I Don't Store Credit Card Information

Here's a bit of housekeeping information. Several newsletter readers have asked about this so I decided to post a short article here for those who haven't yet asked.

When you sign up for a Plus Edition subscription to this newsletter, your credit  card information is only stored on the eogn.com servers for a few seconds. In short, I don't want the security headaches of storing your credit card information. The easiest way to avoid those headaches is to not store that data.

When you subscribe or when you renew an existing subscription, you are taken to a web page that is fully secure. An SSL connection is used. (You will notice that the padlock icon shown as closed in your web browser.) You can safely enter your credit card information.

The web server then places a (secure) query to the bank that issued your credit card that asks, in effect, "Will you pay for this charge?" If the bank replies "Yes," the subscription is completed. If the bank replies "No," an error message is shown to you.

Regardless if the reply is Yes or No, your credit card information is then erased. Your private information is only stored on the server for a few seconds. I never see your credit card numbers and, to be blunt, I don't want to see those numbers. I have no need to see them.

When you renew next year, you will again be asked for your current credit card information and, again, the new information will only be stored for a few seconds. The primary purpose of this process is to make sure your private information remains just that: private.

There is no capability of automatic renewals. I hate automatic renewals and I won't do that to my subscribers.

If you use a PayPal account or use an eCheck to pay for the subscription, the process is slightly different but one thing remains the same: your financial information is never stored on the eogn.com servers  for more than a few seconds and is never visible to me.

If you send a check through the mail, the process is much more risky. Thousands of checks get stolen from the postal system every month.