secure. Following is a description of an internet site security system designed to keep visitors from being defrauded and an evaluation of the security of four web sites which should have great security protocols.

For a web site to be secure, the security measures should be transparent. A user should be able to see what is there to protect them even if they do not understand what the measures are or how they work (Ackerman & Davis). Most sites have some kind of message on the home page which tells about security measures on the site. This will be some type of tag that can be clicked for further information.

A company should also have a way to ensure the person that they are secure when they are buying a product. Internet Explorer lets the customer know when they are in a secure place because there is the locked or unlocked padlock. On some sites the visual indication is that in secure areas of the site the page's task bar turns a different color. These visual indications should be present so that a shopper can know that they have entered a secure place (Privacy Rights Clearinghouse).

Every web site is depositing information on the computer buying products. Even if a policy is clear and indicates that it is secure, it can still have problems (Ackerman, Cranor & Reagle). The person who is defrauded when they are in a particular website should understand what recourse they have. A website should have contact information for fraud alerts.

Websites

I chose four web sites that get an enormous amount of traffic every day: BarnesandNoble.com, Amazon.com, WalMart.com, and HomeDepot.com. All four of these websites receive thousands of potential buyers each day. Especially during the Christmas season, they must make sure that they have security that ensures the safety of their customers.

The front page of most of the websites had a small link at the bottom of the page that listed the privacy policy and security available at the site. Home Depot's site made it much more difficult to find the security information. On the one page all of the security information was listed. The customer was told, in detail everything that they should know about security procedures and how they would be carried out. But it was not apparent on the home page. All three of the other sites made it very obvious how they protected people's privacy.

When ordering something from all of the sites, there was a method by which the customer was notified that the information they were inputting was secure. On all, they had a blurb about the security of their particular transactions. The browser also displayed the locked padlock to show that the transaction would be secure.