Site security

To protect our clients' information, our website uses one of the most secure forms of communication available.

Web browser encryption. To access the secure areas of institutional.vanguard.com, your Web browser must support 128-bit encryption and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) version 3.0 protocol. These technologies provide the highest level of security and privacy.

User name and password protection. Your Vanguard user name must contain 6 to 12 characters and can include letters and numbers. Your password must contain 6 to 10 characters and must include at least 2 letters and 2 numbers. After three unsuccessful logon attempts, Vanguard will disable your password. You can restore access through the Forgot password? link on the homepage or by calling us at 800-523-1036 Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Eastern time.

A time-out feature. Secure areas of our site have built-in timers that terminate your access after a specified amount of time to help reduce the possibility of unauthorized access from an unattended computer. When you finish viewing the site, log off the site and close your browser.

Security questions. You'll be asked a security question if you change or reset your password.

In addition, Vanguard will never:

• Send an e-mail asking for your personal information.
• Ask for your Web password in an e-mail or request it via the phone or U.S. mail.
• Display a popup warning or security alert when you log on if your Web browser is up to date. If you do encounter a logon security message, click No and call Vanguard Web Technical Support Services at 800-860-8394 for assistance.

Note: A security alert could indicate that either the date on your computer is incorrect or you are using an older version of the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser.