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From: Rajiv Aaron Manglani (rajiv-noreplyIMAGINEBLUE.COM)
Date: Thu Apr 05 2001 - 08:28:05 CDT

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    from http://www.turbotax.com/atr/update/

    Information for Customers Who Imported Investment Tax Information Into TurboTax

    There was a programming error in TurboTax that inadvertently saved
    customer passwords. This applies only to customers who electronically
    imported investment tax information from their financial
    institution(s) and was permanently fixed. For desktop customers,
    TurboTax inadvertently saved passwords to the hard drive of the
    customer's personal computer. Although the password is still in their
    personal possession, they may not know it's on their hard drive. For
    TurboTax for the Web customers, passwords were inadvertently and
    temporarily saved to Intuit's server, but have since been permanently
    deleted.

    No customer data has been compromised nor are customers' tax returns
    or refunds affected in any way. However, as a precaution, we
    recommend that the following customers who electronically imported
    investment data into TurboTax change their passwords and update their
    TurboTax software:

    * TurboTax for Windows desktop software users who imported
    investment tax information from their financial institution between
    January 31 and March 4, 2001, and those who imported investment
    information from March 4 to April 4, but did not update their
    TurboTax software when they were prompted by the software. These
    customers have had passwords saved on their personal computer's hard
    drive. Although the password is still in their personal possession,
    they may not know it's on their hard drive. What do I do?

    * TurboTax for the Web users who imported investment tax
    information from their financial institution before March 4. These
    customers had their passwords saved on Intuit's servers. In keeping
    with Intuit's policy of not collecting personally identifiable
    information without the customer's knowledge, we have permanently
    deleted the passwords. What do I do?

    * TurboTax for the Web users who downloaded their tax file on
    their personal computer's hard drive may also have had their password
    saved on their hard drive. What do I do?

    We recommend that you take the following actions as a precaution:

    * Change your PIN or password at each financial institution from
    which you imported investment information. Your financial
    institution(s) can provide information on how to do this. Some
    financial institutions are requiring their customers to change their
    PIN or password.

    * If applicable, update from within the TurboTax software
    (One-Click Update) to automatically delete any PIN or password in the
    tax file. This will not change anything in your tax return, even if
    you have already filed. See below for more information on updating
    TurboTax.

    I Use TurboTax for the Desktop - What Do I Do?
    We recommend that you take the following two actions (Note: TurboTax
    for Mac users are not impacted):

    * Change the PIN or password you use with your financial
    institution(s). Your financial institution(s) can provide you with
    information on how to do that.

    * Update TurboTax to permanently delete your password from your
    TurboTax tax file on your personal computer. Follow these steps:
    1. Start TurboTax (reinstall the software if necessary)
    2. Open your TurboTax tax file by selecting Open from the File menu
    3. Select One-Click Updates from the Online menu
    4. Follow the instructions on-screen to automatically update your
    TurboTax software to the most recent version
    5. Save your TurboTax tax file by selecting Save from the File menu
    6. Repeat steps 2-5, for each tax return that imported investment
    information, if you prepared more than one federal return

    We recommend that you not delete your tax file. Deleting the file
    means you will be unable to amend your return if necessary or
    transfer your information to next year's TurboTax.

    I Use TurboTax for the Web - What Do I Do?
    We recommend that you take the following action:

    * Change the PIN or password you use with your financial
    institution(s). Your financial institution(s) can provide you with
    information on how to do that.
    * If you downloaded your tax file onto your personal computer's
    hard drive (this is extremely uncommon), we recommend that you delete
    that file. See instructions below. (Note: If you simply saved an
    image of your tax return as a PDF file, your password has not been
    saved on your hard drive.)

    To delete your existing tax file from your hard drive:
    1. Locate your TurboTax tax file on your desktop computer. (By
    default, your tax file is saved to the folder WINDOWS\TEMPORARY
    INTERNET FILES\CONTENT.IE5\KPS00EWZ and is named TAX2000[1].TAX.)
    2. Delete the tax file.

    If you would like to save another copy of the tax file that does not
    include your PIN or password:
    1. Open your browser, go to www.turbotax.com, select TurboTax for
    the Web and log-in to your existing tax return.
    2. Select the tab titled "9. Finish" at the top of the screen.
    3. Select the Download Data File option at the bottom of the
    Interview Navigator.
    4. Click Save My Tax Data and follow the directions on-screen. This
    will not change anything in your tax return, even if you have already
    filed.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Did this affect my tax return or refund in any way?
    No.

    How many customers were affected?
    We estimate that approximately 1 percent of TurboTax users were affected.

    I used TurboTax desktop software -- where has this information been
    saved on my computer?
    The information may have been saved in a tax file that resides on the
    hard drive of the personal computer you used to prepare your taxes.
    As you know, your tax file contains a considerable amount of
    sensitive personal, financial and tax information, which you should
    always safeguard.

    I used TurboTax for the Web -- What has Intuit done to eliminate PINs
    or passwords saved on Intuit's servers?
    In keeping with Intuit's policy of not collecting personally
    identifiable information without the customer's knowledge, we have
    permanently deleted the passwords.

    What about TurboTax for the Web customers who downloaded their tax
    file on their personal computer's hard drive? (This is extremely
    uncommon)
    A small number of TurboTax for the Web customers who downloaded their
    tax file on their personal computer's hard drive may also have had
    their passwords saved on their hard drive. In addition to changing
    the PIN or password at each of the financial institution(s) from
    which they imported investment information, we recommend these
    customers also delete the tax file they saved and download a new one
    following the instructions above. If you simply saved an image of
    your tax return as a PDF file, your password has not been saved on
    your hard drive.

    How do I change my PIN or password?
    Contact your financial institution(s) for information.

    Does this apply if I imported information from QuickenŽ or other
    personal finance products?
    No.

    What if several people used the TurboTax software to complete their returns?
    Each person who used the software, if they meet the earlier criteria,
    may have had their passwords saved on their personal computer's hard
    drive.

    What investment accounts does this apply to?
    TurboTax customers importing tax-related information from the
    following institutions may have been affected: Citicorp Investment
    Services' Cititrade accounts, Fidelity Investments, INVESCO Funds,
    Salomon Smith Barney, TD Waterhouse, T. Rowe Price and The Vanguard
    Group.

    Did my password get attached to the return that was electronically
    filed with the IRS or state revenue agency?
    No.

    Is it possible that I may not be affected by this at all?
    We estimate that approximately 1 percent of TurboTax customers have
    been affected. Only the following customers, all of whom imported
    investment tax information from their financial institution(s), have
    been affected:

    * TurboTax desktop for Windows software users who imported
    investment tax information from their financial institution(s)
    between January 31 and March 4, 2001, and those who imported
    investment information from March 4 to April 4, but did not update
    their TurboTax software when they were prompted by the software.
    These customers have had passwords saved on their personal computer's
    hard drive. Although the password is still in their personal
    possession, they may not know it's on their hard drive.

    * TurboTax for the Web users who imported investment tax
    information from their financial institution before March 4. These
    customers had their passwords saved on Intuit's servers. In keeping
    with Intuit's policy of not collecting personally identifiable
    information without the customer's knowledge, we have permanently
    deleted the passwords.

    * TurboTax for the Web users who downloaded their tax file on
    their personal computer's hard drive may also have had their password
    saved on their hard drive.

    Where can I get more information?
    We have a dedicated toll-free phone number for customers who have any
    questions or concerns. That toll-free phone number is: 1-800-224-0933
    and is available from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., EDT, Mondays through Fridays.
    It also will be available from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., EDT, on Saturday and
    Sunday, April 7-8.