ANSWERS OF E-COMMERCE QUESTIONS* (* ALL THE ANSWERS MAY NOT BE COMPLETE AND UPTO MARK ,BUT NONE OF THE ANSWER IS WRONG ,SOME ANSWERS ARE NOT GIVEN IN THE TEXT BECAUSE I DIDN’T FOUND THOSE ANSWERS ON INTERNET AND NEITHER ON MY BOOK” MAMTA BHUSRY”,NO ONE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CORRECTNESS OF ANY OF THE ANSWER) 1. What do you mean by Mobile Commerce? Which type of Protocols are necessary for wireless application. Ans: Mobile Commerce is any transaction, involving the transaction having monetary value, which is initiated and/or completed by using wireless electronic device such as mobile phone,PDAs,pagers etc. and mobile telecommunication network.It is subset of e-commerce. WAP( wireless access protocol is required for wireless application,which is consist of many protocols (i) WDP-: To allow transport, security, and session protocols to operate independent of the underlying bearer (e.g. GSM, CDMA, etc.) and to provide a UDP-like interface (ii) WTLS-:provides the upper-level layer of WAP with a secure transport service interface that preserves the transport service interface (datagram) below it. Security level of WTLS depends on the requirements of the given application (iii) (iv) WTP-:it provides transaction support,adding reliability to a datagram service provider by WDP WSP-: A light-weight session layer to allow efficient exchange of data between applications 2. Discuss the importance of client server network model. How can Security be achieved with this model? Ans : The client-server software architecture model distinguishes client systems from server systems, which communicate over a computer network. A client-server application is a distributed system comprising both client and server software. A client software process may initiate a communication session, while the server waits for requests from any client. Importance of client server model • • • • • In most cases, a client-server architecture enables the roles and responsibilities of a computing system to be distributed among several independent computers that are known to each other only through a network. This creates an additional advantage to this architecture: greater ease of maintenance. For example, it is possible to replace, repair, upgrade, or even relocate a server while its clients remain both unaware and unaffected by that change. This independence from change is also referred to as encapsulation. All the data is stored on the servers, which generally have far greater security controls than most clients. Servers can better control access and resources, to guarantee that only those clients with the appropriate permissions may access and change data. Since data storage is centralized, updates to that data are far easier to administer than what would be possible under a P2P paradigm. Under a P2P architecture, data updates may need to be distributed and applied to each "peer" in the network, which is both time-consuming and error-prone, as there can be thousands or even millions of peers. Many mature client-server technologies are already available which were designed to ensure security, 'friendliness' of the user interface, and ease of use. It functions with multiple different clients of different capabilities. 3. (a) What is WAP technology? Discuss the various mobile Information devices. Ans: WAP technology as discussed in Q1. (b) Discuss the benefits of Supply Chain Management. Some of the specific benefits for implementing SCM which have been mentioned in this newsgroup over the years include: * desire to protect their huge investment in software and be able to reproduce a build with the correct components or continue development on a project even if those previously working on it have left the company or become seriously ill * desire to improve quality and reduce errors caused by building products with the wrong version or some old code which did not include a current fix * simplification of a complicated build and/or release process * desire to streamline processes and let developers worry about actual development * reduction of day-to-day labor, thus allowing an under-staffed or over-busy team to produce more useful work * facilitation of moving personnel from one project to another with little or no loss of productivity since both projects follow the same process * elimination of instances in which software needed to investigate customer-reported problems could not reproduced or rebuilt * hiring of new team members (particularly leaders and/or managers) who had good experiences with SCM in prior businesses and advocated such improvements * need to perform concurrent development at multiple locations, particularly if that is already being tried and has gotten out of hand * improvement of the faith a Quality Assurance group can have in a new version of a product for which they are responsible, and highlighting of areas where a new product version should be scrutinized during Quality Assurance A side benefit of implementing a good SCM process is that it will help enable a company to be assessed at a higher SEI Level and/or obtain ISO 9000 certification. (Note that these are side benefits, SCM should be approached from the standpoint that it can help you produce better, more reliable products faster, rather than for the purpose of attaining an award or certification.) 4. Discuss the importance of Mobile Computing Applications. Explain various Mobile information devices in the light of Mobile Commerce. Ans: Mobile computing is a generic term describing one's ability to use technology while moving, as opposed to portable computers, which are only practical for use while deployed in a stationary configuration. 