AS most Net users have seen in the past few months, the signs are we are on the verge of a major increase in the amount of commercial activity which takes place on the Internet. The limiting factor, though, has been security. There has not been a simple yet secure way to deal with the financial data such as credit card numbers, and there have not been standards for authenticating that orders come from the person they appear to be from. Now, with the emergence of some experiments in digital cash, and with the creation of secure protocols and servers for use over the World Wide Web, this is starting to change and there are increasing numbers of commercial ventures selling products or services on the Internet. One of the best examples is software.net, which provides a World Wide Web-based environment in which to browse, evaluate and, one would expect, purchase software. Software.net provides a collection of nearly 8000 products for Windows, OS/2, DOS and Unix systems which can be bought and, where possible, delivered electronically over the Internet. At software.net's Web site, users can browse software catalogues, access customer support and read on-line publications. On-line brochures and catalogues are available for a whole range of software vendors, including well-known publishers such as Symantec and NOW Software, as well as software.net's own catalogues for different platforms. The entire database is searchable. The pinnacle of all this is customers can order software using their credit cards. Once users identify the products they would like they can place an order on-line, if they wish, by providing credit card and billing information. This process is possible by using secure World Wide Web server software developed by Netscape Communications, the same company which produces the extremely popular Netscape Web browser software package which has taken over from Mosaic as the browser of choice for most users. According to software.net, this solution provides enough security to make business feasible, and it would appear that, as the software.net example shows, it is now possible to conduct real commercial interactions on-line. When used with the Netscape browser, the server protects credit card transactions from prying eyes by encrypting transmitted data. But software.net does admit the system cannot ensure 100 per cent security, especially if users attempt to use the service from a non-secure browser or if they are connected through a proxy gateway through a firewall. Of course, Netscape provides an indicator of the security of a connection so users can check before transmitting data. Software.net points out the greatest point of insecurity is within local networks where any local machine could, in theory, listen to packets to and from all local machines. Software.net likens the security of on-line credit card transactions to those made over the phone by mail order. After all, almost anyone could theoretically be listening in on the phone conversation and yet people are more than willing to send their information that way. But what software.net shows is the time has arrived for on-line business and what is out there already looks promising. For a link to software.net's home page, check out Netscape's What's Cool page at http://home.mcom . com/home/whats-cool.html