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To: R Sandvig who wrote (24900)	5/20/1999 6:22:00 PM
From: MeDroogies	Respond to of 213176

I do web trading, but there are certain safeguards built in there to protect my interests that are covered by the cost of doing the trading. These safeguards won't be as available in areas that don't make the kind of money on-line traders make (don't tell me they'll cover the costs w/advertising - that's my business and the money isn't and won't ever really be there for this kind of activity). Besides, haven't you ever missed a trade? I've missed several because of connectivity problems (ISP or trade site's fault). What if I want to do some work and my connection goes down. If my PC goes down, I have a backup and/or I can fix it. Not many people (myself included) have more than one ISP - and E*Trade (and all the others at some point) have suffered hours-long outages. Don't think these problems will go away. They won't. They won't get worse, but they aren't going to disappear. As for privacy, I keep certain account information on my PC that I don't want out on the web. I got burned once, badly, on the web. As a result, I have removed much of my private information and try to minimize my exposure. Luckily, it was not a financial loss. However, the potential loss to my stature and reputation was staggering. I remain unconvinced, at this point, as to the overall security of certain things on the web. I'll buy and sell on it. I'm okay with that, because insurance covers fraud. But potential losses to privacy, reputation and status remain at very high levels. Every time we give a bit of our privacy to web companies, we give away a piece of ourselves that we can't get back.

To: R Sandvig who wrote (24900)	5/20/1999 6:26:00 PM
From: Robert Salasidis	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 213176

As far as web based financial programs, it is not the ability of someone to "steal" money out of your account that is the major problem. The major problem is the ability of someone to look at your company's information and business practice. This information although aquired illegally, could then be used by someone (legally as far as you know) to beat you to market with new products, ideas etc. Sensitive data (encrypted if need be - but quick books does not encrypt) will always be safer if managed locally.