Technology Standards

Internal measures to protect your information

Internally, throughout our entire global organization, Merrill Lynch protects your personal information with high technology standards.

For example, we have installed firewalls on all our computer networks. A firewall is a computer system designed to prevent unauthorized access to our network. We have perimeter detection systems that are designed to detect any intrusion into our computer networks. We also routinely test our systems to identify security vulnerabilities.

Additionally, we "encrypt" sensitive data transmissions, which means we convert the information into code so it is unintelligible to unauthorized parties. These safeguards help protect our computer systems which contain your personal information.

Online protection safeguards

While you are using any Merrill Lynch Web site, you can be assured that we have implemented a number of online protection safeguards.

For example, we require our clients to enter a username and password in order to gain online access to their accounts. Online users have a 60-minute window of inactivity before they are automatically logged out.

We also use a well-known technology called "Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)" technology, which is a commonly used protocol for managing the security of data transmission on the Internet (usually by encrypting the information).

We provide online delivery of electronic statements that can help protect against thieves stealing your hard-copy mail or digging through your garbage, and electronic trade confirmations and electronic alerts for certain account transactions to help you monitor your accounts for any unauthorized access or unusual activity.

For managing your accounts online, Merrill Lynch recommends that you:

• Have anti-virus software on your computer and keep it current (new updates come out all the time)
• Use a personal firewall package so no one can hack into your computer
• Use current versions of software and operating systems, so there are no "holes"
• Secure your wireless network, if you use a wireless router at home instead of cable or DSL wires
• Use caution when using wireless "hot spots" (at the airport, hotels, coffee shops, etc.)
• Conduct financial transactions (managing your accounts online, buying something with your credit card online) from your own computer, not from a public computer in an Internet café, library, etc.

If you need to report identity theft or fraud, or if you have questions, please call us at 1-800-MERRILL (637-7455), or contact your Financial Advisor.