Back to the WebFunds page or the FAQ index or the Ricardo page.
For information on how to install WebFunds please see the section of the FAQ on "How do I install WebFunds on my computer". Once it has been installed, WebFunds is easy to start. Simply double-click on the WebFunds Icon or use your program folder. However, many users find it most convenient to leave WebFunds running all the time.
You can set up WebFunds to run whenever your machine is on by putting WebFunds in your startup folder. This will save you time since WebFunds will always be ready to operate. Searching under the word "start" in the Windows 95 help menu (press the start button to find the help menu in Windows 95) will give you further information on how to do this.
Another important note... to ensure smooth operation of WebFunds never have more than one identical copy of WebFunds running simultaneously.
WebFunds can be run with or without a WebBrowser. If you'd like to run your Web Browser at the same time you run WebFunds you will need to set your proxy first.
You can think of a proxy as the "pipe" which WebFunds uses to get information from the Internet. If you want to use your browser and WebFunds simultaneously, you just have to tell your browser to share the same "pipe" that WebFunds is using. - that's what setting your browser's proxy will do.
You can find information on how to set your proxy in the section on Point & Click shopping through my Browser
The simplest solution is to leave WebFunds running all the time. WebFunds is extremely tiny as far as programs go, so it won't hurt your computer's performance if you minimize it and leave it running. As explained in How do I start WebFunds? it is quite easy to place WebFunds in your start menu so that it is always running in the background. However, if you'd like to browse without WebFunds running simply de-select the proxy in your web-browser (see Point & Click shopping through my Browser for information on how to do work with proxies).
Making purchases through your Web Browser is made easy with WebFunds. First make sure that you have your proxy set up correctly. Then find a shop which accepts WebFunds payments.
In order to initiate any WebFund purchase you simply click on the appropriate hyperlink in a WebFund's-compatible store.
Note: the previous hyperlink example can initiate a real purchase. Don't sign for it unless you really want it :-)
Clicking on a hyperlink such as the one above will bring up a payment approval window in the top left hand corner of your screen. If this payment window is not visible it may be because your proxy is not set up correctly or because the approval window is buried under another window which is in front of it (see the appropriate section of the FAQ for more information).
In the payment approval window you will find a description of the goods you would like to purchase and the amount which is being charged for them. Before you authorize a payment always read both the payment description and amount carefully. Once you have read these press the "sign" button (or the "refuse" button if you don't want it) to make the purchase. If you haven't already entered your WebFunds password at this point you will be asked for it now. When you press the sign button you're actually doing the electronic equivalent of signing a cheque. Pressing the "sign" button at this point will pretty much make your transaction irreversible. Please read the Golden Warnings sections of the FAQ on approving purchasing amounts, reading payment descriptions, and trusting vendors.
WebFunds is one of the few electronic cash packages which will allow you to sent payments via e-mail. This feature is extremely handy for person-to-person payments, payments via e-mail to retailers, or for uses other than just e-mail (e.g. printing out payments or storing them on a floppy disk).
The "export" command (found under the file menu of WebFunds) is what allow you to use this handy feature. Clicking "export" under the file menu will bring up your Payment Export Window. To export a payment in Windows 95 simply go through the following steps:
1. Enter an amount in the box at the bottom of your Payment Export Window.
2. Press the "Export" button. If you haven't entered your WebFunds password prior to this point, you will be asked for it now. Then your exported payment will appear in your Payment Export Window. It should look something like the following (you may need to scroll your export window to view all of it):
Payment Export.
This is a payment for 0.01 ECO
Item hash : MD5:954a6efc506444ba36a52fef7d6b4039
-----BEGIN SOX MESSAGE-----
Version: 1.01
TQABClA4NjEzMzc3NDQBlUpu/FBkRLo2pS/vfWtAOQAAAAEBs4Yth3LhZhQUVyhTBCZlXQAzV5y5
M2n1mQEC3lmQHHdvg7n+Lxycea7EgQsB2HfNDlSJqSsD/1ib+kxSmNwcB/uJdlhbsFSM0R5gZgJC
bg3I4Egp5sjbWc2Hq/vggHIPQyRi26+Bv5Spcgyqtho4b4HHZEjQKpmvVSqV1sH8mHuLItaVBTYM
HBZZqdLFd6c4B2ynzkXpshNy8HDlfCptI9Xt7GWnhsj3lXvyoZFFxZ2LdhX7TXtF
=foU5
-----END SOX MESSAGE-----
3. Your next step is to "copy" the payment so that you can "paste" it somewhere else. The Windows 95 version of Java won't allow you to copy using the menu just yet... but don't fear, there's an easier way to copy and paste anyway. Here's how you can "copy" your payment:
You can do the same thing with your keyboard. After your text is highlighted simply press control-c, and once again, you're ready to paste your payment into any application.
