Mastercard had to cancel my credit card because it had been hacked from a retail web store. That got me to thinking how you hear everyday about user information being stolen.

That’s why I wish I had been sent SmartSwipe a few months ago.  It’s a personal credit card reader that lets you use your card online without having to surrender the information to some database. All you do is attach SmartSwipe’s USB port to your PC running Windows XP/Vista and go to the web site you want (with Internet Explorer 6 or higher). Then when it comes time to pay, instead of typing in your info you just click on the SmartSwipe symbol in the Toolbar and swipe your preferred credit card through the reader’s slot.

And because SmartSwipe protects against client-side attacks, the info is as safe on your PC as it is in transit, points out Shane Gross of maker Netsecure Technologies. That means you can forego worrying about Keystroke loggers as well as phishing and man-in-the-middle attacks.

But the best part is that this guy works pretty much everywhere (with the odd exceptions like Nike.com which uses Flash). So none of that biz of only working on a few designed sites as has been the case in the past. Now if I just had some more disposable income….

www.netsecuretechnologies.com

MARSHAL M. ROSENTHAL

What do you think?