A simple, yet secure way to send info from a form to an...

[Taybridge]

Hi,

Likely a simple question, but new to me.

I have a client whose site is housed here. They have a few CDs they want to sell. No real need for a cart ... and they don't want to spend the money.

Basically, a one page form that has shipping information and they can select the CD they want along with the number of each. There will be no tax calculation or shipping totals. Sooo, very simple.

The client wants the user to fill in their information, including credit card stuff and have them click the submit button to send that information, safely, to their e-mail account (a server located behind a firewall on their site).

So, what is the quickest and easiest way using stuff available on the Futurequest server? Either encrypted mail or a secure server?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm new to this end of the game.

Thanks,

David

[Rich]

David:

You have two options available: one an easy way and the other may not be so easy depending on your programming skills.

Not so easy way:
You will need to write a custom script to handle the processing of the form data. Encrypt the email contents using PGP. Type 'man pgp' from telnet for more info on the pgp application suite. On the receiving end (PC or Mac), your client will need PGP installed, an Internet merchant account, and a terminal (like PC Authorize or Mac Authorize) to process the payments. You'll also need to use SSL via FutureQuest's shared certificate or by obtaining your own.

Easier way:
There are several payment services that can process the credit card payment directly form the form. The two easiest to use are probably Authorize.Net and Signio (signio.com). SSL is not needed for this option since the credit card information is collected and stored on the processor's server. On the receiving end, your client will need an Internet merchant account compatible with the payment service chosen. For more info on payment systems, see the FutureQuest e-commerce tutorials at http://www.aota.net.

Rich

[This message has been edited by Rich (edited 11-20-99)]

[Taybridge]

Hi Rich,

Thanks for the reply.

I think #1 is out as I'm not a programmer. More a design guy. Although, from a simplicity end, that may fit the bill. All they really want is a safe way to send the data to an e-mail account. All the processing will be done by hand.

The second suggestion, though it makes sense, won't to the client. They already have a fulfilment place handling processing of another product ... and don't ask my why the same place doesn't handle this ... and for some reason, they want a simple secure page that sends a safe e-mail.

May have to look into PGP in some form.

There I go, looking for the easy way out again. :)

Cheers,

David

[Rich]

I am currently working on a PGP Form Mail script that will encrypt a form's contents and send it to you by email. This should be available within the next few days...

... stay tuned ....

Rich

[Taybridge]

Cool. Do post a note here, I'd like to take a look.

Thanks for the help.

David

[andreas]

hi...

i use successfull "simplesecure" (http://www.verysimple.com/scripts/simplesecure.html) here at fq.
it´s easy to install and configure...after you found the "line" ;)

feel free to ask questions, if you´ve some...

hth

greetings
a n d r e a s

[Rich]

re: simplesecure

The only problem with the simplesecure script is that it uses a temporary file to store the pgp encrypted contents that are emailed. This is fine as long as only one person uses the form at a time. But if more than one person tries to run the script at once, then the script will fail. This could result in lost data or a lost sell if you are using the form for your order form.

Rich

[Taybridge]

Rich,

Thanks for that bit of info. Certainly worth considering.

I ahve tried to tell the client that it would be better to even go with a simple cart. ecBuilder has a pretty good one from what I have tested. All the secure stuff rests on their server, and you get an client that resides on your machine. You are e-mailed when an order is in, and you use the client to decode the message and all the info.

They have a simple version for about $90Us that I found on Gigabuys. Limited to 100 items, but I was impressed with how quick it was to setup and how well it worked.

There I go, always looking for the easy way out. :)

David

[andreas]

rich...

many thx for this information:

This is fine as long as only one person uses the form at a time. But if more than one person tries to run the script at once, then the script will fail.

hmm...now i "stay tuned" :)

please inform us when your script is available.

thx in advance and greetings from austria
a n d r e a s

[Rich]

Come and get it....

I have created the PGP Form Mail script that should allow to achieve the objective of this topic. I have posted additional information to a separate topic:

http://www.aota.net/ubb/Forum16/HTML/000044-1.html

Rich