This page forms the gateway to the Crumplehorn Inn Secure Server.

Please ensure you have the following information ready;

The date you are booked to arrive at the Inn.

The amount you have been asked to pay. **

Your Credit Card.

If you have all these ready go here.

** The Secure Server page will ask you to authorize a maximum deduction from your credit card from a drop down list. Please ensure that you select a sum that just exceeds the amount you have been asked to pay. Your Card will only be charged the amount you have been asked to pay. The maximum limit authorization is there solely for your protection and peace of mind, as it forms a legal document that forbids us from deducting anything over that limit.

A brief explanation in plain English of how our Secure Server works:

When you follow the link above from this gateway to our secure server you will notice two things;

The URL in the address bar of your browser will change from http://www.. to https://www...

Your browser will indicate the transition to secure mode with the small icon at the bottom changing from an open padlock to a closed one, or a broken key to a whole key.

This means that from that point onwards ALL data that is sent between the server and your computer, including EVERYTHING you type into a form and EVERYTHING that is displayed on that page, is encrypted or coded BEFORE it even leaves your computer. The level of encryption used is quite high, not enough for nuclear missile launch codes perhaps, but enough to satisfy every bank and financial institution the world over. A government might be able to decode such traffic, but the archetypal "hacker" simply will not have the raw computer power required.

So, you have filled in the form, pressed the send button, your computer has encrypted the information and sent it to our Secure Server. What happens next?

The first thing you need to know about is the server itself. This is a dedicated Secure Server, it is not ours, it is a professional financial service provided by one of the best in the business and leased by us. NOBODY, not even us, can FTP or HTTP access the server. And no other programs or web sites are run on this server. It is monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is located in secure premises. Any data stored on it is almost certainly far more secure than the computers in your local bank, as only a handful of screened employees will ever go anywhere near it, as opposed to your bank which probably has thousands of staff able to access your account details. Once your details are on the server, the encryption now becomes very strong using SSL 3.0, RC4 with 128 bit encryption (High); RSA with 1024 bit exchange. SSL 3.0, RC4 with 128 bit encryption (Very High); RSA with 1024 bit exchange encryption. This strength of encryption was only recently permitted in the UK, as it was too strong for the military and Government to crack. It was human rights issues that caused the authorities to relent.

So, your information has arrived at this very secure server, literally within a second. the Secure Server DOES NOT decode the information you sent. It simply stores it in the encrypted form sent by your computer. What the Secure Server DOES do is send a very brief plain text email to the Crumplehorn Inn simply saying "there is a secure transaction waiting to be processed". This email does not even mention your name, let alone your credit card or other details.

At this point only the Owners can take the process any further, because they are the only people who have the ability to access the Secure Server. So, when an email arrives from the server, the owners must physically log on to the Secure Server and pass the stringent security measures. At this point, the Secure Server is in an encrypted, secure connection with the Crumplehorn Inn computer, just like the one you used to fill out the form.

So, the owners of the Inn have logged on to the Secure Server and requested details of the latest transaction. The Secure Server transmits the information STILL ENCRYPTED, to the Crumplehorn Inn computer. It is the Crumplehorn Inn computer which decodes this information for the very first time since it was encrypted and sent at your computer. The details are printed, and the information on the server is immediately deleted.

The owners will then immediately check your booking details, manually enter your credit card details into the Inn's credit card terminal (which is wired directly to the bank), and within a short time, e-mail you either a confirmation or electronic receipt, whichever you select from the options on the secure page. The paper receipt printed by the Inn credit card terminal will of course be kept and given to you on your arrival.

In a nutshell. when you pay by credit card the only other human beings (apart from bank staff of course) who will ever see or have access to your credit card details, will be the owners of the Crumplehorn Inn, Alan and Sonja Crockford.

We are sure you will agree, until technology moves on to true "smart cards" this is the most secure payment system available anywhere in the world. It is in fact even more secure than you physically using your credit card in a shop if you care to think about it.

There is always a human behind all credit card fraud. Our method ensures that only three humans can ever access your credit card details, and of course one of those people is you... >;^)

If you have any further enquiries not covered by this brief explanation, please feel free to ask.

For those of you who are fully conversant with financial cryptography, 128 bit encryption keys, and banking technology, please bear in mind that this page is intended for Mr Average who just wants to know if his money is safe rather than exactly how that is achieved.

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