We offer the the SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) method for you to place your order and view your order history in our Member Area, so your personal details, such as credit card numbers & address, are encrypted before sending them to us, using a 128-bit key. This technology works with Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer, and AOL. Hence, only your browser and our server are able to read the details you typed. Our SSL has been verified by GeoTrust - click the coloured area in your browser's address bar to see our security certificate details.

AusPC's website runs on six dedicated FreeBSD servers that are physically housed in a rack at Equinix's datacentre in Alexandria, Sydney, using dual 20Mbps links to the UEcomm backbone. These systems are Dual-Processor RAID rackmounts with full onsite redundancy and off-site backups. All are hardened against unauthorised access and vetted regularly with commonly used hacker tools such as port scanners. Any transactions involving checkout or member information are encrypted and our staff access to the servers is also encrypted. Our office accesses these systems via an optical fibre link between our office and the webservers. You'd be surprised at how many e-tailers house their sites on the other side of the world in the USA (because it's cheaper), on places such as low-security "free" hosts, and simply e-mail your personal information and credit card details back to their place of business! If you are still unsure, phone, or email us. Keeping you assured is our priority!!

We do use cookies to enable you to shop from any window on our site. The cookie is a tiny text file containing a number, and is sent back to us by your Internet browser each time you click a buy! button, so we can tell what you want to buy & add it to your shopping list. The cookie itself will automatically expire after 12 hours from when you first opened the site. The only information that is obtained from you (other than what you tell us when you check out) is your IP address, which is stored with each order to assist the Police with fraud investigation if required. Note that the cookie allows you to remain logged in to the site once you have entered your e-mail address and password - we recommend that you leave our website by clicking the Logout button on the bottom of the page, as this will clear your cart, and close your login at the website, if you have previously logged-in to check an order or proceed through the checkout. This is useful for preventing other users of your PC from using your login without your knowledge.

Aus PC-Market will not give your payment details to any third party, unlike many other websites that pass them to an order taking site, then to a payment site, or simply just email them in plain text from their web host to their place of business. Your credit card transactions are processed in-house by a staff member who will check your details against public databases or by calling you on a landline for verification - we may need to call you on a landline for additional security details when the transactions exceed a certain amount, or if your address is not verifiable, or if you use an anonymous email address, such as Hotmail or Gmail. Credit card numbers are required to be entered each time you checkout for two reasons: firstly, we do not keep them in our backend system once the order has been processed, and secondly, no-one else can place orders using your credit card number, or retrieve your credit card number from us, if they somehow manage to learn your username and password combination. Any credit card number entered is encrypted, and only part of it will be displayed to you (as 4564 12xxxxxxxx345) should you want to edit your payment details in a placed order. Our staff can not access your complete card number either, as the number is only ever displayed in it's truncated form above to us internally. Once your order has been processed, the encrypted card number is destroyed in our system, and we do not print out the number at any stage. Our back-end system access is restricted to specific known PCs, access is password protected with individual user-level permissions, and we also use SSL internally to encrypt the data being accessed in-house by our staff. If, in the interest of ensuring a speedy delivery to you, we needed to ship a product direct from a supplier to you, we would only pass your address to them.

We maintain a permanent log of all IP addresses (the unique Internet identity your PC has each time you connect) and track the links clicked whilst you travel through the site. Specific actions, such as multiple incorrect attempts to enter credit card details, are logged individually against the sale involved. Credit card numbers are confirmed with checksum/validity date algorithms at time of entry, and the issuing bank is confirmed to be from Australia via a 3rd party BIN database. We confirm the address details of every credit card order made against several public databases, such as the White Pages and Mirus, to prevent fraud. This information is not provided to any third parties, unless we legally required to assist the Police in the prosecution of a criminal case.

Your details are used to generate our invoice & then kept on file in case you wish to re-order. We do not send out unsolicited email and we do not give, or sell, your details to other parties for this purpose either. We have no affiliations with marketing companies and unlike a lot of our competitors, we do not use outside contractors, who might be hacked, to send email - all details given are stored only with us, and only our CTO has the keys to the encrypted customer database.

When you check out, you are given a choice to opt-in to our occasional newsletter - select No if you do not wish to receive it (although you may miss out on the odd bargain if you do!). You can stop receiving our newsletters at any time by visiting the Member Area and clicking the unsubscribe link shown there. There is also an unsubscribe link at the bottom of each newsletter itself that will remove your email address from our newsletter mailout.