Exercise 16.4: Authentication and Encryption systems

Question 4.
Visit 10 e-commerce websites. How many mention security on their home page? Is privacy mentioned? How many of them belong to the TRUSTe association?

Amazon.com
Address: http://www.amazon.com
There is no mention of security or privacy on the homepage. The site uses an SSL certificate issued by VeriSign Inc. There is no mention of the TRUSTe association.

Catch of the Day
Address: http://dealoftheday.com.au
There is a link at the bottom of the page to the Privacy Statement. There is a McAfee Secure icon on the page which when clicked on advises the following:

This site is tested and certified daily to pass the “McAfee Secure” Security Scan. To help address concerns about possible hacker access to your confidential data, and the safety of visiting this site, the "live" McAfee Secure mark appears only when this site passes the daily McAfee Secure tests

There is no mention of the TRUSTe association.

Daily Deals
Address: http://www.dailydeals.com.au
On the homepage there is an logo for SSL 256 bit encryption, a logo for McAfee Secure, a link to a "Safe Online Shopping page" and a hyperlink to the Privacy Policy. There is no mention of the TRUSTe association.

Dick Smith
Address: http://www.dicksmith.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefront
There is no mention of security on the home page. There is a link to the Privacy Policy at the bottom of the page but you have to scroll down to see it. The site has an SSL certificate issued by Thatwe Consulting cc. There is no mention of the TRUSTe association.

eBay
Address: http://www.ebay.com.au
There is a hyperlink to the Security Centre. There is also a "How to protect yourself and keep transactions safe" heading that you can click on to go to the Help Centre. There is no mention of the TRUSTe association.

Electronic Arts Australia
Address: http://www.electronicarts.com.au
On the home page there is a hyperlink to EA's privacy policy and also a hyperlink to "Online safety for all" which outlines how to be safe on the internet. There is a TRUSTe Certified Privacy logo.

Harris Technology
Address: http://www.ht.com.au/home.hts
There is a link at the bottom of the page to Security and Privacy Policy but you have to scroll down to see it. The site has an SSL certificate issued from Verisign Inc. There is no mention of the TRUSTe association.

Officeworks
Address: http://www.officeworks.com.au/retail/content/Home
There is a hyperlink on the home page to Privacy & Security. The site uses an Extended Validation SSL certificate issued by VeriSign Inc. There is no mention of the TRUSTe association.

Online Toys Australia
Address: http://www.onlinetoys.com.au/
In the opening welcome paragraph it says "Our web site is very secure" and there is a link at the bottom of the page to Data Security. The site has an SSL certificate issued by Equifax Secure Certificate Authority. There is no mention of the TRUSTe association.

OO.com.au
Address: http://www.oo.com.au
On the homepage there is a C-O-M-O-D-O Secured by SSL logo, a McAfee Secure logo and a TRUSTe Certified Privacy logo. There is also a hyperlink to the Privacy Policy at the bottom of the page, but you have to scroll down a fair way to see it.

As a matter of interest, I have checked the TRUSTe members list at http://www.truste.org/about/member_list.php to see how many Australian sites are members and have listed all the sites with a .com.au web address. They are as follows:

adrenalin.com.au - Web Privacy Seal
apple.com.au - EU Safe Harbor Seal
electronicarts.com.au - Web Privacy seal
eway.com.au - Web Privacy Seal
ineedhits.com.au - Web Privacy Seal
leapfrog.com.au - Childrens Privacy Seal, Web Privacy Seal
ninemsn.com.au - EU Safe Harbor Seal
oo.com.au - Web Privacy Seal
spinewmedia.com.au - Web Privacy Seal