5. (a) Explain clearly, the concept of supply chain management giving Suitable example. Supply chain management Supply chain management suppliers purchasin production g internal supply chain distributio n consumers Supply chain management is a cross-functional approach to manage the movement of raw materials into an organization, certain aspects of the internal processing of materials into finished goods, and then the movement of finished goods out of the organization toward the end-consumer SCM includes • • • • • • • • Customer relationship management Customer service management Demand management Order fulfillment Manufacturing flow management Supplier relationship management Product development and commercialization Returns management (b) Explain the difference between a packet-filtering firewall and an Application-level proxy server. Ans : Packet filtering firewall Packet filtering router Private network internet Application level proxy server Outside host telnet FTP SMTP HTTP Packet filtering applies a set of rules to each incoming IP packet and then forwards or discard the packet on the basis whether the firewall deny or permit the request.It is based on IP only,and work in both direction Application-level proxies stand outside a network and relay data between the Internet and applications on a desktop. Instead of a direct connection between an internal and external network, application-level proxies serve as a middle-man for Internet services. The proxy intercepts all traffic and relays packets of data back and forth between a desktop application and an Internet service. Many of today's firewalls use and depend on application-level proxy technology .It is provides more secure connection than packet filtering. 6. (a) What are the various components of the I-way, discuss it along with a proper diagram. Ans: Components of I-way There are basically three components (i)Consumer access equipment : it includes various software and hardware which provides basis for I-way like routers,switches,computers ,set top box,operating system etc.. (ii)Local on ramps: it provides the linkage between acess equipment and distribution network. It is of further four types (a) Telecom based (b) Cable TV based (c) Wireless based (d) Computer based Inside host (iii) Global information distribution system: It provides the infrastructure for informantion distribution between different places.It consist of network of optic fibre ,radio based,satellite etc. Consumer access equipment Telcom based Cable TV based Wireless based Computer based Global information distribution system (b) Differentiate between E-Commerce and M-Commerce. Ans: E-Commerce 1. Faster 2.can easily perform Big transaction easily 3.Uses HTML 4. Uses TCP/IP 7 WML GSM,TDMA,CDMA M-Commerce comaratively slow it is difficult in m-commerce (i) What is WAP; discuss it with reference to mobility Ans: already answered (ii) What do we mean by TDMA, what technology is used in TDMA. List the various benefits of TDMA over CDMA. Ans: Time division multiple access (TDMA) is a channel access method for shared medium (usually radio) networks. It allows several users to share the same frequency channel by dividing the signal into different time slots. The users transmit in rapid succession, one after the other, each using his own time slot. This allows multiple stations to share the same transmission medium (e.g. radio frequency channel) while using only a part of its channel capacity. It is used for GSM connectivity and also for sattelite communicatio TDMA features • • • • Shares single carrier frequency with multiple users Non-continuous transmission makes handoff simpler Slots can be assigned on demand in dynamic TDMA Less stringent power control than CDMA due to reduced intra cell interference • • • • • Higher synchronization overhead than CDMA Advanced equalization is necessary for high data rates Cell breathing (borrowing resources from adjacent cells) is more complicated than in CDMA Frequency/slot allocation complexity Pulsating power envelop: Interference with other devices CDMA and TDMA both technology have their own set of merits and it can not be concluded that which one is better Benefits of TDMA over CDMA --Dynamic channel allocation --multiple users can share same network equipment --CDMA transmits continuously at slow rate, while TDMA transmits only during assigned burst period --CDMA increase networkcost by continuously comparing & selecting voice path,while TDMA doesn’t do such things 8. What do you mean by Encryption? Discuss various Encryption Techniques used for web security. encryption is the process of transforming information (referred to as plaintext) using an algorithm (called cipher) to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key It is broadly classified into two types (i) Private key encryption ke y Encryption algo Both are same keys (secret key) Cipher text k e Decryption algo Plain text Plain text (ii) Public key encryption Plain text (public key) Both keys are different (private key) ke ke y y Encryption Cipher Decryption algo text algo Plain text 9. (a) Discuss the mechanism of Video on demand system/server (b) Write short notes on: (i) Virus is a code segement that replicates by attaching copies of itself to existing executable files(.exe),the new copy of virus is executed whenever user run that .exe file,virus may include payload that triggers when specific set of condition is satisfied Example-deletes all the files of the present folder on specified date (ii) Trojan Horse ,Trojan horse, also known as a trojan, is malware that appears to perform a desirable