Worried about the security of your personal data ?
Definitions of types of Data
Secure and Non-Secure Web sites
How do we handle your data ?
How can I tell that my personal details are being captured on a secure server ?
Still concerned ?
Definition of Encryption and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)

Worried about the security of your personal data ?

We share your concerns about the security of personal data and have developed this web site to maximize the speed and responsiveness of the site whilst making no compromises with your personal data.    Please find below an explanation of how careful we are with your data.

The secure handling of computer data is a highly complex subject, and as we know many of you may be concerned about how we handle your data we felt it may help to explain the different types of data and exactly what we expect to do with it.     Firstly our definitions of data types:

Secure & Non-Secure Web sites

Before we explain how we handle the data types we have described above - please allow us to explain the difference between Secure and Non-Secure data handling.

All Web Sites are hosted on a computer called a Web Server.   A Secure Web site will be hosted on a Secure Web Server, and all other sites are hosted on non-secure Web Servers.   The difference is in the way the data passes between your personal computer and the Web Server:

• A secure server will require your PC to encrypt the data before sending it to the server (don't worry it's completely automatic), and the server will encrypt any data that it sends back to your PC.    The encryption process prevents any would be "hackers" from obtaining your data.     On this web site we use an encryption process called the "Secure Sockets Layer" or SSL which is an industry standard  developed for passing such data via the internet.
  

• A non-secure server (the norm) does not encrypt the data that it passes to the PC or vice versa - and so in "theory" is easier for the would be hacker to access the data.
  

• There is another difference between the two options and that is the speed at which they work.   The secure server tends to respond somewhat slower than the non-secure server ie. your internet connection appears to be "slow & stodgy".    The reason is that the encryption process requires more data to be transferred over the internet but more importantly both the server and the PC have to work extra hard to encrypt the data - it requires lots of mathematical processing of the data. 

How do we handle your data ?

We expect you have worked it out by now - but basically we are committed to delivering a quick  and responsive web site, without compromising on the security of critical data.   To achieve this we use both types of server depending on the type of data being exchanged:

• Critical Personal Data is always transacted on a Secure Server using SSL.

• Personal Data and Order Data uses a Non-Secure Server.

            ( See Data Type Descriptions above )

How can I tell that my personal details are being processed by a secure server ?

The only reliable way to see that your details are being captured on a secure server is to look at the bottom right corner of your web browser.   You should see a "Padlock" icon if the site is secure.

If a non-secure (normal) server is being used you will see:

Still Concerned ?

If you are still concerned about your personal data being intercepted by "hackers" or other unscrupulous individuals then why not email us with your concerns to:  security-concerns@signetmusic.com  or call us to discuss your reservations more fully. 

Encryption - more information

Encryption:   a process of converting messages, information, or data into a form unreadable by anyone except the intended recipient.    Encrypted data must be deciphered, or decrypted, before it can be read by the recipient.