Cookies

cookies

We use cookies across our website to improve its performance and enhance your user experience.

What are cookies?

Cookies are small files that are stored on a user’s computer. They are designed to hold a modest amount of data specific to a particular client and website, and can be accessed either by the web server or the client computer. This allows the server to deliver a page tailored to a particular user, or the page itself can contain some script which is aware of the data in the cookie and so is able to carry information from one visit to the website (or related site) to the next.

Certain cookies contain personal information but most cookies won’t collect information that identifies you, and will instead collect more general information such as how users arrive at and use a website, or a user’s general location.

What are the advantages of cookies?

Cookies do not require any server resources since they are stored on the client. One can configure cookies to expire when the browser session ends (session cookies) or they can exist for a specified length of time on the client computer (persistent cookies).

Do cookies pose a security or safety risk?

No, cookies do not pose any safety or security risks. They are not ‘active’, executable, software. They do not spy on data that is stored in the computer nor can they carry a virus.

Is my privacy protected?

Usually cookies contain only a generic browser recognition or are associated with anonymous data. If websites use cookies to collect personal data, data protection laws require those websites to inform users about the collection of personal data and the purpose of such collection. However each access your browser makes to a Web site leaves some information about you behind. Among these data is the name and IP address of your computer, the brand of browser you’re using, the operating system you’re running, the URL of the Web page you accessed, and the URL of the page you were last viewing. Without cookies, it would be nearly impossible for anyone to follow a trail of these data systematically to learn much about your Web browsing habits. They would have to reconstruct your path by correlating hundreds or thousands of individual server logs. With cookies, this process is easier.

Can I control cookies?

Yes, browsers offer cookie management setting tools. Browser settings can be set to require the user’s confirmation for each cookie that might be stored on their PC. One can also set the browser to accept cookies only from specific web sites. Browsers can also enable users to delete specific cookies. It is even possible to set a browser to reject all cookies. Note that choosing to disable all cookies could significantly affect your web browsing experience because many Internet services rely on cookies.

How can I manage or remove cookies?

To find out about managing cookies, including how to see what cookies have been stored and how to manage and delete them, visit www.allaboutcookies.org/manage-cookies/

Please remember that if you do choose to disable cookies, you may find that this will affect your ability to interact with the internet.

For more information on cookies please visit http://www.aboutcookies.org/