What are the causes of credit card debts and its prevention?

Credit card offers come in on a daily basis in the mailbox and it has been made way too easy for people to get credit. Nowadays, a lot of people use credit cards as a "crutch." If they can't afford something they really want, they will use it. Then when it comes time to paying the bill, they pay the minimum amount due only. So it accumulates an awful amount of interest and the next month when you get your bill, the balance is about the same. Due of that, credit cards should be used for emergencies only, unless you plan on paying the entire balance off immediately. There are some causes of credit card debt:

>>Missing Payments
The fastest way to get into credit difficulties is by not repaying the minimum payment required. Missed payments may result in the card being refused at retailers until payment is made. Worse still, this will affect the user’s credit rating. The solution is simple; set up a Direct Debit for the minimum amount and pay off as much of the remaining balance as possible to keep the debt low.

>>Spend, spend, spend
In fact, don’t, don’t, don’t. Spending on a credit card is borrowing money. It is a debt and must be repaid at some point. The smart card user only uses the card in place of cash, or to obtain a purchase they can afford, if they can pay off the cost over time. In other words, the smart card holder only spends what they can afford.

>>The end of the honeymoon
Every special offer must come to an end, from 0% balance transfers to low introductory interest rates. When the special rate ends, the interest rates shoot up, and a small debt can grow rapidly, particularly if only the minimum repayments are being made. There is no point in being loyal to a card that has outlived its special rate; pay off the outstanding balance, or transfer it to a 0% balance rate, and get a new card with a lower rate for purchases.

>>A Fistful of Cards?
Never hold more than eight cards at any one time, as this will adversely affect credit ratings. Clear any outstanding balances and cancel (in writing) cards that are no longer used.

Credit cards can prove a temptation too far, and soon they find themselves in debt. Simple precautions will keep the savvy card holder from such dangers. If debt is growing, there are some things card holders can prevent it immediately.
There are 7 steps that to help you Get Debt Under Control:

Step 1: Make a list of what you owe.

List your debts in order, starting with the largest balance. Next to the amount list the minimum monthly payment and the interest rate you are paying.

Step 2: Prioritize your repayments.

If you have one or two small balances, you might want to apply extra money to pay them off, while continuing the mimimums on the cards with the larger balances. Or you may want to pay off the card with the largest interest rate first.

Step 3: Eliminate credit cards and don't roll over balances.

When you pay off a card, notify the company that you want to close the account. Don't just stick the card back in your wallet where you will be tempted to use it.Don't roll over balances from card to card. Switching from card to card has drawbacks. Every time you get a new card you're generating an outstanding open line of credit that will appear on your credit report. Other lenders may be unwilling to let you keep rolling balances. And when those tempting introductory rates expire, you could be stuck with huge balances on high rate cards.

Step 4: Get a copy of your credit report.

Your credit report is your bill-paying history. Check for errors and contact merchants if you have questions. You are entitled to a free credit report if you have been turned down for a loan or a credit card.

Step 5: Make a spending plan.

Now is the time to change how you spend money. Track the money that is coming in and going out. Personal finance software such as Quicken or Microsoft Money let you track all your check writing by category and make monthly comparisons of your actual spending to the amount you budgeted. Use a debit card instead of a credit card. You can only use the card if you have the money in the account to cover it.

Step 6: Be careful about the equity in your home.
In the past few years, Americans have withdrawn billions of dollars worth of equity in their homes. But there are dangers in home equity loans. Frequently the money is used to pay down credit cards, which are then charged up again. Home values to rise but there is no guarantee that it will continue in the area where you live.



Step 7: Get help.
If you feel that your credit has gotten out of your control contact a professional for help. Be careful to avoid companies that want a fee for their services or money up front. Seek out non-profit credit counseling services such as Consumer Credit Counseling Services.

Threat of online security: How safe is our data?

Nowadays Internet has given a tremendous boost to e-commerce. It did take a few years for the trust between online sellers and online buyers to develop. But, the threat to online security today comes from a third group, neither the seller nor the buyer is party to these online frauds.

