More on 'Hidden Field' fraud . SSL is an acronym for Secure Sockets Layer, a protocol for encrypted communication over the internet. The order-entry portion of your catalog must use SSL or your intended customers will most likely shop elsewhere. Most hosting companies charge extra for the use of their secure server. It is that important.
Some shopping carts communicate vital purchase information by email to the catalog owner.
Email is incredibly insecure in that copies of the email are stored while it is waiting to be sent and while it is waiting to be picked up. Importantly, copies of the email can be made for backup purposes while it is waiting for transmission or retrieval. Most customers, if they knew, would be aghast knowing that their personal credit card information is sitting for six months on some unknown company s computer files. Some shopping cart services use SSL only when requesting credit card information from the customer. Furthermore, the catalog owner must be using SSL to retrieve the order otherwise the customer s credit card information is being transmitted over the internet unguarded by encryption.