COOKIES POLICY
Our website uses its own cookies to provide visitors with a much better browsing experience and information tailored to everyone’s needs and interests.
Cookies play an important role in facilitating access to and delivery of multiple services the user enjoys on the internet, such as:
- Customize certain settings such as: the language in which a site is viewed, access preferences by accessing the “forward” and “backward” buttons.
- Cookies provide site owners with valuable feedback on how their sites are used by users so they can make them even more effective and accessible to users.
- Allow multimedia or other applications from other sites to be included in a specific site to create a more valuable, useful, and enjoyable browsing experience.
What is a “Cookie”?
A “Internet Cookie ” (also known as “cookie browser” or “HTTP cookie” or simply “cookie”) is a small file of letters and numbers that will be stored on your computer, mobile or other equipment of a user on which the Internet is accessed.
The cookie is installed through a browser-based web-server request (e.g.. Internet Explorer, Chrome) and is completely “passive” (it does not contain software, viruses or spyware and cannot access the information on the user’s hard drive).
A cookie consists of two parts: the name and the content or the value of the cookie. The duration of a cookie is limited; technically, only the web server that sent the cookie can access it again when a user returns to the website associated with that web-server.
Cookies themselves do not require personal data to be used and, in most cases, do not identify Internet users as individuals.
There are several categories of cookies and similar technologies:
- Session cookies – these are temporarily stored in the cookies folder of the web browser so that it can store them until the user logs out or closes them browser window (e.g.: when logging in / out on a webmail account or on socialization).
- Persistent cookies – they are stored on the hard drive of a computer or equipment (and, in general, depends on the default lifetime for the cookie). Persistent cookies also include those placed by a website other than the one the user is currently visiting – known as ‘third party cookies’ – which can be used in a way anonymous to memorize a user’s interest so that the most relevant advertising is delivered for users.
Which are the advantages of the cookies?
A cookie contains information linking a web browser (user) and a specific web server (website). If a browser accesses that webserver again, it can read the information already stored and react accordingly. Cookies provide users a good browsing experience and support the efforts of many websites to provide user-friendly services: e.g. – retaining online privacy preferences, site language options, giving users the ability to enjoy the experience of an optimal viewing of the site’s content.
What is the lifetime of a cookie?
The cookies are managed by web-servers. The lifetime of a cookie can vary significantly, depending on the purpose it is placed for. Some cookies are used exclusively for a single session (session cookies) and cannot be retained once the user has left the website, and some cookies are retained and reused each time the user is returning to that website (the permanent cookies). Nevertheless, the cookies can be deleted by a user at any time from the browser settings.
What are third-party cookies?
Certain sections of content on some sites may be provided through third parties, parties / suppliers (e.g.: news box, video or advertisement). These third parties may also place cookies through the site and they are called “third party cookies” because they are not placed by the owner of that website. Third party providers must also comply with applicable law and the privacy policies of the site owner.
How cookies are used by a site.
A visit to a website may place cookies in:
- increasing the performance of the website;
- an analysis of visitors;
- geotargeting;
- user registration.
Performance cookies
This type of cookie retains the user’s preferences on this site, so there is no need to set them each time you visit the site. Examples: video player volume settings, the speed at which your browser is compatible with streaming video.
Cookies for visitor analysis
Each time a user visits a site, the analytics software provided by a third party generates a user analysis cookie. This cookie says if you have visited this site before. The browser will signal if you have this cookie, and if not, one will be generated. It allows monitoring of unique users who visit the site and how often they do so.
As long as the visitor is not registered on the site, this cookie can not be used to identify individuals, they are used only for statistical purposes. If it is registered, the details provided, such as the e-mail address and the username, can also be known – these being subject to confidentiality, according to the provisions of the legislation in force regarding the protection of personal data.
Cookies for geotargeting
These cookies are used by a software that determines which country you come from. It is completely anonymous and is only used to target content – even when the visitor is on the page in another language, the same advertisement will be received.
Cookies for registration
When you register on a site, a cookie is generated that announces whether or not you are registered. Servers use these cookies to show the account you are registered with and if you have permission for a particular service. It is also allowed to associate any comment posted on the site with your username. If you have not selected “keep me registered”, this cookie will be automatically deleted when you close your browser or computer.
Other third party cookies
On some pages, third parties may set their own anonymous cookies in order to track the success of an application or to customize an application. For example, when you share an article using the social media button on a site, that social networks will record your activity.
What kind of information is stored and accessed through cookies?
Cookies store information in a small text file that allows a website to recognize a browser. The web server will recognize the browser until the cookie expires or is deleted.
The cookie stores important information that improves the Internet browsing experience (e.g.: settings for the language in which you want to access a site; keeping a user logged in to the webmail account; online banking security; keeping products in the shopping cart).
Why are cookies important for the Internet?
The cookies are the central core of the effective operation of the Internet, helping generate a friendly browsing experience and adapted to the preferences and interests of each user. The refusal or disabling of cookies can make certain websites impossible to use.
Examples of the important uses of cookies (which do not require a user to authenticate through an account):
- Content and services tailored to user preferences – categories of news, weather, sports, maps, public and government services, entertainment sites and travel services.
- Offers adapted to users’ interests – password retention, language preferences (e.g. displaying search results in a foreign language).
- Retention of child protection filters on Internet content (family mode options, safe search functions).
- Measurement, optimization and analytics features – such as confirming a certain level of traffic on a website, what type of content is viewed and how a user gets to a website (e.g. through search engines, directly, from other websites). Websites conduct these analyzes of their use to improve the sites for the benefit of users.
Security and privacy issues
Cookies are NOT viruses! They use plain text formats. They are not made up of pieces of code, so they cannot be executed, nor can they be self-executed. As a result, they cannot be duplicated or replicated on other networks to run or replicate. Because they cannot perform these functions, they cannot be considered viruses. However, cookies may be used for negative purposes. Because it stores information about users’ preferences and browsing history, both on a particular site and on several other sites, cookies can be used as a form of Spyware. Many anti-spyware products are aware of this and constantly mark cookies to be deleted during anti-virus / anti-spyware deletion / scanning procedures.
In general, browsers have integrated privacy settings that provide different levels of acceptance of cookies, validity period and automatic deletion after the user has visited a particular site.
Tips for safe and responsible browsing based on cookies.
- Customize your browser settings for cookies to reflect a comfortable level of cookie security for you.
- If you share access to your computer, you can consider setting your browser to clear individual browsing data each time you close your browser. This is a way to access the sites that place cookies and to delete any visit information at the end of the browsing session.
- Install and constantly update your anti-spyware applications.
- Many of the spyware detection and prevention applications include site attack detection.
This prevents the browser from accessing websites that could exploit browser vulnerabilities or download malicious software.
How can the cookies be stopped?
Disabling and refusing to receive cookies can make the site inaccessible or difficult to visit and use. Also, refusing to accept cookies does not mean you will not get / see online advertising anymore.
It is possible to set up the browser so that these cookies are no longer supported, or you can set the browser to accept cookies from a particular site. But, for example, if you are not registered using cookies, you will not be able to leave comments.
All modern browsers offer the option to change cookie settings. These settings are usually in the “options” or in the “preferences” menu of the browser used.