Security FAQ

Is your cart secure?
Yes, as you add items to your cart they are not stored on our server, they are stored within a configuration in your browser called a cookie.  When you view your cart, the server requests that cookie, processes it and displays the items you've chosen.

What happens when I fill out the order form?
When the order form is displayed, it collects information for your order.  When you click submit, our server takes the cart items from your browser, combines them with the customer information form and encrypts it.  The encrypted package is placed into an email that is sent to our office.  In order for your encrypted order to be read, the message must be opened and decrypted.  This encryption method keeps your order safe.  Unlike other online stores, we do not store your credit card information on our servers.  The information is immediately encrypted and sent only to our office.

Is this encryption strong enough or should I worry about my credit card?
The encryption package we use is called GNU Privacy Guard.  GnuPG is a public key encryption scheme (see below) that uses a 2048 bit secret key to encrypt your order that only the secret key holder can decrypt.

What is public key encryption?
Public key encryption is a cryptographic system that uses two keys -- a public key known to everyone and a private or secret key known only to the recipient of the message. When 'John' wants to send a secure message to 'Jane', he uses Jane's public key to encrypt the message. Jane then uses her private key to decrypt it.

An important element to the public key system is that the public and private keys are related in such a way that only the public key can be used to encrypt messages and only the corresponding private key can be used to decrypt them. Moreover, it is virtually impossible to deduce the private key if you know the public key.