Security Information

ALC.ca Security

Here are some examples of how Atlantic Lottery Corporation ensures that your ALC.ca account and personal information are protected:

• We use secure encryption - one of the highest forms of encryption technology available today.
• We have firewalls and stringent internal access procedures to guard our systems from hackers.
• We monitor all internal and external systems for intrusion attempts to ensure security.
• We perform regular and independent audits on our computer gaming systems to ensure that security meets or exceeds industry best practice standards.
• We do not keep credit card information.

How to Protect Yourself

There are various forms of computer viruses existing on the Internet today that are targeting online gaming services. It is important for you to protect the privacy of your information by installing the appropriate programs on your personal computer.

Update your computer and software

• Install up-to-date anti-virus software on your computer to help guard against computer viruses.
• Install a personal firewall and disable file-sharing software to prevent unauthorized access to your computer and its data.
• Keep your browsers up-to-date with current versions and security enhancements.
• Keep you operating systems up-to-date by setting it to automatically download and install the latest patches for your PC.
• Ensure you are running current licensed software, illegal or expired software cannot be updated with current security patches.

Password Protection

Know what makes for a bad password.

Because password attacks are becoming increasingly more common, you don't want to use anything in your password that's personal and easy to guess. Keep in mind the following don'ts:

• Don't use only letters or only numbers
• Don't use names of spouses, children, girlfriends/boyfriends or pets.
• Don't use phone numbers, Social Security numbers or birthdates.
• Don't use the same word as your log-in, or any variation of it.
• Don't use any word that can be found in the dictionary — even foreign words
• Don't use passwords with double letters or numbers.

Some examples of the least secure passwords are: password, drowssap, admin, 123456, and the name of your spouse or kid(s).

How to create and maintain a good password

A good password is one that is easy to remember but difficult to guess. The best passwords are at least eight characters in length and use a combination of numbers, keyboard characters and upper and lower-case letters. The longer your password is, the longer it will take someone (or more likely, some program) to crack it.

Here are a couple of different ways to create difficult-to-crack passwords:

• Substituting letters with characters and numbers. To make it easier on yourself, try to use numbers and characters that resemble the letters they are replacing. For example the word “example” could be changed to “3x@mp!3”
• use the first letters of the words in a favorite line of poetry or a verse of song. "Hail, hail the lucky ones, I refer to those in love" becomes "H,hTL0,IR2t1L."

Once you have a created a password you should consider the following:

• Change your password every 30 – 90 days
• Do not use the same password for all your internet sites i.e.: banking, ALC.ca, webmail, IM, etc.
• If you do write your passwords down ensure they are in a safe place that is not easily accessible.

Phishing (email fraud)

Many email users are being sent authentic-looking messages from reputable companies that instruct them to provide valuable personal data. It's called phishing. Recipients who respond to such emails are exposed to identity theft.

Phishing occurs when a customer receives a fraudulent, but legitimate looking, email from what appears to be a legitimate company. The email asks recipients to update or confirm personal information such as credit card numbers, passwords, account data and other information.

Often phishing spam messages will use valid senders email addresses, logos, and links to credible businesses in the message. But the message instructs the recipient to click on a link that sends them to a fake website where they are asked to provide personal information. Such sites will ask for information including your name, address, phone number, date of birth, SIN number, and bank or credit card account number. They may even claim that your personal information is compromised and your response time is urgent.

Tips to protect your identity:

• Never complete forms in email messages.
• Legitimate companies, including the Atlantic Lottery Corporation, will not ask for valuable personal information through email.
• Be cautious with links in an email. The links may contain all or part of a real company but when you hover over the link, you can see that another phony address can be hidden.
• If you receive an email advising you to click a link to update your personal information, DON’T CliCK IT!
• Please note that ALC will never send you an email asking you to supply personal information.

If you have any concerns, please contact the legitimate company and verify the authenticity of the request.

If you receive what you think may be a phishing email from ALC or ALC.ca, please contact us at info@alc.ca or 1-877-252-3287.