WWW: Beyond the Basics

Chapter 8. Commerce

8.2.2. NetBill

8.2.2.1. Summary of NetBill

NetBill (NetBill, "Welcome ...") is a secure payment system designed to support the online purchase of electronic information goods. A user creates a NetBill account that is linked to an existing account at a financial institution. Users can deposit and withdraw money from this account as needed. NetBill software installed on the user's computer as a plug-in to Netscape3.0 manages transactions between the user and NetBill. NetBill uses two encryption schemes to maintain security: RSA public-key encryption and Kerberos tickets. Chapter 18, Security, discusses public-key encryption in more detail. NetBill is currently in alpha trials on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University.

An interesting aspect of NetBill is that when the user purchases a product, the vendor sends an encrypted version of the product to the user's machine. After the financial transaction has been completed through NetBill, a decryption key is sent to the user's machine to decrypt the product.

8.2.2.2. A NetBill transaction

When a user wants to purchase an item using NetBill, he clicks on the item in his web browser. The vendor sends an encrypted version of the item to the user's machine. When the user's machine verifies correct reception of the encrypted version, the vendor sends the user's payment information and the decryption key to NetBill. NetBill handles the financial transactions (withdrawal from the user's account, deposit to the vendor's account) and sends a report back to the vendor. The vendor then forwards the decryption key to the user to allow use of the product. If the vendor fails to forward the decryption key, the user can retrieve it directly from NetBill. More detailed information about how NetBill works is available(NetBill, "How ...").

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Copyright © 1996 Patrick N. Brooks
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Patrick N. Brooks <pbrooks@vt.edu>