How to Protect Your Online Store from the Internet Burglars, Part 4 (final)

Written by Lynne Schlumpf


Continued from page 1

You can also read about how to better promote your website here: http://www.r66cci.com/Promoting.htm

We have some e-commerce read-me's also: http://virtualis.com/vr/lschlump/ecommerce.html

You can also read an article about Computer Crime here: http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber ech/cth589.htm

SOME NOTES ABOUT SECURITY ON YOUR SYSTEM:

Here are some other useful utilities to help your business succeed: Black Ice by Network Ice. This great utility protects your computer while you are online. If you are connected with cable modem, (and even by modem) it is especially crucial that you protect your system against some ofrepparttar following types of attacks: TCP port probes FTP port probes Trojan horse port probes Orifice port probes Subseven port probes

What are these? Many hackers set their computers to constantly scan thousands of computers onrepparttar 109061 Internet and automatically look for systems that do not have protection on their different ports. These are areas of vulnerability that can leave your system open to viruses, Trojan horses, worms, and all types of illegal activity. Black Ice tells you who has been scanning your system by IP address and even by host name in many cases. It protects all ports, as long as you setrepparttar 109062 level of protection to Paranoid. You can find a lite version of this software at their website. We highly recommend that you consider purchase ofrepparttar 109063 full version. It allows you to log for proof if you need it, and it allows you to block certain IP addresses. Inrepparttar 109064 blocked addresses section, you can set it to Autoblock any illegal activity IP addresses. You would be amazed how many times a day your system is scanned by hackers to see if they can find a vulnerability there. This wasrepparttar 109065 best investment our company ever made, after switching to cable modem! http://www.networkice.com

One other very useful utility if you use Microsoft Outlook is called ScanMail. It scans your mailbox for any attached viruses on any email you receive. You can find this great utility here: http://www.trendmicro.com

If you follow these guidelines, you'll have almost zero percent loss in your online store. If you have a success story, we'd like to hear about it. You'll receive a free case of delicious Penguin Caffeinated Mints if we choose your testimonial to feature.

Lynne Schlumpf is the CEO of Route 66 Cyber Cafe, Inc., http://www.r66cci.com, a Web hosting and design company specializing in promoting websites for new owners, building affordable e-commerce sites, and providing reliable web hosting solutions as an affiliate of Virtualis Incorporated.


Protecting Your Online Store from the Internet Burglars, Part 3

Written by Lynne Schlumpf


Continued from page 1

This does not ensure thatrepparttar person you are speaking to onrepparttar 109060 phone did not liftrepparttar 109061 card from someone in a store or onrepparttar 109062 street. You MUST do step #3 to ensure your safety.

5. Callrepparttar 109063 toll free number they gave you overrepparttar 109064 phone. Explain torepparttar 109065 bank that you are a merchant with an Internet store, and you need to verify thatrepparttar 109066 order you received was a valid one. You can giverepparttar 109067 address thatrepparttar 109068 customer gave you as a billing address to allowrepparttar 109069 bank to verify that this isrepparttar 109070 correct address.

You're STILL NOT FINISHED YET.

6. Make a copy ofrepparttar 109071 order from your online store. Make a copy ofrepparttar 109072 verification printout that you get or write downrepparttar 109073 authorization number received when you verified thatrepparttar 109074 credit card had enough on it to makerepparttar 109075 sale. Make a copy ofrepparttar 109076 invoice. File these away in a safe place. You would not believe how many times we've received letters from our merchant account provider that ask us for these things becauserepparttar 109077 customer is trying to do a chargeback against us, claiming they never maderepparttar 109078 transaction inrepparttar 109079 first place. YOU EAT THESE and sometimes lose your merchant account if there are too many of them. And there are more than make me comfortable! If you don't save copies of this documentation, you lose!

7. Another method of verification that will protect you: For orders over a certain dollar amount (the amount is wherever your level of UNcomfort is), we fax our customers a copy ofrepparttar 109080 credit card slip and have them sign it, then fax it back. We sometimes also have them put their card under a blank piece of paper, scratch over it with a pencil so that an impression ofrepparttar 109081 card number, expiration, and name onrepparttar 109082 card show up, then have them sign this piece of paper and fax it to us.

Another note:

Ifrepparttar 109083 customer has sent you a check, MAKE A COPY OF THE CHECK. Attach this torepparttar 109084 invoice and file in a safe place.

Now, I know that Internet online stores seem to be an easy place to make a quick, lazy buck, but as you can see, not talking to who orders from you and not usingrepparttar 109085 services of Visa, Discover, Mastercard, and American Express can hurt you.

When I return, I’ll provide you with some resources to protect your online store even further.

Lynne Schlumpf is the CEO of Route 66 Cyber Cafe, Inc., http://www.r66cci.com, a Web hosting and design company specializing in promoting websites for new owners, building affordable e-commerce sites, and providing reliable web hosting solutions as an affiliate of Virtualis Incorporated.


    <Back to Page 1
 
ImproveHomeLife.com © 2005
Terms of Use