Security at Yahoo!

General

Yahoo! takes your security seriously and takes reasonable steps to protect your information. No data transmission over the Internet or information storage technology can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. The following is a summary of the measures Yahoo! takes to protect your information and descriptions of ways we implement these measures for different types of information you may provide to us. Please see the Yahoo! Security Center for additional information on how to reduce your security risk when online.

Yahoo! continues to evaluate and implement enhancements in security technology and practices, however we can only take steps to help reduce the risks of unauthorized access. Each individual using the Internet can take steps to help protect their information and further minimize the likelihood that a security incident may occur. We describe some of those measures and provide links to information that may be helpful in these pages and within the Yahoo! Security Center.

Security Steps We Have Taken

• Secure Socket Layer (SSL)
  Yahoo! uses SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption when transmitting certain kinds of information, such as financial services information or payment information. An icon resembling a padlock is displayed on the bottom of most browsers window during SSL transactions that involve credit cards and other forms of payment. Any time Yahoo! asks you for a credit card number on Yahoo! for payment or for verification purposes, it will be SSL encrypted. The information you provide will be stored securely on our servers. Once you choose to store or enter your credit card number on Yahoo!, it will not be displayed back to you in its entirety when you retrieve or edit it in the future. Instead of the entire number, you will only see asterisks and either the first four digits or the last four digits of your number.
• Security Key
  The Yahoo! Security Key is an additional optional layer of security to control access to sensitive information or services on Yahoo!. Users of financial services such as Yahoo! Wallet and PayDirect are asked to create a security key during the sign-up process or when you purchase certain services that require a Yahoo! Wallet. Please note that the Security Key automatically "times out" after an hour and requires the user to sign in again to access Security Key protected areas.
• Secure Storage
  Yahoo! maintains reasonable physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards that comply with federal regulations to protect personal information about you.
• Vendors and Partners
  Yahoo! works with vendors and partners to protect the security and privacy of user information.
• Employee and Contractor Access to Information
  Yahoo! limits access to personal information about you to those employees who we reasonably believe need to come into contact with that information to provide products or services to you or in order to do their jobs.
• Education and Training for Employees
  Yahoo! has implemented a company-wide education and training program about security that is required of every Yahoo! employee.

Security Steps You Can Take

We recommend that users be cautious about conducting personal or private business online while using an unsecured network. Click on the following topics for more information about steps you can take to help maintain your account and computer security while online.

• About Passwords
• Choosing Your Password
• Password Scams
• Viruses, Trojan Horses and Worms
• Spyware
• Software
• Interacting Online With Strangers
• Shared Computer

Reporting incidents

• To Yahoo!
  • If you believe your Yahoo! account has been compromised, please report the incident using our contact form.
  • If you have been contacted by someone about your Yahoo! account asking for a password, birth date or other personal information, please forward the email to mail-spoof@cc.yahoo-inc.com. Please include the full headers and the HTML source code of the email you received.
  • If you are a member of the security community and need to report a technical vulnerability, contact: security@yahoo-inc.com.
• To Law Enforcement
  In the event that you believe that your personal safety is at risk or if you believe that you may be the victim of identity theft or other illegal conduct, please contact the appropriate federal, state or local law enforcement agencies directly.