Providing you with a secure online experience is a top priority of USTRC. We recognize that your privacy and security are of the utmost importance, and we have devoted a great deal of effort to ensure that your personal information is safeguarded.

If you use a security-enabled browser (such as Microsoft Internet Explorer version 2.1 or greater, or Netscape Navigator version 2.0 or greater) paying attention to two browser features will decrease the chances for the unintended or fraudulent use of your personal information:

1. Browser security settings.
Your browser security preference settings are your first line of defense to stopping the theft or unwanted viewing of confidential, personal information. The most popular browsers offer you the ability to receive an alert or notification if any of the following happen or are about to occur:

• changing between secure and insecure transmission modes
• receiving an invalid site identification for the site to which you are about to transmit
• sending a transmission over an "open" or unsecured connection

Check the settings of your browser security features to see all the checks that are possible and those that are currently in place.

2. Browser security signals.
The presence of security measures surrounding the entry of data on a web page is identified in several ways for you on your browser:

• the URL identifying the page will always begin with "https://" versus the normal "http://".
• a security symbol will appear to indicate operation in a mode that supports secure transmissions: either a "closed lock" icon is present in the bottom right-hand corner of your Microsoft Internet Explorer browser screen, or an "unbroken key" icon appears in the lower left-hand corner of the Netscape Navigator browser screen

If not using a browser with these standard security features, or if you are still uncomfortable with submitting your personal information via the Internet for any reason, please feel free to Contact Us over the phone or via fax to complete your order.

Encryption is a process by which software is used to scramble sensitive information while it is in transit to and from USTRC Online. Providing encrypted information online has proven overall to be as safe as providing it over the phone. USTRC Online currently uses the industry-standard SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption protocol, but we continue to keep up with current Internet technologies in order to provide the best security for our customers.

SSL encryption is based on a key that has two different parts: the public part and the private part. The public part of USTRC Online's security key is sent to your browser and is used to encrypt your sensitive information before it is sent across the Internet to us. That means, if at any point during the transmission your information is intercepted, it is scrambled and extremely difficult to decrypt. Once your encrypted information arrives, our servers use the private part of USTRC Online's security key to decode your browser transmission.

USTRC Online encrypts your credit card information. All credit cards used at USTRC Online are submitted online. Once submitted, we store credit card information on a secured database. After you key it in, your card information is stored into this database and is only accessed to charge your account or verify your identity; this information is stored in no other place.