New payment system and sitewide login

[Edge100x]

Last night, we activated our new payment system and sitewide login, which should make managing (including ordering, upgrading, and cancelling) servers much easier for all our clients.

We are monitoring this new system very closely and weeding out any bugs that weren't already caught as soon as we see them. At this time we are not yet suggesting that all existing customers switch to the new system (because the current slower pace is allowing us to check everything over more thoroughly) but anyone is welcome to if they would like.

As part of the new system, we now have:

- A fully encrypted and secure control panel and main site
- The ability to log in from any page at https://www.nfoservers.com and use that login during the ordering process
- All payment tools integrated into a single page in the control panel -- the "Payments" page under "My account"
- A simple signup process that never leaves our site
- Much simpler upgrades and more convenient cancellations
- Predictable periodic payment dates that can be shown clearly on our pages
- The ability to cancel an order that has not yet been set up so that the identifier can be reused
- A coffer/donation system that allows any user to receive donations from other users, with this credit automatically applied to any server payments

For more information on these changes, please visit the "Payments" page under "My account" in your control panel at https://www.nfoservers.com/control.

[BnD|Sleeper]

If we will all be forced to use this system eventually, I may leave NFo because although I do have a credit card, I do not agree with giving it to any company. The only company that has my card # to charge it regularly is my cell phone company, Sprint. I never intend on giving it out otherwise for constant payments due to problems with fraud and annoying charges being made and filing affidavits. So I hope you retain Paypal as an option otherwise I may be forced to leave; not even Paypal has my credit information, only my bank account.

Sleeper @ bndclan.com

[Edge100x]

It's actually much safer to give out a credit card online than a bank account, since credit cards are covered by federal laws and regulations that protect consumers from fraud and inappropriate charges. It shouldn't take an affidavit to take advantage of these protections -- just a call to the credit card company.

In fact, in general it's safer to use a credit card directly online than it is to use a checking account through Paypal. I say that because usually when we see fraud it is because someone had his or her Paypal or credit card information stolen through a phishing site or local (client-based) keylogger. When this happens and the criminal uses a Paypal e-check, it is harder for a consumer to get his or her money back (or I should say it would be with other companies).

We have also had problems recently with serious Paypal bugs, including one in May that resulted in a large number of clients being mis-charged (I talk about this a bit in a couple of other news posts). Due to these bugs, Paypal's strange policies in regard to account freezes, and Paypal's poor customer service, I would recommend that clients try to steer clear of it when possible. For other sites, Google Checkout is a much better option, in my opinion (unfortunately, we can't use Google Checkout here due to its lack of subscription support).