There are some threats & attacks faces when you are online:
1) Denial-of-services(DoS)

2) Distributed denial-of-service(DDoS)

3) Virus

4) Worm

5) Macro virus or macro worm

6) Trojan horse

Besides those threats stated above, there are some skills for the fraudsters to attract the victims. For example:

(a) Phishing is one of the most damaging online security threats in recent times. Basically it involves an attempt by a fraudster, to extract confidential information from the innocent victim. In most cases the fraudster constructs a clone site that looks very similar to the web page of a bank or other financial institution. The victim is urged to click a link on an email and access the victim's financial account. The web link is actually a clone web page that captures the confidential login information of the victim. Once this happens, the fraudster uses the information to log into the actual financial account of the victim. The funds in the account are then syphoned out by the fraudster. You should never click a link to access your bank account, credit card account or any other financial account. Open up a fresh browser window and type the entire name of the website, this is the safest way.

(b) You could receive a fraudulent email telling you that you have won a million dollar (possibly more) lottery prize! Do not fall for this gimmick, the fraudster will tell you how close you are to become a millionaire. In most cases, you will be requested to pay a few thousand dollars for various fees and legal expenses. The truth is that there is actually no lottery and no prize money. Once you part with a few thousand dollars, the fraudster disappears and preys on his next victim.

(c)Emails are often received form fraudsters claiming to have free access to millions of dollars. The message goes on to say that all that is required for you to get a hefty share of the money, is to act as an agent in moving the funds. All you need to do is to pay a few ten thousand dollars, your returns could be in the range of five million to 20 million dollars! This is another fraud that you should keep away from, you will never see a single dollar come your way. The fraudsters are based in countries where the legal system operates like a fish market, so no legal recourse will be available to you.

How to keep data safe?
1) Authentication- the process by which one entity verifies that another entity is who they claim to be secret, object, biometric

2) Authorization-process that ensures that a person has the right to access certain resource

3) Auditing-process of collecting information about attempts to access particular resources, use particular privileges, or perform other security actions.

4) Confidentiality-keeping private or sensitive information from being disclosed to unauthorized individuals, entities or process

5) Integrity-as applied to data, the ability to protest data from being altered or destroyed in an unauthorized or accidental manner

6) Availability-a person or program can gain access to the pages data or services provided by the site when they are needed

7) Non repudiation-the ability to limit parties from refuting that a legitimate transaction took place, usually by means of a signature

Review post on Internet Security

Higher technology nowadays in country lead to more criminal on internet especially the viruses and spam. The Spam can be introducing as an electronic junk mail that will corrupted the email system in our email account. There are a lot of Spam that have been identified such as the common msn spam and also the spam from search engine such as Yahoo, Google, and others.

There are ways to prevent or cure the Spam’s effect unlike the viruses. Some strong computer viruses that spread through the internet might lead to serious damages in our computer either the software corruption or hardware broke down. There are also viruses that spread through the MSN in common day. This can be done by simply automatically spreading through the friend list of the victim. The others will get infected by simply open the viruses that spread in website’s link form. There are also others famous viruses such as the Trojan. Other than that, the internet security also strike by the hackers around the world. People that downloaded illegal or unauthorized documents, web pages, videos or music will be hacked by hacker. The government have already spend more money in building up or upgrading the security level so that the treat could be reduce to minimum numbers.

How to safeguard our personal and financial data?

Nowadays, access to information is very important. Protecting ourself from predators on the Internet is very important for our teenager or child as well as ourself. Many people will try to get our personal information so they can have access to everything about us. If they can get our personal information, they can access our financial accounts, our credit records, and other valuable assets so we can be on guard and protect ourself from these thieves. Now we live in an increasingly online world so we can trade stocks, buy groceries,air-ticket, pay bills and other activities through online. There almost any financial transaction we need to make can be done in the comfort of our own home, at our computer. With identity theft posing a real threat, though, keeping financial data private requires that consumers be proactive in the way that they approach online security. According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, 9.3 million Americans fell victim to identity theft in 2005; and while this number has been decreasing slowly since then, identity theft still poses a serious threat.

In response to this problem, scores of companies have come up with services designed to protect against ID theft. Even though paying a company to safeguard our ID can be effective, following some guidelines to keep our private financial information safe online is both free and easy.