function but in fact performs undisclosed malicious functions For example: A program named "waterfalls.scr" serves as a simple example of a trojan horse. The author claims it is a free waterfall screen saver. When run, it instead unloads hidden programs, commands, scripts, or any number of commands without the user's knowledge or consent. Malicious Trojan Horse programs are used to circumvent protection systems in effect creating a vulnerable system to allow unauthorized access to the user's computer. (iii) Worm A computer worm is a self-replicating computer program. It uses a network to send copies of itself to other nodes (computer terminals on the network) and it may do so without any user intervention. Unlike a virus, it does not need to attach itself to an existing program. Worms almost always cause harm to the network, if only by consuming bandwidth, whereas viruses almost always corrupt or modify files on a targeted computer. 10 (i) What are the two broad areas of security concerns in E-Commerce? (ii) What are the various protection mechanisms employed for security. (iii) Discuss Firewalls and Network Security Ans same Q17. (iv) What is health care EDI? 11. Explain the various issues involved in Electronic Payment System. Also give the various types of EPS. 12. List the different models of Electronic Payment. Explain in details the digital token based electronic payment system. 13. Write a short note on any one of the following: (i) Digital token based Electronic payment systems. (ii) Smart cards based Electronic payment systems. Smart cards are cards that look like credit cards, but store information on a microprocessor chip instead of magnetic strips. A microchip can hold significantly more information than a magnetic strip. Because of this capacity, a single smart card can be used for many different purposes. Unlike magnetic strip cards which can be read by any magnetic reader, and are therefore vulnerable to loss or theft, a smart card can be password-protected to guarantee that it's only used by the owner. Smart cards can run RSA encryption and can be programmed to generate a pair of public/private keys. The public key is made publicly readable, but the private key is be stored on the card without anyone being able to copy it. Therefore, to use the private key, the user must physically possess the card. Smart cards are used in European telephones, and are gaining popularity for other purposes both in Europe and in the US. (iii) Differentiate between EDI and E-mail Ans: EDI can be formally defined as 'The transfer of structured data, by agreed message standards, from one computer system to another without human intervention' EDI is different from e-mail --: 1. EDI always have some economic profit motive ,but e-mail doesn’t 2. EDI follows some standard,but e-mail can be in any format as it can be informal as well 3. EDI use digital signatures for verification,but e-mail doesn’t need it 4. EDI technology is an innovated form of e-mail 14. (i) What is online banking? State the merits and demerits of online banking. Ans: Online banking (or Internet banking) allows customers to conduct financial transactions on a secure website.It can be used to perform all types of banking transactions --bank statement --fund transfer --investment --loan The Advantages of Online Banking First and foremost, online banking is very, very, very convenient. It will allow you to pay your bills and make transactions anytime during the day and the week. The bank will never close because you can access it through your laptop or computer. So, no matter in which country you are anywhere in the world, you can go online and handle your finances. Secondly, online banking is very fast, effective and efficient. Over the Internet, you can make transactions that are typically executed and performed at a much faster pace than at ATM’s. Online banking services also give you the option of handling several different bank accounts from one site itself. Most online banking sites are compatible with programs like Microsoft Money and Quicken, which makes management of assets more effective. The Disadvantages of Online Banking Just like with anything else, there are disadvantages to online banking services too! -the biggest problem is that most people lack trust. -Online banking can be difficult to learn for a beginner and a site could take time to start up. Some sites provide live online customer support to provide solutions for any problems. Banking frauds: The number of cases of banking frauds is considerably low so you don’t have to worry about the safety of your money. (ii)State the difference between inter and intra organizational E-commerce. Ans: Intra organizational e-commerce is transaction such as sharing databases,integrated messaging etc between the various departments or offices of same organization located at different places using intranet and internet is called intra organizational e-commerce Interorganisational E-commerce E-commerce activities such as Electronic data interchange, electronic fund transfer ,supply chain management etc. between two or more organizations is called interorganisational e-commerce. (iii) What are the two pillars of e-commerce business? Describe in detail. 15. Give the layered structure of EDI and compare EDI versus e-mail. Conceptualize EDI and compare EDI versus e-mail. Discuss the Legal issues related with e-commerce. Ans: EDI is considered to be a technical representation of a business conversation between two entities, either internal or external. EDI constitutes the entire electronic data interchange paradigm, including the transmission, message flow, document format, and software used to interpret the documents. EDI is considered to describe the rigorously standardized format of electronic documents. 