Is there a way to write a signature online?

[buzzz]

I am working on an e-commerce website and I'm looking for a user-friendly means for the customer to affirm agreement (sign). I really don't want to subject potential customers to printing the form from the internet, signing it, and faxing it back. Having gone this route myself before, I don't want to subject the customer to this hassle and delay.

The only thing I have come up with is services that offer "digital signatures" or whatever, but honestly, even though I have an engineering degree I do not understand all the stuff about millions of bits of encyption, public keys, and other gibberish. I'm not really sure what they are or what they do, but it certainly isn't a signature (as nearly as I can tell). I just want something that produces a real graphical signature online, maybe something like a point-of-sale terminal at the supermarket. Does anyone know of any script or widget that could do this?

[AutisticCuckoo]

If you don't understand about encryption, public keys and other 'gibberish', you either need to learn about it – fast – or hire someone who does know about it if you're going to work on an e-commerce site!

[Aleksejs]

You should also check legal status of digital signature in your country. As far as I know Estonia is the only country where everybody has national id and can use that id to digitally sign documents (and have legal status of "signature").
Take look at this:
http://www.schneier.com/essay-023.html

[croatiankid]

When signing up for Google Adsense, you have to print your name (enter it with a keyboard), and it says something along the lines that that's as good as your signature.

[Aleksejs]

croatiankid, it may say many things, but because it says so - does not mean that you could bring it to court and say that person was fully aware and expressed his/her intent by printing his/her name in a web form
One more link: http://www.schneier.com/crypto-gram-0011.html#1
Just as depending on jurisdiction - clicking on "I agree" button does not necessarily means, that you agreed with license agreement.

[buzzz]

I didn't realize we had so many attorneys browsing these forums..

I don't see any problem with the legality since digital images of signatures produced by electronic devices have been used for years in point-of-sale terminals and the signature on faxed agreements is also just a digital image.

I don't see any substantive difference between a signature drawn with an electronic pen at a supermarket point of sale terminal, one drawn with a mouse for example on a website, or even one drawn with an ink pen.

Regardless, What difference does it make? Who is going to take the validity of a signature to court over any issue that doesn't involve at least thousands of $$$$ ?

My question was not whether I want or need a signature, but how a user can draw one online. Any ideas?

[selfhelpebooks]

I believe Photoshop can allow you to draw a signature.
You can use your mouse, but a pen tablet would be much neater.

[ShinX001]

Yes the actual drawing part would be rather hard for most users, by just using a mouse... They would have to have some sort of graphics tablet which is like a mouse except its a pen and tablet which allows the user to control the cursor with a pen like item.

Although you can get rather cheap ones, the process of setting it up would be enough to put off someone to buy off your website since its so lengthy if they dont have one thus you loosing out on your very special potential customers.

You could try working with tablet monitors but how many people have those, lol very expensive.

You could create some smart board script integrate it into your website which allows you to draw the signature... via tablet or mouse. Then again major security loop would be that the signature is stored as an image and the image can be stored and used by anyone unless relevant security measures are taken ofcourse.

My opinion is mate... in the UK its all chip and pin with cards etc... and becoming digital removing the need to use the pen don't get me wrong still use the pen my self lol. Reason you dont go into stores and type in a signature is because its not secure enough... and its the same principle on the web... Also the initial cost to your first time customers just to fill out order form would be greater then lets say getting them to use a site such as paypal to confirm an order....

[Aleksejs]

Regarding Chip-and-pin systems in UK, recently there was great research:
Chip and PIN terminals vulnerable to simple attacks
which led to change in banking code:
New banking code shifts more liability to customers
which makes me wonder, how much liability now the merchant has...

[ShinX001]

Hmmz have not seen those articles before... but the simple attacks do pose threats... I say thumb print recognition is the way forward or even better eye scanners XD lol....

[Aleksejs]

Biometrics does not work well in distributed systems, does not work at all in untrusted hardware environment. It does work when you need to identify small pool of known entities from others.

P.S. My 2^8 post.