4. Finally, "paste" your payment into any application the same way as you normally would. You can paste WebFunds payments into e-mails and word-processing files, save them on a disk, or even print them out on paper if you like.
WebFunds also allows you to import payments. You might receive such a payment via e-mail, a floppy disk, or even on a piece of paper (although that would be annoying to retype :-) ). Receiving payments via e-mail is a great way to accept payments for goods on your web-site or to settle personal balances. Here's the steps which will allow you do it...
1.
In WebFunds click "import" under the file menu. This will
bring up your Payment Import Window.
2. Go to whatever application you are using to view the WebFunds payment which you have received. Highlight your WebFunds payment within this application then use the "copy" command to allow yourself to "paste" it later. Here is what a WebFunds Payment looks like.
3.
Return to the WebFunds Payment Import Window and paste your
payment there. To do this click your left mouse button once in the
center of the WebFunds Import window (this will place your cursor
there). Then click (and release) your RIGHT mouse button. This
should bring up a menu in which "paste" is included as one of the
options. Select the "paste" option, and this should insert your payment
into the WebFunds Import window.
4. Now, with your payment in the WebFunds import window simply click on the "import" button at the bottom of the window. In less than 30 seconds (usually less) your payment will be imported and the amount will be successfully deposited into WebFunds. You should try to be connected to the Internet when importing payments, this way WebFunds can determine immediately whether your payment is valid or not. Payments will be rejected if they are "double-spent", canceled prior to fulfillment, not backed by sufficient funds, or if they do not match the currency type you are using in your copy of WebFunds.
Your currency contract is an extremely important document. In the same way that a government which issues a currency takes on certain responsibilities, the party responsible for issuing the electronic currency which you are using also has responsibilities as well. Your currency contract is a signed document stating what these obligations are. Before you trust the issuer of your currency make sure that you read this document carefully! See the golden warnings section about reading your currency contract. It is one of the very first things that you should do once you've downloaded your copy of WebFunds. Here's how you do it...
1. Your currency contract should be located in your WebFunds directory on your hard drive. To find it using Windows 95 you can either:
or
2. Once you have located the file currency.asc simply double click on it. This should bring up a window called "Open with..." which will ask you which application you would like to use to view the document with. Select your favorite word processing application (or WordPad if you don't have one) and press the "OK" button.
Another alternative is just to bring up your favorite Word processor and view your currency document directly once you've found where it is located (see step 2a or 2b). If you go this route be sure to search for all file types when opening the file since your currency document has a .asc extension to it.
3. Read your currency contract at your leisure, it contains nearly everything you'll need to know about your currency including contact information, obligations of your currency issuer, and digital signatures as well. If you know how to use PGP you can verify the PGP signatures on your contract too. It's a good idea to make sure that your currency contract is signed by someone you can trust!
Sometimes when you write a personal cheque it's nice to be able to put a Stop Payment on it in certain circumstances. WebFunds allows you to do the Internet equivalent of that (except in Webfunds this function is free). You can use this feature to cancel payments which you've exported before they're cashed in. This can be also be handy if your payment has been lost or if you want to place some sort of time limit on it. Here's how you can cancel a payment that you've made.
1. First, select the "pending" option in you WebFunds "view" menu. This should bring up a new window called the Pending Browser.
2. In the pending browser you will see a list of all the payments which have not yet been cashed in. It is important to note that if you view this list off-line it may not be up-to-date. You can click on any payment to highlight it. The descriptions of a highlighted payment will appear in the lower part of the window. Once you've found the payment you would like to cancel, highlight it in this way.
3. Once the payment is highlighted press the "cancel" button at the bottom of the window. This will begin the cancellation process. Cancellations can take some time, and if they are successful, you may not see the result until the next time you log into WebFunds. A cancellation will NOT be successful if the person you sent the payment to manages to cash in the payment first.
If the cancellation is successful, you will later see that the transaction is no longer listed as "pending" and it will appear in your list of failures and cancellations (you can view this list by clicking the "failures" option under the "view" menu).
To allow you to keep track of (and prove should you wish to do so) where you spend your money, WebFunds preserves your transaction history. You receive a cryptographic receipt for every purchase which allows you to look at where your money has gone and prove what you have purchased in the case of a dispute. Be aware that failed payments will not have any receipts for them, and that you will only receive a receipt from pending transactions once they are cashed in.
To view your transaction history select the "receipts" option under your view menu in WebFunds. Clicking on any individual receipt will display all the information recorded for that transaction.
If you're here, the odds are that you're already on the right track! Just browse the help files as you would any other Internet document.
To shut down WebFunds simply select the "exit" option under the file menu. To continue to use your browser normally after exiting WebFunds, see How do I resume normal browsing after quitting WebFunds?
However, you might want to think about keeping WebFunds running whenever you have your computer on. It keeps things much simpler, and since WebFunds is quite tiny as programs go, you can leave it running minimized with almost no impact on your system's performance.