16. What do you understand by customer relationship management? What importance has customer relationship mgmt got in E-Com? How will you implement customer CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. It is a process or methodology used to learn more about customers' needs and behaviors in order to develop stronger relationships with them. There are many technological components to CRM, but thinking about CRM in primarily technological terms is a mistake. The more useful way to think about CRM is as a process that will help bring together lots of pieces of information about customers, sales, marketing effectiveness, responsiveness and market trends. CRM helps businesses use technology and human resources to gain insight into the behavior of customers and the value of those customers Importance of CRM --Provide better customer service --Increase customer revenues --Discover new customers --Cross sell/Up Sell products more effectively --Help sales staff close deals faster --Make call centers more efficient --Simplify marketing and sales processes 17. . Short Notes: (i) Legal requirement in E-Commerce Ans: check out answer no 20 (ii) Firewall and network security A firewall is a dedicated appliance, or software running on another computer, which inspects network traffic passing through it, and denies or permits passage based on a set of rules.A firewall's basic task is to regulate some of the flow of traffic between computer networks of different trust levels. Typical examples are the Internet which is a zone with no trust and an internal network which is a zone of higher trust Network security consists of the provisions made in an underlying computer network infrastructure, policies adopted by the network administrator to protect the network and the network-accessible resources from unauthorized access and consistent and continuous monitoring and measurement of its effectiveness (or lack) combined together. (iii) World Wide Web and Security The World Wide Web (commonly shortened to the Web) is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet. With a Web browser, one can view Web pages that may contain text, images, videos, and other multimedia and navigate between them using hyperlinks Viewing a Web page on the World Wide Web normally begins either by typing the URL of the page into a Web browser, or by following a hyperlink to that page or resource. The Web browser then initiates a series of communication messages the server-name portion of the URL is resolved into an IP address using the global, distributed Internet database known as the domain name system, or DNS. This IP address is necessary to contact and send data packets to the Web server.The browser then requests the resource by sending an HTTP request to the Web server at that particular address. In the case of a typical Web page, the HTML text of the page is requested first and parsed immediately by the Web browser, which will then make additional requests for images and any other files that form a part of the page. Statistics measuring a website's popularity are usually based on the number of 'page views' or associated server 'hits', or file requests, which take place.Having received the required files from the Web server, the browser then renders the page onto the screen as specified by its HTML 18. Critically comment on E-commerce as a new and effective way for conducting business product and providing better customer services on the Internet. Ans: E-commerce is new and effective way for conducting business due to following reasons -: Catalog flexibility and Online fast updating • • Direct "link" capabilities to content information and visual displays already existing on other client web site. You can update your E-Catalog anytime, whether it's adding new products, or adjusting prices, without the expense and time of a traditional print catalog. Extensive search capabilities by item, corporate name, division name, location, manufacturer, partner, price or any other specified need. Shrinks the Competition Gap • Reduced marketing/advertising expenses, compete on equal footing with much bigger companies; easily compete on quality, price, and availability. Unlimited Market Place and Business Access Which Extend Customer Base • • The Internet gives customers the opportunity to browse and shop at their convenience and at their place. They can access your services from home, office, or on the road, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Internet allows you to reach people around the world, offering your products to a global customer base. A 24 Hour Store Reduced Sale Cycle • Reduce unnecessary phone calls and mailings. Lower Cost of Doing Business • Reduce inventory, employees, purchasing costs, order processing costs associated with faxing, phone calls, and data entry, and even eliminate physical stores. Reduce transaction costs. Eliminate Middlemen • Sell directly to your customers. Easier Business Administration • With right software, store inventory levels, shipping and receiving logs, and other business administration tasks can be automatically stored, categorized and updated in real-time, and accessed on demand. Frees Your Staff • Reduce customer service and sales support. Customers will love it • Gives customers control of sales process. Builds loyalty. More Efficient Business Relationships • Better way to deal with dealers and suppliers. Workflow automation • • • • Shipping, real time inventory accounting system which adjusts stock levels and site, location availability instantaneously Secured, automated registration verification, account entry and transaction authorization features Automated RFP and RTQ features for vendor bid development and selection. Banking and accounting features customized for pre-approved third party direct sales, vendor, consignment or internal transfer transactions. Secure Payment Systems • Recent advancements in payment technologies allow encrypted, secure payment online. 