



| |
| Security
on Super Appliance Parts World Web Site. |
| By Security,
we mean the ways we make sure the information you send us remains secure. We also have a
Privacy Statement If you don't find your concern addressed here, feel free to contact us
by e-mail or phone (1-806-463-7800).
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Is
my credit card information secure?
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We have taken many steps to
ensure the security of your transaction. Some of them involve adopting industry standards.
It's important to know that since Super Appliance Parts World went online in 1998,
there have been no confirmed cases of fraud reported by customers as a result of
credit
card purchases made here. |
What does this
"warning" window that comes up in the ordering process really mean?
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On some browsers,
this window can be a bit intimidating. But it simply means that you're entering the
safest, most secure area of our Web site. This should be reassuring since this is where
credit card transactions take place. Click to continue. Going from Secure mode to insecure
mode, you'll likely receive another similar alert message, just to make sure you know
what's happening. |
Why do I hear so
much about security on the Internet?
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Several things conspire to make
Internet security a newsworthy item. First, it's relatively new, so people wonder and talk
and write about it. Secondly, the Internet is "technology", so people find it
interesting to discuss. And tend to be a little suspicious of it. The Internet has
always thrived on openness. It has been the "Internet way" for someone to
release somethinga piece of software, a networking specification, a security
protocoland then have lots of smart people try to find flaws in it, lending their
ideas for making it better. It has proven to be a remarkably effective development
process. But for people unfamiliar with it, to see each new release of a browser, for
example, get pounded on and picked apart, can be rather disconcerting. |
What's the worst
thing that could happen?
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Regardless of what happens on
our site a slip of the mouse (unlikely), a security breach (highly unlikely)
there is no risk to you. In the case of fraud, we'll assume all liability for what you
owe. In most states, this means that we'll pick up the first $50, and the credit card
company takes responsibility for the rest. In addition, we'll do our very best to work
with the credit card company to minimize the hassle for you. That said, the past few
years have proven that shopping from our secure web server is not only safe, but one of
the safest ways you can shop from Super Appliance. Super has been in business since 1948,
and since we took out business on-line in 1998, there has not been one confirmed
case of fraud. |
How do I know if a
Web site is secure?
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In order to be accurate, we're
going to get a bit detailed here. When buying something on the Internet, there are three
things to be sure of:
- Data you send is strongly encrypted.
- The site you're doing business with is the site you think it is.
- The site you're doing business with processes your credit card and address information
in a safe and responsible manner and we will never share or sell your information.
Points 1 and 2 are taken care of by SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), the industry
standard security protocol that the Super Appliance Parts World site uses to
communicate with secure browsers like Netscape and Internet Explorer. When
communicating with a secure server like ours, these browsers encrypt the information you
send in a way that is extremely difficult for anyone else to decode. (You don't
have to know whether your browser supports secure transactions if it doesn't,
you won't be able to complete the checkout process.) We've included a visual
representation below of what to look for in your browser window to see if you're viewing a
site securely.
Many security experts say the most important thing is what happens once the merchant
receives your order. At Super Appliance, we take several steps to keep things on our end
as safe as possible. For example, we keep orders encrypted until we're ready to process
them. We process orders several times each hour, so they don't "sit" anywhere
very long. We do our order processing on machines that aren't connected to the Internet,
so there's no danger of people gaining access to them. Whether ordering on the Internet or
by phone, you have to give us the number every time you order we believe it's the
safest and most honest way to do business. |
Which parts of the
Super Appliance site are secure? |
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Most of the activity on our site
involves the viewing of materials we've prepared and made accessible to everyone, so
there's no need for these pages to be "secure". With a product page or an
editorial page for example, no security risk exists because there is no
"information" being exchanged. Anyone can access the same pages by pointing
their browser at http://www.doityourselfparts.com
The portion of the Super Appliance site we've made secure is, not surprisingly, the
checkout area. This is where you actually purchase the items you've put into your Shopping
Cart. The checkout process, at the point your are switched to actually give your
Credit Card Information takes place in a secure environment.
There are several ways to confirm that you're in a secure area. All SSL capable browsers
have a symbol to indicate secure mode. Specifically:
| Browser |
Symbol Location |
Normal (Insecure) mode
Symbol |
Secure Mode Symbol |
| Netscape 1.2, 2.0 and 3.0 |
Lower left |
Broken Key |
Complete Key |
| Netscape Communicator (4.0) |
Lower left |
Open Lock |
Closed Lock |
| Microsoft Internet Explorer |
Lower Right |
NONE |
Closed Lock |
You can also tell when you're in a secure area because the URL to the left of the colon
changes from 'http' to 'https' to signify that a SSL protocol is being used to communicate
with the server. (http = HyperText Transport Protocol; https =
HTTP with SSL.) In most browsers you'll also see a solid blue line in the
upper portion of the browser's window another visual aid that lets you know you're
browsing a secure area.
One additional note: some browsers give you a warning when you go from a secure area to a
regular area. The aim is worthy enough to ensure that people know when they've left
a secure server. But in practice, the message is often a bit startling, and makes it look
like you've done something wrong even though you really haven't.
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