COOKIE USE POLICY

1. The www.cursoteca.ro website uses cookies.

This section provides you with more information about what cookies are, how we use them and how you can manage them both on our website and on other websites.

About cookies, what they are and how they work.

The information presented below is intended to inform the user about the placement, use and management of “cookies” used by the www.cursoteca.ro website.

Please read the following information carefully:

This website uses its own cookies as well as cookies added by third parties, to provide visitors with a much better browsing experience and services adapted to the needs and interests of each one.

In what we call “modern web” or “web 2.0″, cookies play an important role in facilitating access and delivery of the multiple services that the user enjoys on the Internet, such as:

• Customizing certain settings such as: the language in which the site is viewed, date and time, preserving options/ settings (including memorizing them) and preserving older preferences by accessing various buttons/ functions.

• Cookies provide site owners with valuable feedback on how their sites are used by users, so that they can make them even more efficient or more accessible to users.

• They allow multimedia or other applications from other sites to be included (inserted/ embed) in certain pages to create a more valuable, useful and enjoyable browsing experience.

2. What is a “cookie”?

An “Internet Cookie” (also known as a “browser cookie” or “HTTP cookie” or simply “cookie”) is a small file, made up of letters and numbers, which will be stored on a user’s computer, mobile terminal or other equipment from which the Internet is accessed.

The cookie is sent through a request issued by the web server on which the site is hosted, to the user’s browser (Ex: Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome, etc.) and is completely “passive”, meaning that it does not contain software programs, viruses or spyware, nor can it access information on the user’s hard drive

Cookies do not require personal information to be used and cannot personally identify internet users.

There are two main categories of cookies:

• Session cookies – these are temporarily stored in the web browser’s cookie folder until the user leaves the site or closes the browser window.

• Persistent cookies – these are stored on the computer or the equipment used on the hard drive for a longer period and remain stored even after leaving the site or closing the web browser (and generally depend on the preset lifespan 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 anonymously to remember a user’s interests so that advertising is delivered that is more relevant to the user.

3. Advantages of cookies

A cookie contains information that connects a browser (the user) to a specific web server (the site). If a browser accesses that web server again, it can read the information already stored and react accordingly.

Cookies provide users with a pleasant browsing experience and support the efforts of many sites to provide comfortable services to users. Examples – online privacy preferences, site language options or relevant advertising, etc.

4. Lifetime of a cookie

Cookies are managed by web servers. The lifespan of a cookie can vary significantly, depending on the purpose for which it is placed. Some cookies are used exclusively for a single session (“session cookies”) and are not retained after the user leaves the site, while some cookies are retained and reused each time the user returns to that site (“persistent cookies”).

However, cookies can be deleted by the user at any time through the browser settings.

5. Cookies placed by third parties

Certain sections of content on some sites may be provided through third parties/ providers (ex: news box, a video or an 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 respective site. Third party providers must also comply with applicable law and the privacy policies of the site owner.

6. Use of cookies by this site

A visit to this site may place cookies for the purposes of:

• Site performance cookies

• Visitor analysis cookies

• Registration or authentication cookies

• Third party cookies

6.1. Performance cookies

This type of cookie remembers the user’s preferences on this site, so that they do not need to be set each time you visit the site.

6.2. Visitor analysis cookies

Every time a user visits this site, analytics software provided by a third party generates a user analysis cookie. This cookie tells us whether you have visited this site before. The browser communicates whether this cookie exists, and if not, one is generated. This allows us to monitor unique users who visit the site and how often they do so.

This cookie cannot be used to identify individuals, they are used for statistical purposes only.

6.3. Registration or authentication cookies

When you register or authenticate on this site, a cookie is generated that tells us whether you are registered or not. Our server uses these cookies to identify the account you are registered with and whether you have the necessary permissions for a particular service or to access sections of the site. It also allows the association of comments you post on the site with your account username. If you have not selected “keep me logged in”, this cookie will be automatically deleted when you close your browser or computer.

6.4. Third-party cookies

On some pages, third parties may set their own anonymous cookies, in order to track the success of an advertisement/ application or to customize an application. Due to the way it is used, this site cannot access these cookies, just as third parties cannot access the cookies held by this site.

Third-party online advertising

Some of these use their own anonymous cookies to analyze how many people have viewed an advertising message, or to see how many people have viewed the same advertisement multiple times.

The companies that generate these cookies have their own privacy policies, and this site does not have access to these cookies. Third-party cookies are used to show you targeted advertising on other sites, based on your browsing on this site.

7. Type of information stored and accessed through cookies

Cookies store information in a small text file that allows a site 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. Ex: settings regarding the language in which a site is accessed, keeping a user logged in to the member account or email account, online security, storing and remembering settings, etc.

Although cookies are stored in the Internet user’s computer memory, they cannot access/ read other information on that computer. Cookies are not viruses. They are just small text files; they are not compiled into code and cannot be executed. Thus, they cannot self-copy, cannot spread to other networks to generate actions and cannot be used to spread viruses.

8. The Importance of Cookies for the Internet

Cookies are central to the efficient functioning of the Internet, helping to generate a friendly browsing experience, adapted to the preferences and interests of each user.

Cookies can ensure faster and easier interaction between users and websites. For example, when a user authenticates on a particular website, the authentication data is stored in a cookie; the user can then access that site without having to authenticate again.

