One Step Ahead

Despite the Internet making it a cinch for businesses to get valuable feedback from their customers and Web site visitors, very few businesses take up this valuable opportunity, according to a recent survey. In fact, e-tailers score very poorly on just about any customer feedback test - including accessibility, following up on promises, consistency, accuracy and privacy.

Here are just a few of the examples:

• Just 28% of the top 50 Web sites had a feedback option on every page.
  
• Most (80%) prevented anonymous feedback.
  
• Almost 40% took over three days to respond to feedback, and most of them didn't bother at all.
  
• Fewer than 10% collected quantifiable feedback at all.
  

With statistics like these, it's no surprise that the average Internet user is still staying away from the Web for making purchases! If you run a Web site, make sure that you don't make these same dumb mistakes. Instead:

• Make it easy for people to give you feedback, anonymously if they choose.
  
• Promise to respond to them within two working days, and faster if possible.
  
• Keep your promise!
  
• Use the feedback as a valuable learning opportunity, and take action from it.
  

Scammers engaged in "phishing", the practice of sending fake e-mails to users in the hope that they will divulge confidential information, have a pretty good chance of success, according to two recent reports.

MSNBC reports on a study by anti-spam firm MailFrontier Inc., which reported that more than one in four users couldn't tell the difference between a fake e-mail from a company like eBay or PayPal and a legitimate e-mail from the same company.

Consulting firm Gartner Inc. reported in May that more than one million American Internet users had fallen prey to phishing, being tricked into giving out private or confidential information.

This is a big problem, and it's not going away any time soon. The early phishing attacks were easy to spot because they were often written with poor spelling and grammar, and had obvious give-aways like incorrect domain names. However, the scammers are getting better at their craft - much better - so it takes extra vigilance to stay ahead of them.

The Common Sense Guide to PC Security helps to keep you safe.

Most small businesses are being flooded with spam, but many of them aren't investing in any anti-spam technology, according to a New South Wales government study. Most of the businesses surveyed said that spam was wasting time - up to 30 minutes a day in about a third of the cases.

Yes, spam is bad. But not doing anything about it is even worse. If you're wasting 30 minutes a day, that's three full 40-hour working weeks a year! Find out how to block spam in The Common Sense Guide to PC Security.

In 1999, Australia passed laws to censor the Internet, but they are having little effect due to the global nature of the Internet. Most of the Web sites with "offensive content" are located outside Australia, which makes it almost impossible for them to be blocked adequately.

Well, doh! Way back in 1999, while politicians were claiming that this would bring an end to pornography and illegal materials on the Internet in Australia, everybody who had even an inkling of understanding about how the Net works knew that it wouldn't make any real difference. It was just a political stand taken by the Government in order to strike a deal with an Independent senator. We've got about as much chance of a "clean Internet" as we have of a "clean Olympics"!

For your reference, here is the article I wrote in 1999 when the legislation first came into effect.

Microsoft has finally released a patch to fix the dangerous security hole that prompted the U.S. government, security experts and even Microsoft's own newsletter to advise people to stop using Internet Explorer. The patch has arrived more than a month after the problem was first known, though Microsoft did release a workaround in the interim.

Microsoft says that the delay was due to extensive testing to ensure that people don't have trouble after installing the patch, and then trust Microsoft even less. This is probably true, but the damage had already been done. If you're looking for a good alternative, use the free Mozilla Firefox or (not free) Opera.

It probably isn't a surprise to know that most Australian small- and medium-businesses
are on the Internet, but you might be surprised to know just how high the figure is. According to a new Sensis survey, almost 90 per cent of these businesses are connected to the Internet. E-mail is the most popular tool, as might be expected, but the number of businesses with Web sites also rose sharply.

The Internet has clearly established itself as a major business tool, not just for sending and receiving e-mail (cited by 94% of respondents), but also for research (90%), purchases (55%) and receiving payments (44%). Even if you're already on the Internet, are you making full use of it?

Australia is only ranked 20th in terms of broadband penetration among developed countries, a surprisingly low rating for a country with a reputation for early adopters. Consulting firm KPMG says that improving this figure is critical to Australian business. KPMG goes on to criticise the role of Telstra as Australia's biggest telecommunications carrier, in discouraging competition and keeping prices high.