10 Tips to Keep Your Information SecureHere are 10 tips that you can use when you're online to keep your identity safe.

1. Only Make Purchases On Trusted Sites
When deals seem too good to be true, they just may be - you might be paying as a victim of identity theft when you make purchases on websites that aren't secure. There are lots of small online retailers that don't have adequately secure payment systems. The best way to make sure that your information doesn't get intercepted is by simply sticking with trusted, well-known online retailers, or smaller sites that use reputable payment processors like PayPal or Google Checkout. Regardless of which site you use, you should always make sure to look for the padlock icon on the bottom of your browser to verify that the page is safe.

2. Order Your Credit Report
Your credit report is your window into your ID security. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, passed by the Federal government in 2003, mandates that each of the major credit bureaus supply consumers with a free copy of their credit report each year. You can get yours at AnnualCreditReport.com (American users only), a website run by the credit reporting agencies to comply with this legislation. Your credit report allows you to see whether someone has opened new accounts under your name.

3. Know How to Spot Phishing
Phishing is a technique used by identity thieves to get your sensitive information by pretending to be a site you trust. Phishing schemes are successful because you believe that you're just signing into your bank or credit card account, when it's really a ploy to get your important information. When logging into these accounts, make sure that you're not being asked for any information that you usually wouldn't be required to provide to log in. Social security numbers and addresses are often red flags. Also, check the url of the site. If you're accessing a Bank of America account at a web address that isn't at bankofamerica.com, it could be a phishing site.

4. Secure Your Network
If you have a wireless network at home or work, make sure that you secure it. A hacker can gain access to anything you do over an unsecured network in a matter of seconds. If you look at the documentation for your wireless router, you'll be able to find out how to lock your router and encrypt your information. It won't affect the way you use your wireless network, but it will keep intruders from getting a hold of your info.

5. Can the Spam
Be very leery of "spam" (or junk email) that works its way into your email inbox. Not only are these messages often from phishers, but they can also contain Trojan horses (viruses) that can get into your computer and send your information back to their unsavory creators. If you have the option, install spam-filtering software (or ask your email provider whether it can add spam-filtering to your account). Not only will this cut back on going through your daily pile of junk email, it can also keep your data safe.

6. Don't Store Sensitive Information on Non-Secure Websites
As more and more useful web applications start springing up (like Backpack, Facebook and Google Calendars), it's important to make sure that you're not storing sensitive data on non-secure websites. While online calendars, to-do lists and organizers are really useful, make sure that your account numbers and passwords don't make their ways onto these sites, which often aren't protected the same way a banking or brokerage website would be.

7. Set Banking Alerts
Many financial institutions are beginning to offer email and SMS alerts when your accounts reach certain conditions (being near overdraft, or having transactions over $1,000, for example). Setting alerts for your accounts can ensure that you find out about unauthorized access as soon as possible.

8. Don't Reuse Passwords
As tempting as it may be to reuse passwords, it's a really good practice to use a different password for every account you access online. This way, if someone does find out what your password is for one credit card, they won't also be able to access your checking, brokerage and email accounts. It may take a little more organization to use different passwords for each site, but it can help marginalize the effects of unauthorized access to your accounts.

9. Use Optional Security Questions
Like with using different passwords for each account, it's a good idea to set up optional security questions to log into your accounts. Many financial institutions ask security questions that a third party wouldn't know, but you can often set up multiple optional questions that can increase the security of your account. Remember to use questions that don't have answers available by public record. For example, choose questions such as "What was the color of your first car?" over "What city were you born in?"

10.Don't Put Private Information on Public Computers
If you're away from home, make sure not to save private information onto a computer used by the public. If you're accessing a private account at the library or cyber café, make sure to log out completely from your accounts, and never choose to save login information (like your username or password) on these computers.

Phishing: Examples & It's prevention methods

Phishing Facts

• 13,776 phishing attacks linked to 5,259 Web sites took place in August of 2005.
• They targeted 84 different businesses, but three businesses received 80 percent of the attacks.
• 85 percent of the attacks targeted banks and other financial institutions.

Introductions:

Phishing is the practice of sending out fake emails, written to appear as if they have been sent by banks or other reputable organisations, with the intent of luring the recipient into revealing sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, account IDs, ATM PINs or credit card details. Typically, phishing attacks will direct the recipient to a web page designed to imitate a target organisation's own visual identity and to harvest the user's personal information, often leaving the victim unaware of the attack. Obtaining this type of personal data is attractive to attacker as it allows an attacker to impersonate their victims and make fraudulent financial transactions. Victims often suffer significant financial losses or have their entire identity stolen, usually for criminal purposes. A phishing technique was described in detail as early as 1987, while the first recorded use of the term "phishing" was made in 1996. The term is a variant of fishing, and alludes to the use of increasingly sophisticated baits used in the hope of a "catch" of financial information and passwords.

Moreover, there are a numbers of cases of phishing that occurred throughout the well known website. As instances, in the case of Paypal, spelling mistakes in the e-mail and the presence of an IP address in the link (visible in the tooltip under the yellow box) are both clues that this is a phishing attempt. Another giveaway is the lack of a personal greeting, although the presence of personal details would not be a guarantee of legitimacy. Other signs that the message is a fraud are misspellings of simple words and the threat of consequences such as account suspension if the recipient fails to comply with the message's requests. Moreover, phone phishing are quite common in our environment nowadays at where messages that claimed to be from a bank told users to dial a phone number regarding problems with their bank accounts. Once the phone number (owned by the phisher, and provided by a Voice over IP service) was dialed, prompts told users to enter their account numbers and PIN. Vishing (voice phishing) sometimes uses fake caller-ID data to give the appearance that calls come from a trusted organization. On the other hand, Link manipulation are also one of the most popular method in phishing activity. As examples, the phishers use some form of technical deception designed to make a link in an e-mail (and the spoofed website it leads to) appear to belong to the spoofed organization. Misspelled URLs or the use of subdomains are common tricks used by phishers. URLs were disabled in Internet Explorer, while Mozilla and Opera present a warning message and give the option of continuing to the site or cancelling. A further problem with URLs has been found in the handling of Internationalized domain names (IDN) in web browsers, that might allow visually identical web addresses to lead to different, possibly malicious, websites. Despite the publicity surrounding the flaw, known as IDN spoofing or a homograph attack, no known phishing attacks have yet taken advantage of it. Phishers have taken advantage of a similar risk, using open URL redirectors on the websites of trusted organizations to disguise malicious URLs with a trusted domain.

How to prevent phishing:

Phishing is not a security problem; it is user education that is the issue. Why do the majority of phishing attacks fail? Simple. Because users are clever enough to realise it is not the site that is sending the email.

So if the majority of phishing attacks fail, why do some users fall for the scams? They don’t know the difference between the scam site and the real site, what we need to do is solve that problem so that the user knows they are receiving an email from their trusted site.

Enter VP - Visual Passphrase

My idea to solve this problem is to create a visual passphrase for each user that logs onto a site as a form of identification for that particular site. So when a user creates an account with the trusted site, they create a passphrase that can be anything they like and that will appear on every email from that site. This would enable the user to instantly recognise the site because of the familiar passphrase.

How it works…

The user signs up to the web site and provides their VP for example “My dog is called Rover” the user can then instantly identify the email/site and know if they can trust it and enter their credentials. Now an added benefit of knowing that an a trusted site contains a certain phrase is that all other sites can be automatically filtered and deleted by their email client.

Recommendations for VP

1. A VP should contain at least 5 words.
2. Only alphanumeric characters should be allowed strictly, all other characters should be removed.
3. The VP should be enclosed by brackets in emails for example: - [My dog is called Rover], which would enable automatic email filters to be configured.
4. The VP should only be present on the login screen or emails.
5. An explanation of VP should be included next to the input box or link provided.

Examples: (adapted from the websites)

example of the anti-phishing softwares:

A success E-commerce and its causes

Amazon was one of the first online businesses to set up an affiliate marketing program. AStore is a new affiliate product that allows Associates to embed a subset of Amazon products within, or linked to from, another website. Amazon reported over 1.3 million sellers sold products through Amazon's worldwide web sites in 2007. Selling on Amazon has become more popular as Amazon expanded into a variety of categories beyond media, and built a variety of features to support volume selling. With 16 million items for sale, Amazon has ''Earth's biggest selection,'' says Chief Executive Jeffrey P. Bezos.

