I used to be with osCommerce and have used Magento both got attacked frequently for hacking and SQL injections. I like Magento and am using it now for a couple of stores. I never updated either stores, so that could be the reason, but that's because I didn't know how to, because I'm not a programmer > Which platform is more secure for a non-programmer out of the box > Which platform gets more attention from hackers and people looking to exploit > Which platform is cheaper to maintain > Which platform has lower developer/programmer costs, if I need to hire someone to upgrade/secure site. (I know the more developers a platform has it tends to be cheaper, that's why I initially went with osCommerce, but its not very user friendly. I don't want to go for a hosted solution because I don't like the lack of customization.
from what I have read, i think the govt requires carts to be compliant in some way, I assume this has to deal with security, but check with the cart, if this is the case, then I would not worry so much about your cart security, I would worry about the security of your host that hosts your cart.... and do not settle for a nickel/dime host either, your site will just end up being down more times then it will be up, and your chances of getting hacked will increase... and dont be shy about contacting a host, and ask them lots of questions, this is your business, and you want to be online, not offline, and you dont want to get hacked every time you blink.... Which platform gets more attention from hackers and people looking to exploit. Is this a trick question? Anything that is online gets the attention of hackers... hackers are constantly attempting to hack into servers, all the time, if you happen to run a VPS, then you get email notifications. I got hacking attempts from China/USA daily, every hour I was getting emails about another hacking attempt... Like I mentioned above, if you find a good solid host, then it should not concern you too much... and always keep your passwords complex.... Which platform has lower developer/programmer costs... I can not answer this for you buddy...personally I would not base my decision on this, I would find what I think I like best, what will work for me, then go from there.... I shall not tell a lie, but doing business (the way you want) does have its costs...if you are so worried about costs of programming right now, then wait til you ask for a custom template, or eCommerce marketing, you will feel sticker shock then... I am looking at a cart now...I figure by the time I get the cart, add a few addons, find a somewhat custom template, I will have spent $500-$800 and this does not include anything else, and this does not include domains, eCommerce marketing, custom coding, and so on, if I was going to do this right, and go all the way, I probably would need a $5,000 budget....