Home Smart 100 2010 Banquos Ghost Secure Banking Software (SMART 100)

Banquos Ghost Secure Banking Software (SMART 100)

Jun 25, 2010

The following SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity. More about the SMART 100.

This innovation initially came to life when…

About 12 months ago a family member had their online bank account compromised. As a seasoned IT professional I know it is more common than we all want to believe. This prompted me to build a highly secure operating system which would be suitable for the general consumer market for the prime purpose of conducting secure online transactions (mainly banking).

With an advanced understanding of operating systems I really thought I’d get this knocked over in a few weeks, but in reality it actually took me about 5 months to get the desired result.

WHAT & HOW

The purpose of this innovation is to…

Provide a secure desktop computing platform suitable for conducting financial transactions online from a typical home computer system. Home systems are vulnerable due to the wide variety of online activity undertaken in the home (social networking, YouTube, games, etc.).

It does this by…

This desktop computer software runs on Linux Live technologies. The operating system boots from a CD or USB and does not interact or depend on your main operating system software. The operating system is loaded into RAM memory, and Internet/screen resolutions and sound cards are auto-discovered during the start-up process. A web browser then does the rest.

PURPOSE & BENEFITS

This innovation improves on what came before because…

It is highly resistant to virus exploitation; i.e., keyloggers, spyware, zombie-type infections, website infections, etc. It also means that for the user who just wants to surf the web, there is no need to start up your main system; the only task this system is designed to do is surf the web and play web content.

Its various benefits to the customer/end-user include…

That the system provides an unparalleled level of security for financial transactions and other online activity. The end user needs not worry about what may have been downloaded during the online sessions, as all memory is flushed during the shutdown process.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

In the past, this problem was solved by…

Antivirus products / computer system clean-up tools / online user education.

Its predecessors/competitors include…

Similar types of Linux Live Systems, but none are secured to this degree or simplified for general user or entry-level user ease of functionality. They also can’t be customised easily without the knowledge of programming (Ubuntu, Puppy Linux, Knoppix).

TARGET MARKET

It is made for…

The home user market in order to provide a platform which gives a high degree of security. The system comes custom-ordered with the user’s personal details and nominated links embedded in the software. However, there are other uses for the platform. As it is highly customisable and can be distributed as no-cost license software, an organisation could commission a custom build with their own graphics, screensavers, links and marketing content to promote their own sales or services.

DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY

It is available for sale through…

The primary sales channels were always envisioned as being through online web sites but initial responses are putting us in a position to rethink that strategy.

Our marketing strategy is to…

The original strategy was always to use the standard internet based marketing tools such as LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook, but it now seems to be a much bigger job than anticipated. I’m currently looking for some assistance in this area.