The information we learn about you from your visit to our website depends upon what functions you perform when visiting our site.

For site management, information is collected for statistical purposes. This government computer system uses software programs to create summary statistics, which are used for such purposes as assessing what information is of most and least interest, determining technical design specifications, and identifying system performance or problem areas.

If you do nothing during your visit but browse through the website, read pages, or download information, we will gather and store certain information about your visit automatically. This information does not identify you personally. We automatically collect and store the following information about your visit:

• The Internet domain (for example, "xcompany.com" if you use a private Internet access account, or "yourschool.edu" if you connect from a university's domain) and IP address (an IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you are surfing the Web) from which you access our website
• The type of browser and operating system used to access our site
• The date and time you access our site
• The pages you visit
• The geographic location (country) visited from
• If you linked to the MSC website from another website, the address of that website

We use this information to help us make our site more useful to visitors -- to learn about the number of visitors to our site and the types of technology our visitors use. We do not track or record information about individuals and their visits unless you register on the MSC web site.

In addition, if you register and create a user account on the MSC web site, we will gather and store certain personal information provided by you. The following required information is collected:

• A unique login user name
• Your email address
• First and last name
• Address
• Daytime phone number
• Type of business
• Purchasing products from the MSC site may require specific credit card information

We reveal and store only the last four digits of your credit card numbers when confirming an order. We encrypt and transmit the entire credit card number to the Pay.Gov, a service provided by the United States Department of Treasury during order processing.

We work to protect the security of your information during transmission by using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software, which encrypts information you input.

Personal information provided by you while on the MSC web site will be used only for transacting business between you and the FEMA Map Service Center. Your personal information will not be sold.

Cookies

The MSC uses cookies on its websites solely to allow complex, software user-driven applications to function correctly. For example, MSC's online ordering services publications allow users to shop through online catalogs. The MSC server sends a "cookie" back to the user's computer containing only a “session id” whenever you access the site. This information may be retained by your browser until your session expires or your browser is closed. MSC's use of cookie technology is not otherwise designed, intended or used to collect, store or analyze information pertaining to Internet users.

Security and Intrusion Detection

Unauthorized attempts to defeat or circumvent security features, to use the system for other than intended purposes, to deny service to authorized users, to access, obtain, alter, damage, or destroy information, or otherwise to interfere with the system or its operation is prohibited. Evidence of such acts may be disclosed to law enforcement authorities and result in criminal prosecution under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-294), (18 U.S.C. 1030), or other applicable criminal laws.

For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, this government computer system employs software programs to monitor host and network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage.

Except for authorized law enforcement investigations, no other attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits. Raw data logs are used for no other purposes and are scheduled for regular destruction in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration guidelines.

Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on this service are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act.

The entire FEMA MSC Privacy Impact Assessment is on file and available from DHS.