Amazon work from the customer backward, it focus on value what they want to deliver for the customer. They are assigned authority and empowered to solve a problem as a service in anyway they see fit. They also force developers to focus on on value delivered to the customer instead of building technology first and then figuring how to use it. Amazon sellers do not have to maintain separate payment accounts. All payments and payment security are handled by Amazon itself, it’s unlike eBay/ Paypal. Amazon's initial

business plan was unusual, the company did not expect a profit for four to five years, but the strategy was effective. Amazon grew steadily in the late 1990s while other Internet companies grew blindingly fast. Amazon's "slow" growth provoked stockholder complaints: that the company was not reaching profitability fast enough. When the dot com bubble burst, and many e-companies went out of business, Amazon persevered, and, finally, turned its first profit in the fourth quarter of 2002, U.S. $5 million.

Amazon is end up with a design that is as minimal as possible. Simplicity is the key when they are really want to build large distributed systems. Only way to manage as large distributed system is to keep things as simple as possible. Keep things simple by making sure there are no hidden requirements and hidden dependencies in the design. Cut technology to the minimum they need to solve the problem they have. There’s bound to be problems with anything that produces hype before real implementation. So Amazon use measurement and objective debate to separate the good from the bad. This is the aspect of Amazon that uniquely different and interesting from other companies. Their deep seated ethic is to expose real customers to a choice and see which one works best and to make decisions based on those tests.


There are top 10 traits of highly successful ECommerce companies:
1. A clear vision and goal
They know exactly what they want to achieve. This laser like focus helps form an unshakeable conviction and dedication to building a successful online business.

2. Patience and a long-term view
They constantly measure if they are gradually getting there. And they can live with the paradoxes in online retail. For example the Internet changes quickly but organic SEO is a relatively slow process. Every day, every week, every month gives feedback measured in many ways against targets.

3. Taking calculated risks
Taking necessary risk and being prepared to invest is key. Investment is the fuel of a business so choosing where to spend money is critical. Successful websites invest money in activities that generate growth or make them more efficient ideally both at the same time.

4. A commitment to Kaizenâ or continuous improvement
Winners know this and delight in every little enhancement they make. Whole redesigns are common every 6 to12 months. The search engines love it. These websites never rest on their laurels because within a few weeks someone could come along and take some of their business.

5. Successful sites employ good advisorsNo one can be expert at everything and having specialist advisors you can trust and follow (and measure results from) is essential. ECommerce does not get simpler as time goes by. Winners pay for the best advice when it comes to strategy, tactics and growing the business.

6. They make decisions quickly and change their mind slowlyIn the world of web retailing three months is a long time. Too long for inaction. In general, winners make decisions quickly then measure results and adjust accordingly. All improvements are based on measured results against documented targets even if the targets are frequently revised.

7. The consumer is King
Changes and improvements should benefit the consumer and in doing so convert more consumers into customers and existing customers into bigger and more frequent spenders. Elegant design might be satisfying but frequent and multiple site enhancements whose effectiveness shows on the bottom line is even more gratifying.

8. Successful sites embrace technology and change
There’s a million teenagers out there who want to steal your business. If they had the funding they would be doing it now. Keeping abreast of developments online is key in online marketing, news, shifts in online culture and understanding how to read basic web analytics. Being clueless to these things will eventually leave you for dead.

9. Be fair and honest with customers and suppliers
Building a well-loved and respected business is key. The real money is made over the long term through repeat sales and referrals. So by offering great customer service and being fair in all business dealings, long-term relationships can flourish with both customers and suppliers. Customers may take a long time to get but can be lost in an instant through poor customer service. Don’t be afraid to give people their money back. Even smarter sometimes is to offer it very willingly and then chat through other options.

10. There is no such thing as easy money
There’s an army of wannabes online wanting to make a million for little or no work and hoping that it is possible to make money for doing next to nothing. Successful retail website owners know that this is a myth and the Internet is like any other business. It is focus, hard work, constant improvement and if “you’re targeting and measuring right” great fun!

The history & evolution of e-commerce

The History Of E-commerce

This is a history of how Information Technology has transformed into business processes. History of e-commerce dates back to the invention of the very old notion of “sell and buy” process. E-commerce became possible in 1991 when the Internet was opened to commercial use. Since that date thousands of businesses have taken up residence at web sites.

