Harrington Online Banking
Security Information and Guidelines

Harrington Bank is committed to using commercially reasonable means to make your on-line banking experience safe and secure. While we have taken steps to put in place a security infrastructure, you also play an important role in protecting your accounts. The following information explains the security measures that we have put into place, as well as important steps you need to take to make your experience online safe and secure.

About Security

Security refers to preventing unauthorized access to a computer system or network. Harrington Online Banking uses several layers of technology to prevent unauthorized users from gaining access to the Online Banking network. The Online Banking site is hosted by a third party administrator whose security professionals manage a sophisticated networking architecture that includes screening routers, filtering routers, and firewalls. This third party administrator monitors the Online Banking site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for anything out of the ordinary.

We are constantly evaluating both our security architecture and those of any third party administrators to ensure that they provide the highest level of privacy and safety for bank clients.

About Encryption

The Harrington Online Banking section is automatically secured/encrypted. Encryption helps to protect your private information so that it cannot be intercepted or read by a third party.

Encryption is a method of scrambling information for transmission between you and the bank. A key, typically a mathematical process, is needed to decode the information. The effectiveness of encryption depends upon the number of bits: the greater the number of bits, the better the level of encryption. Harrington Online Banking uses the maximum encryption of 128 bits for all communications.

If you are currently using a browser with 40-bit encryption, PLEASE UPGRADE NOW. You will not be allowed to access Harrington Online Banking unless your browser supports 128-bit encryption. Most browsers let you check your level of encryption:

• Netscape browsers: To check your level of encryption, go to the "View menu, select "Page Info", and look under the line that begins "Security."

• Microsoft browsers: To check your level of encryption, go to the "File" menu, select "Properties", and then select "Security." Another way is to select "Help" then "About Internet Explorer."

Your browser is an integral piece of the security and encryption process. When you are logged into Harrington Online Banking and request information about your account, your browser encrypts the information. When the bank receives the request, it is decoded and the information is sent back to you encrypted, then your browser decodes the information to read it.

To see at a glance if a session is secure (i.e. is being encrypted), check to see if there is an "s" after the "http" in the URL. The "s" after the "http" denotes that the page is secure and all communications are being encrypted.

Your browser may also tell you when data is being encrypted through the use of an icon in the bottom of your browser window. In Netscape Navigator 3.0, a "key" icon indicates you are in a secure environment, while a "broken key" indicates the environment is not secure. In Netscape Navigator 4.0 and higher and in Microsoft Internet Explorer, a "locked padlock" will indicate a secure environment and an "unlocked padlock" will indicate the environment is not secure.

Please note: Some browsers have an option that allows you to save your password for secure sites. If this option is enabled, the browser will prompt you to "save passwords" and from that point forward the password you selected will be stored and the browser will sign on to online banking without requiring you to enter a password each time. We STRONGLY RECOMMEND that this option be disabled because anyone who opens your browser could access your account information without needing the password. If you choose to enable this option, you should make every effort to explore other lock down methods for your personal computer.

About Cookies

A "cookie" is a small piece of information (a text file), which a web server can store temporarily with a web browser. Once the cookie is stored, the site's web server can later retrieve that information for that browser.

For example, when you browse through an "online shopping mall" and add items to a "shopping cart" while continuing to shop, your browser stores a list of the items that have been added to the cart so that you may pay for all of the items at once when finished shopping. It's much more efficient for each browser to keep track of information like this than to have the web server remember who bought what, especially if there are thousands of people using the web server.

When browsing the web, any cookies that are sent to a browser are stored in the computer's memory. When the browser is closed, any cookies that haven't expired are written to a cookie file so they can be reloaded next time the browser is used.

Harrington Online Banking uses a different kind of cookie known as a session cookie, a non-persistent cookie, or a pre-expired cookie. These cookies are placed temporarily and are never stored in the user's computer memory. Instead, these pre-expired cookies are used as part of the stringent security measures in the Harrington Online Banking service. A cookie is used to ensure that an end user has entered a valid Harrington Online Banking ID and PIN. As the end user navigates through Online Banking, a pre-expired cookie is set each time a page is viewed. Because the HTML page being viewed is not "cached", it must always be re-retrieved from the server.

The pre-expired cookies keep the session alive until the end user signs off properly or times out of Harrington Online Banking. Once this occurs, the end user must login with their Harrington Online Banking ID and PIN to gain access again. This ensures that another user using the same computer cannot access the previous session.

Security Guidelines for You to Follow to Ensure a Safe and Secure Online Banking Experience

1) We require you to change your Harrington Online Banking PIN the first time you log onto Harrington Online Banking. Once you change the PIN, only you will know it. PINs are case sensitive. We require that your PIN be a combination of letters and numbers. Mixing numbers and uppercase and lowercase letters is permitted. We require your Harrington Online Banking PIN to be a minimum of 6 characters and a maximum of 8 characters. We recommend that you never reveal this PIN and that you change it on a regular basis (for example, every quarter). You can change your Harrington Online Banking PIN at any time while you are logged into Harrington Online Banking. Select "management" from the Home Banking drop down box that is located at the top of any page, then select "Change Harrington Online Banking PIN" from the Account Management Options drop down box, and then follow the directions that are presented. We do not have access to your PIN. In the case of a forgotten PIN, please contact a Harrington Bank representative at (919) 945-7800 and ask to reset your PIN. A new PIN will be mailed to you within 3 business days.

2) Always use the "Exit" icon to end a Harrington Online Banking session. By clicking on the "Exit" icon, this will expire all the cookies that were set in your session and will prevent someone else from using your computer to access your account information. Although we automatically sign you off after 10 minutes of inactivity, if you do not click "Exit" and then leave your computer on and unattended, someone else could click the "Back" key on your browser and view your account information during this 10 minute interval. You should never use the "Back" icon or command in your browser at any time during your Harrington Online Banking session to ensure that you do not accidentally leave the site without signing off. After clicking "Exit", you will be taken to the Harrington Bank main page. You may then visit other pages of our web site or those of other web sites.

3) If others use your computer, clear your browser cache in order to clear the web pages that have been stored in your hard drive. How you clear your cache will depend on your type of browser. Follow your browser instructions to "clear cache".

4) We require that you use a browser with 128-bit encryption to conduct transactions through Harrington Online Banking. However, you need to be sure to maximize the security of your browser by reviewing the security option settings on your browser, if available. Always use the highest security settings.

5) Keep your computer clean and free from viruses by using virus protection software, such as McAfee or Norton.

6) It is recommended that you balance your account at least once a month so that any discrepancies can be reported in a timely manner. If you notice a discrepancy, please contact a Harrington Bank representative as soon as possible at (919) 945-7800.

« Back to the Harrington Online Banking Main Page