RE: the TBTF Exclusionary Sites Hall of Shame [ 12/8/97: Promethe

Joe Barrera (joebar@MICROSOFT.com)
Tue, 9 Dec 1997 08:51:10 -0800


Okay, Keith, I wasn't going to look for "MSIE need not apply" sites, but one
found me anyway:

I have a Citibank MasterCard. I decided to check out Citibank's online
banking (http://home.da-us.citibank.com/docs2/directaccess/ ). I see under
"Sign-In" the following text:

If you're already a Citibank Checking account customer with a valid
Citicard and a Netscape 128-bit encryption browser, you're all set. Just
click here to go to the sign-in page and get started with Direct Access!

So I "click here" (
http://home02.da-us.citibank.com/docs2/directaccess/signin/ ) and I find
myself reading the following text:

I'm sorry, but the browser you are currently using is not supported
by Direct Access.
To use Direct Access, you need Netscape Navigator 3.0 with 128-Bit
encryption (domestic-grade encryption) -- one of the highest forms of
security available over the Internet.

Click Here to upgrade your browser.

Click here brings me to:

To use Direct Access you must have a 128-bit encryption browser --
one of the highest forms of security available for use over the Internet.
Click here <https://wwwus.netscape.com/usdl-bin/download/index.html> to
upgrade to Netscape's browser for free (Internet Explorer and AOL browsers
are not yet compatible with Direct Access).

And yes, my browser DOES support 128-bit encryption - Help/About reports MS
IE 4.0 version 4.72.2106.8, cipher strength: 128-bit supported.
Double-checking with Wells Fargo's browser test
(http://wellsfargo.com/per/services/browser/ ) reports:

Encryption
Your browser employs 128-bit encryption (also called US-only
encryption), which is one of the strongest forms of encryption that's
commercially available for use over the Internet.

So I'd add this to the "MSIE need not apply" list.

- Joe

Joseph S. Barrera III <joebar@microsoft.com>
<http://research.microsoft.com/~joebar/>
Phone, Office: (415) 778-8227; Cellular: (415) 601-3719; Home: (415)
588-4801
The opinions expressed in this message are my own personal views and do not
reflect the official views of Microsoft Corporation.