19. What is the Customer-Oriented value chain? Describe three forces lead to the www’s emerges as the single most dynamic force in information technology. 20. (i) What is the difference between public key encryption and private key encryption? Ans: Difference between public key encryption and private key encryption --public key encryption do not use any shared key --digitals signature can be used in public key encryption for authentication --public key encryption is considered more secure than private key (ii) Discuss the importance of Supply chain management. Importance of Supply Chain Management Supply chain management is essential to company success and customer satisfaction. Did you know that SCM also plays a critical role in society? It's absolutely true. SCM knowledge and capabilities can be used to support medical missions, conduct disaster relief operations, and handle other types of emergencies. SCM also plays a role in cultural evolution and helps improve our quality of life. Whether dealing with day-to-day product flows or dealing with an unexpected natural disaster, supply chain experts roll up their sleeves and get busy. They diagnose problems, creatively work around disruptions, and figure out how to move essential products to people in need as efficiently as possible. Business impact of SCM Boost Customer Service Right Product Assortment and Quantity Customers expect the correct product assortment and quantity to be delivered. Right Stock Location Customers expect products to be available at the right location. For example, customers will be upset if the auto dealership does not have the necessary parts for repair in stock and as a result, must keep the customer's car a day or two until parts arrive. Right Delivery Time Customers expect products to be delivered on-time. For instance, customers will be upset if pizza delivery is two hours late or Christmas presents are delivered on December 26th . Right After Sale Support Customers expect products to be serviced quickly. For example, when a home furnace stops operating in the winter, customers will demand repair in minutes or hours not days! Improve Financial Position Increases Profit Leverage Firms value supply chain managers because they help control and reduce supply chain costs. This can result in dramatic increases in firm profits. Decreases Fixed Assets Firms value supply chain managers because they decrease the use of large fixed assets such as plants, warehouses and transportation vehicles in the supply chain Increases Cash Flow Firms value supply chain managers because they speed up product flows to customers Reduce Operating Costs Decreases Purchasing Cost Retailers depend on supply chains to quickly deliver expensive products to avoid holding costly inventories in stores any longer than necessary. Decreases Production Cost Manufacturers depend on supply chains to reliably deliver materials to assembly plants to avoid material shortages that would shutdown production. Decreases Total Supply Chain Cost Manufacturers and retailers depend on supply chain managers to design networks that meet customer service goals at the least total cost. Efficient supply chains enable a firm to be more competitive in the market place. (iv) (v) State the advantage and disadvantage of home banking. Ans: same ans as 14 (i) What are the legal requirements in E-commerce? Ans: E-commerce is suffering from piracy, hacking ,cracking Copyright problem etc…which lead to the foundation of e-law or cyber law,but still e-commerce needs more powerful law and regulation why it is needed --Internet provide the largest opportunity for free speech that have ever existed ,but this freedom may offend some people , --Copying and dissemination of intellectual property on the web is very common and difficult to control as well, --collection and use of personal data is considered to be unethical in many cases Legal and ethical issues are very important for e-commerce Many corporation such as Organisation for economic cooperation an development and commerce netare active in this area Keeping in line with other countries, India also has passed its first cyber law, The Information Technology Act 2000, which aims to provide the legal backbone for enabling ecommerce in the country. However the arrival of Internet resulted in the rise of new and complex legal issues. Though India has a detailed and welldefined legal system in place, with laws like the Indian Penal Code, the Indian Evidence Act 1872, the Banker's Book Evidence Act, 1891 and the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, the Companies Act, and so on. But at the time of enactment of these laws nobody could really visualise about the Internet. We must remember that all the existing laws in place in India were enacted keeping in mind the relevant political, social, economic, and cultural scenario of the corresponding time. As like the rest of the world, the existing laws of India also could not handle the various cyber space activities. As such the need arose for a Cyber Law. BEST OF LUCK !!!!! SECURE FULL MARKS!!! AND REMEMBER ONE RULE “CONFUSE THE EXAMINER WHEN YOU DO NOT KNOW THE EXACT ANSWER”