Dorward

ITSafe

24 February 2005

Our wonderful little government has launched a new service - ITsafe which is wrong on so many levels. I signed up for it for the amusement value, I don't expect it will provide me with any useful information I don't get elsewhere sooner.

  • You cannot sign up for the SMS service without providing an email address.
  • You have to enter an ITsafe word which is included in all e-mails they send to you. It isn't included in the welcome message. (False sense of security anyway - its so easy to sniff)
  • The sign up system is not double opt-in. I could sign up random strangers to the service and they wouldn't get the "If you really want to join this mailing list then follow this link" that we've come to expect from reputable sources.
  • Its name is two words mashed together (for maximum trouble for screen reader software).
  • The website claims to be XHTML 1.0 Strict - it isn't. It abuses tables for layout. It has a recommended resolution. In short - it is not web standards friendly.