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AltaSecureQ. What is AltaSecure?
A. AltaSecure is an enhanced security feature that provides you additional safety by helping ensure that only you can access your Personal Credit Union (PCU) account. AltaSecure consists of an image, a phrase and three challenge questions that are a shared secret between you and AltaOne. When you see your AltaSecure image and phrase, you can be confident that you are at the legitimate AltaOne Web site and not an imposter site.
Make sure you see your AltaSecure image and phrase before you enter your password.
In addition, AltaSecure remembers which computer(s) you normally use, preventing potential fraudulent logins into your account, even if someone gets a hold of your User ID and password.
Q. Why do I need AltaSecure?
A. Hackers and thieves attempt to steal your identity by impersonating legitimate Web sites. AltaOne is committed to proactively protecting you, our members, against such attacks and AltaSecure is our tool to accomplish this.
Q. How does it work?
A. When you visit your local service center, you know our faces and we know yours. AltaSecure does the same thing over the Internet. When you enroll in AltaSecure, you will select an image and a phrase known only to you. Whenever you log into PCU we will show you this image and phrase so you know that you are accessing AltaOne's PCU Web site and not an impostor's site.
We also check the computer(s) or device(s) that you are using to access the Web site. Typically you will access the Web site from one or two computers, such as your work and home machine. AltaSecure remembers your computer(s). Should you need to log in from a different computer we take additional steps to verify your identity, such as asking you to provide the answer to a challenge question.
AltaSecure remembers your computer by assigning a unique identifier to each computer you use with standard secure cookies. The cookie is used to store identification information only. No personal or private data is stored.
Q. How does AltaSecure increase my security?
A. AltaSecure protects you from accidentally revealing your User ID and password through a fake site. In addition, if someone steals your User ID and password, he will not be able to access your account because he is not at your registered computer.
Q. What keeps somebody from stealing my AltaSecure image?
A. We only show you your AltaSecure image and phrase if you log in from your own computer, or after you have answered a challenge question. Therefore, it is not possible for an unauthorized person to get access to your image.
Q. Why am I being asked a question when I try to log in?
A. We ask you a challenge question when we detect that you are trying to log in from a new computer. This is to prevent someone with stolen passwords from logging into your account. Since only you know the answer to the questions, we will know it's really you. Generally you will be asked to answer a challenge question only when you log in for the first time from a new computer.
After you answer the question, you will be asked if we should remember this computer for future logins. If you are using a personal computer, you should answer, "Yes." If you are using a public terminal, you should answer, "No."
Q. Can I access my account from multiple computers?
A. Yes, you can access your account from any number of computers. If you log in from a new computer or a public terminal, you will just need to answer a challenge question. There is no limit on how many different computers you can use to log in to your online account.
Q. I am not an Internet expert. How easy is AltaSecure to use?
A. AltaSecure is extremely simple to use. Just use the site as usual and look for your AltaSecure login.
Q. I share my computer with someone who has his own account. Can both of us log in from this machine?
A. Yes, you can both use the same computer to login. There is no limit on how many people can log into the PCU Web site from the same computer.
Q. What happens if someone steals my password? How will AltaSecure keep them from accessing my account?
A. When someone tries to log in using your stolen User ID and password, we will recognize that they are logging in from a different computer, and ask a challenge question. Since only you know the answers to your challenge questions, he will not be able to give a correct answer.
Q. Can I change my AltaSecure image and phrase?
A. Yes, you can change your AltaSecure image and phrase at any time. To make the change, go to the Security Settings tab under Preferences after you log in to your account and follow the instructions.
Q. How do you know I am logging in from my own computer?
A. When you log in for the first time from a new computer, we put an encrypted cookie on your computer. This cookie contains a randomly generated unique number that identifies your computer. The cookie is visible only to AltaOne's PCU Web site and does not contain any of your personal information. When you log in after that, your web browser sends us this cookie to let us know that this is your computer.
Q. What is Phishing?
A. Recently there have been fraud attempts to trick people into revealing their personal information by creating fake Web sites that look very much like the sites of legitimate financial institutions. They send out e-mails randomly with links to these fake Web sites. This phenomenon has been called Phishing, (pronounced "fishing").
Q. I am trying to log in from my own computer, but PCU is not showing me my image. Instead, it is asking me a question. What is happening?
A. This might happen in rare cases if you have deleted all cookies on your computer. Before answering a challenge question or entering your password, make sure that you are on to AltaOne's legitimate Web site. The easiest way to ensure this is by typing www.AltaOne.org directly into your web browser, and clicking the "Login PCU" button. After you answer the challenge question, you should see your image next to the password field. If your image is there, you can be confident that you are at the legitimate AltaOne login page and can enter your password.
Q. What is a Trojan or Key Logger?
A. Some hackers have been putting programs on random computers in order to harvest your User ID and password information. They collect this information and secretly transmit it to their own computers and attempt to log in to the various sites. These are called Trojans (short for Trojan Horse) or Key Loggers (for logging your keystrokes).
Q. How does AltaSecure protect me from a Trojan or Key Logger?
A. Once you have an image and have registered your computer, even if someone steals yourUser ID and password, his computer will not be registered and he will not be able to log in as you; thus, AltaSecure protects your identity and your account.
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