The word e-commerce or electronic commerce was founded late in the 1970’s. The term was introduced for transactions done via computer to computer, transactions like important company data transfers, fund codes transfers, bank document transfers, purchase orders, bills or invoices; in other words all the data transfer related to commerce done electronically. E-Commerce is not just a term but a revolution for the online industry. All the tasks, letters, messages and data transferred within a flick of a second at any place no matter how far or how near. This all was impossible even for a thought or a dream, for things to be like that just a few years ago.

Well, e-Commerce has revolutionized further & has been converted into e-Business with the optimum usage of resources such as the internet, credit cards, e-commerce software, shopping carts solution. Loads of companies are shifting to e-commerce & e-business solutions because of easy availability of clients & a better & more forward approach towards the market. These modern techniques provide new & healthy business without much needed investment.

E-Business has been termed to be the fastest growing industry in this modern era of computers & finance. E-Business has proved to be the most effective way for marketing products worldwide by just a click of a button with the help of several e-commerce soft wares.

Although the Internet began to advance in popularity among the general public in 199t4, it took approximaely four years to develop the security protocols (for example, HTTP) and DSL which allowed rapid access and a persistent connection to the Internet. In 2000 a great number of business companies in the United States and Western Europe represented their services in the World Wide Web. At this time the meaning of the word commerce was changed. People began to define the term e-commerce as the process of purchasing of available goods and services over the Internet using secure connections and electronic payment services. Although the dot-com collapse in 2000 led to unfortunate results and many of e-commerce companies disappeared, the “brick and mortar” retailers recognized the advantages of electronic commerce and began to add such capabilities to their web sites (e.g., after the online grocery store Webvan came to ruin, two supermarket chains, Albertsons and Safeway, began to use e-commerce to enable their customers to buy groceries online). By the end of 2001, the largest form of e-commerce, Business-to-Business (B2B) model, had around $700 billion in transactions.

Evolution Of E-commerce

A quick glimpse at the data promises much more evolution in the years to come. Forrester Research, for example, predicted American firms alone would sell US$316 billion in goods and services via the Web by 2010. That figure would more than double 2004's online spending to account for some 12 percent of all retail sales, up from about 7 percent today. Base on the data, a quick glimpse at the data promises much more evolution in the years to come. Forrester Research, for example, predicted America firms alone would sell US$316 billion in goods and services via the Web by 2010.

The term of e-commerce mean the process of execution of electronically transactions to leading technologies such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) which gave an opportunity for users to exchange business information and do electronic transactions. The ability to use these technologies appeared in the late 1970s and allowed business companies and organizations to send commercial documentation electronically.Large organizations have been investing in development of EDI since sixties. It has not gained reasonable acceptance until eighties. EDI has never reached the level of popularity of the web-based e-commerce for several reasons:

~high cost of EDI prohibited small businesses and medium-sized companies from participating

in the electronic commerce;
~slow development of standards hindered the growth of EDI; and
~the complexity of developing EDI applications limited its adaptation to a narrow user base.

From the internet to Intranets to Extranets has been a speedy journey in the past 5 years. The 3 C’s of first generation E-commerce: Content, Community, and Commerce have now evolved into 7 C’s of second generation E-commerce: Content (e.g. Yahoo), Community (Ivillage), Commerce (e.g. Amazon), Communication (e.g. Doubleclick), Connectivity (e.g. Cisco), Collaboration (Mercata - now defunct), and Customization (e.g. Netperceptions). Each of these C’s reflect an evolution of features that has its roots in first enabling automated processes (such as procurement) to extending these processes externally with other consumers as well as business partners.

First generation E-commerce sites running HTML have paved the way for more complex and dynamic web sites that tie together processes from order-entry to inventory control to financial record keeping. Wireless devices are now being web enabled and for conducting business to consumer E-commerce transactions. Success in the e-marketplace will depend on companies being able to respond to needs of the ever-changing marketplace and forming partnerships, alliances, and collaborations with others to deliver value that may not have been possible with individual efforts. The ability to innovate, change, recover from setbacks will be hallmarks of success in this competitive arena. Generic models of B2C commerce are outdated and newer efforts are needed to leverage the untapped potential offered in the digital medium.

There is an acute shortage of personnel with the right mix of technology and managerial competencies. With continuing education and real-world experience that reflects trends in current marketplace, today’s IT professionals should seize opportunities that are available in the dynamic E-commerce field and position themselves to be leaders of the next generation E-commerce that is constantly creating rapid transformation in Internet time.