Similarly, cookies can store information about the products ordered by the user on an e-commerce site, thus making the concept of a “shopping cart” possible.

Cookies can also provide websites with the ability to monitor users’ online activities and establish user profiles, which can then be used for marketing purposes.

Refusing or disabling cookies does not mean that you will no longer receive online advertising, but only that it will no longer be able to take into account your preferences and interests highlighted by your browsing behavior.

Examples of important uses of cookies (which do not require a user to authenticate through an account):

• Content and services adapted to user preferences – categories of news, weather, sports, maps, public and government services, entertainment sites and travel services.

• Offers adapted to user interests – remembering passwords, language preferences (Ex: displaying search results in Romanian).

• Remembering child protection filters regarding Internet content (family mode options, safe search functions).

• Limiting the frequency of advertising – limiting the number of times an advertisement is displayed for a specific user on a site.

• Measurement, optimization and analytics features – such as confirming a certain level of traffic on a site, what type of content is viewed the most, and how a user reaches the site (e.g. via search engines, directly, from other sites, etc.). Sites conduct these analyses of their usage to improve the sites for the benefit of the user.

9. Remarketing Policy

Cookies (a number that uniquely identifies a web browser on a specific computer, not a person) are collected on the pages of the website www.cursoteca.ro through a remarketing tag and a conversion code received from Google AdWords. The Google remarketing tag collects cookies in order to display ads on websites in the Google Display Network and in Google Search.

When users visit a page of the website that contains the remarketing tag, the cookie of the browser they are using is added to a remarketing list. A remarketing list is a set of user cookies generated by one or more remarketing tags.

Google AdWords uses cookies to display sponsored ads on websites in the Google Display Network and in Google Search to users who have visited the pages of the website www.cursoteca.ro. If you do not agree to Google’s use of cookies, you can opt out through the Ads Preferences Manager.

10. Security and Privacy Issues

Cookies are NOT viruses! They use a plain text format. They are not made up of pieces of code, so they cannot be executed or self-run. Consequently, they cannot duplicate or replicate themselves on other networks to run or replicate again. Since they cannot perform these functions, they cannot be considered viruses.

Cookies can, however, be used for negative purposes. Because they store information about users’ preferences and browsing history, both on a specific site and across multiple sites, cookies can be used as a form of spyware. Many anti-spyware products are aware of this fact and consistently mark cookies for deletion as part of their anti-virus/ anti-spyware scan/ deletion procedures.

Generally, browsers have integrated privacy settings that provide different levels of cookie acceptance, validity period, and automatic deletion after the user has visited a particular site.

11. Other security issues related to cookies.

Given that identity protection is very important and represents the right of every internet user, it is advisable to know what are the possible problems that may arise in relation to cookies. Since through them information is constantly transmitted in both directions between the browser and the site, if an attacker or unauthorized person intervenes in the data transmission process, the information contained in the cookie can be intercepted. Although very rare, this can happen if the browser connects to the server using an unencrypted network (Ex: an unsecured Wi-Fi network).

Other cookie-based attacks involve incorrect cookie settings on servers.

If a site does not require the browser to use only encrypted channels, attackers can use this vulnerability to trick browsers into sending information through unsecured channels. Attackers can then use the information in order to access certain sites without authorization. It is very important to be careful in choosing the most appropriate method of protecting personal information.

12. Managing, disabling and deleting cookies

Detailed information on how to manage, disable and delete cookies using the settings of the browser used to browse the Internet is available at the following addresses:

Internet Explorer – Deleting and managing cookies (IE 8, 9 and 10):

• Internet Explorer 8

• Internet Explorer 9

• Internet Explorer 10

Mozilla Firefox – Cookie settings and cookie troubleshooting (enabling and disabling cookies, removing cookies, blocking certain sites from placing cookies, unblocking the placement of cookies, etc.)

• Delete cookies to remove information stored on your computer by other web pages

Google Chrome – Managing cookies (deleting, blocking, allowing, setting exceptions, etc.)

• Managing cookies and site data

Safari – Manage cookies – Manage cookies (English only)

• Safari 6 (OS X Mountain Lion): Manage cookies

Remove cookies (English only)

• Safari 6 (OS X Mountain Lion): Remove cookies and other data

Opera – Manage and delete cookies (English only)

• Manage cookies and site data

13. Sources and additional information:

• All About Cookies

• About Cookies

• UK Information Commissioner’s Office – “Guidance on the rule of use of cookies and similar technologies”, May 2012

• Directive 2002/58/EC concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector (PDF)

• Directive 2009/136/EC amending Directive 2002/22/EC on universal service and users’ rights relating to electronic communications networks and services, Directive 2002/58/EC concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the public communications sector and Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for ensuring the enforcement of consumer protection legislation (PDF)

• Law no. 506/2004 on the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector, as subsequently amended and supplemented

• Opinion no. 4/2012 of the Article 29 Working Party on cookies exempt from obtaining consent, June 2012 (PDF)

• IAB Romania Recommendations on informing users about the use of cookies on a website

• World Wide Web Consortium, Tracking Preferences Expression (DNT), W3C Working Draft, 2 October 2012

• Secure Cookies

• Wikipedia – HTTP Cookie