Much help needed :: Login, Accepting Credit Cards, Security

[Machuse]

I am a computer science major well versed in C++ (or well versed enough that I can learn whatever I dont already know)...but ive been getting into web design, and design in general, but as my reputation has growna little my company has now grown to need to be able to create sites that can accept credit cards and allow users to login, and look up account info with security and stability.

A lttle bit more about my clients needs. They are organizing a spring break trip to the bahamas, and need a way for students to put down payments on the trip through their credit cards, then add payments as more stuff is due, a database would have to be attached to make a mainifest for the trip as well as recording roomates. The student should be able to login to see how much they payed and invite other registered students into their room.

So here are a list of questions
What is ASP.net breifly; and what can it do in flash
(I know i can find out what ASP is on my own but i want a from a flash developers standpoint, what si ASP to use and how do u use it)

What is the most convient way to accept credit cards
(the client has a business bank account and a licences)

What is the most convient way for people to login so they can see how much they have payed and add something on to it

ANy other advice...you may be able to give based on my needs

[JustJeff]

I am a computer science major well versed in C++ (or well versed enough that I can learn whatever I dont already know)...but ive been getting into web design, and design in general, but as my reputation has growna little my company has now grown to need to be able to create sites that can accept credit cards and allow users to login, and look up account info with security and stability.

A lttle bit more about my clients needs. They are organizing a spring break trip to the bahamas, and need a way for students to put down payments on the trip through their credit cards, then add payments as more stuff is due, a database would have to be attached to make a mainifest for the trip as well as recording roomates. The student should be able to login to see how much they payed and invite other registered students into their room.

So here are a list of questions
What is ASP.net breifly; and what can it do in flash
(I know i can find out what ASP is on my own but i want a from a flash developers standpoint, what si ASP to use and how do u use it)

What is the most convient way to accept credit cards
(the client has a business bank account and a licences)

What is the most convient way for people to login so they can see how much they have payed and add something on to it

ANy other advice...you may be able to give based on my needs
ASP.NET is a server side programming language for Windows servers, generally written in C#. Unlike ASP, it typically has a compiled and interpretted component, but even the interpretted component of each page will be compiled by the server after each modification, with intermediate files maintained for future speed. It's relatively fast, very powerful, but does require windows.

If your company already has a business bank account, the next step is to contact the bank and find out what they prefer as a payment gateway. A payment gateway is a credit card processor who agrees to verify credit cards on your behalf, and deposit the funds into your bank account. Usually, they will charge some fee (either flat fee for the month, or a percentage of the transaction). Common payment gateways are Verisign's PayFlowPro, Authorize.net, and a quick google will turn up dozens more. Knowing which your bank prefers should help you chose which works best for you.

Once you have the payment gateway established, they'll typically provide you an API for verifying (AUTH) and charging (CAPTURE) credit cards. For security, you'll want to be VERY careful about how you handle credit cards. For example, if you won't ever need the credit card after the initial charge (that is, if you really only care about this as a one-time charge), you don't need to store the card - process the transaction against the gateway, log the results (keep DETAILED logs), and then get rid of the card # - you don't need to save it. Do make sure you keep track of things like the IP address of the client, make sure you don't allow unlimited attempts (more than 3 failures and you should lock them out, else your site will be a nice way for theives to test their stolen credit cards), and keep **** good records of the return codes (if you AUTH and then CAPTURE - 2 step process - you don't want someone saying you charged them twice, so keep records of the transactions against the gateway).

If you need people to be able to update their accounts, you'll likely want to keep a record of transactions (with $ paid included), with each transaction tied to a user. That way, when a user logs in, you can SELECT the transactions, add up the balance, and let them process another charge if desired (INSERT'ing the transaction into the table upon success).

If you haven't done web development in the past, you may be in for some fun. I personally don't spend much time developing ASP.NET, but it's certainly powerful enough for the task. Alternatively, if you wanted to get away from Windows, PHP would also be fine for the task, and have a slightly nicer learning curve.