Surprisingly, the speed and flow of information across the Internet works to the advantage of the consumer. Security flaws are well publicised and the patches to fix them are released often within hours of the flaw being identified. Netscape , the leading Internet browser supplier, is even offering a cash prize for anyone who can break the security features built into their browser. It is being backed by many large credit card and software companies and will allow financial transactions to be processed through regular banking channels. The main drawback to this system is that anyone who wants to use this method of payment has to have a digital SET-compliant security certificate from their bank on their computer.
Security is at an acceptable level to support Web commerce.
Reliability is also a crucial consideration for an e-commerce web site. Many companies seem to have a policy of releasing beta testing software for free in an attempt to hook customers, but this software is often of limited use when building a web site. Four out of the top ten e-commerce sites in PCWeek 's January review were using Netscape's Secure Commerce server . Making your site stand out is another one of the key factors. Registering your own domain name so that people can easily remember it is one of the easiest ways to draw customers in.