Sponsor's Message

The telco is making it easier for ISPs reselling its DSL services to get customers onboard and many are now advertising special deals that include a free modem and no connection fees.

The strange thing is that, New Zealand's broadband uptake continues to lag most other western nations, according to this report which was last updated 20 October amd referenced om today's edition of the NBR.

Admittedly this data represents the state of play as of four months ago and these recent offers may have triggered a surge in sign-ups but it still make sobering reading doesn't it?

Now have your say Got something to say about today's column, or want to see what others think?  Visit The Forums While you're here, why not visit the Aardvark Hall of Shame and perhaps make your own nomination.

It's all been said before, so I'm not going to reiterate it -- except to point out that much of the blame for our 2nd-world broadband levels can be laid directly at the door of government and the agency charged with ensuring competition in the marketplace: The Commerce Commission. Sabre rattling and empty threats are a waste of taxpayers' money guys.

Another million-dollar idea
The BNZ had to shut down its internet banking website for a while yesterday in the wake of another phishing attempt aimed at Kiwi online banking customers.

This latest attempt at fraud comes just weeks after someone targeted the BankDirect service and shows that phishing is alive and well on the Net.

Although it's not know how many (if any) of the BNZ's customers were caught out by this con-job but it does emphasize the fact that a simple ID/Password system is no longer adequate to ensure a reasonable level of security for those who are susceptible to such tricks.

Maybe it's time that the banks considered an extra level of authentication -- such as a simple little plastic "authenticator" that could be chucked on a key-ring.

Such a device could have as few as four buttons on it, each containing a symbol or digit that would match to a series of characters that was presented as a challenge by the bank's login system. When faced with such a challenge, the legitimate user would key that string into their authenticator and it would display a response code on its LCD. Only after typing in that response code would access be granted to a customer's account.