| |
| Q. |
How can I tell if my browser supports
encryption? |
| A. |
If you are comfortable with examining the
properties of your browser, here is how to examine the latest
versions of Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator to determine
that your browser supports encryption
protections.
Internet Explorer:
On the Browser's
menu bar, select Help ---> About Internet
Explorer
Netscape Navigator:
On the Browser's
menu bar, select Help ---> About Communicator.
If you do
not have the latest version of Internet Explorer or Netscape, the
process may vary somewhat, but will be similar to the
above. |
|
Return to About Security
Go Back to top of page
|
|
| Q. |
If I don't have 128 bit encryption, how
can I obtain it? |
| A. |
The upgrades may be available for no
charge.
A1. For Netscape
Users, click here.
A2. For Microsoft
Internet Explorer Users, click here.
A3. If you are
using a different browser than mentioned above, you will need to
contact your browser vendor support to inquire about the 128 bit
encryption.
|
|
|
Return to About Security
Go Back to top of page
|
|
| Q. |
Is it safe for me to send information over
the Web? |
| A. |
We take every practical precaution to protect
your confidential information. That is why we require you to have
a security enabled browser. Any information on a page which
requests personal information is always encrypted before
transmission over the internet. Not until the page reaches the
Caremark server is the information decrypted for processing.
|
|
|
Return to About Security
Go Back to top of page
|
|
| Q. |
What is a secure browser, and do I really
need one? |
| A. |
A secure browser is a browser that is capable
of encrypting and decrypting web pages sent from a web server,
which conversely decrypts and encrypts the same pages. This
process ensures that the pages can not be deciphered as they are
transmitted over the internet. However the internet is a publicly
accessible, shared network and there is the possibility of a
particular transmission being compromised. There are several
commonly employed methods for encrypting web pages. Caremark
employs SSL encryption technology. While Caremark only requires
the international 40 bit encryption level, we highly recommend
that you use domestic grade 128 bit "strong" encryption. If your
browser does not currently support 128 bit encryption, you may
want to consider upgrading to do so. |
|
|
Return to About Security
Go Back to top of page
|
|
| Q. |
What is SSL? Encryption? |
| A. |
SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer (Aren't
you glad you asked!). Without getting into too much detail, SSL is
a standard approach for the sender and receiver, in this case your
browser and a web server, to encrypt (or code) information so that
nobody else, or more importantly no other program, can
intelligibly read the pages they exchange. In order to do this,
both the browser and server must agree on a coding scheme, and a
set of "keys," which ensure the pages are only decipherable
between them and not by any other browser or web server (which is
why both a protocol and a set of keys are required). |
|
Return to About Security
Go Back to top of page
|
|
| Q. |
What is the difference between "40 bit"
and "128 bit" encryption? Why does Caremark highly recommend 128
bit encryption. |
| A. |
The difference between 40 and 128 bit
encryption is the length of the encryption key. This is
significant in that the length of the key determines difficulty of
solving, or compromising, the encryption scheme. The basic method
of compromising an encryption scheme is trying all possible
combinations via computer automation until decipherable text is
found. With a 40 bit key, less computing capacity is required to
compromise encrypted data (with a moderate investment sufficient
computer capacity can be acquired to accomplish this task well
within the lifespan of a typical credit card). With 128 bit
encryption, it would take the most expensive super computer 20-30
years to accomplish the same thing. |
|
Return to About Security
![]()
Go Back to top of page
|
|
