Cookies policy
Please read this section carefully:
In order to comply with the requirements established in the EU Directive of May 26, 2012 and the provisions of Law no. 506 of November 17, 2004 regarding the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector, all visitors to our website are required to consent before sending cookies to their computers.
We use our own and third-party cookies to provide visitors with a much better browsing experience and services tailored to their needs and interests.
Cookies play an important role in facilitating access and delivery of multiple services that you would enjoy on the Internet, such as:
- customizing certain settings such as the language in which a site is viewed, accessing old preferences by accessing the ” forward ” and ” back ” buttons;
- cookies provide us as site owners with valuable feedback on how our website is used by users, so that we can make it even more efficient and accessible to users;
- allow multimedia or other applications on other sites to be included in a particular site to create a more valuable, useful and enjoyable browsing experience.
- What is a “cookie”?
An “Internet Cookie” (also known as a “browser cookie” or “HTTP cookie” or simply “cookie”) is a small file, consisting of letters and numbers, that will be stored on your computer, mobile device or other equipment that you use to access the Internet.
The cookie is installed by a web-server-issued request to a browser (eg Internet Explorer, Chrome) and is completely “passive” (does not contain software, viruses or spyware and cannot access information on your hard drive).
A cookie consists of 2 parts: the name, and content or value of the cookie. Furthermore, the cookie’s lifetime is determined; 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 information to be used and, in most cases, do not personally identify Internet users.
There are two major categories of cookies:
Session cookies – these are temporarily stored in the cookie folder of the web browser that stores them until the user exits the respective website or closes the browser window (eg when logging in / logging out of a webmail or social media account).
Persistent cookies – these are stored on the hard drive of a computer or device (and generally depends on the default cookie lifetime). Persistent cookies include those placed by a website other than the one the user visits at that time – known as ‘third party cookies’ – which can be used anonymously to memorize a user’s interests so that they are delivered as relevant as possible to the user.
- What are the benefits of cookies?
A cookie contains information that links a web browser (the user) and a particular web server (the website). 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 websites to provide user-friendly services: eg. online privacy preferences, site language options, shopping carts or relevant advertising.
- What is the lifespan of a cookie?
Cookies are managed by web servers. The lifetime of a cookie may vary significantly, depending on the purpose for which it is placed. Some cookies are used only for one session (session cookies) and are no longer retained once you leave our website, and some cookies are retained and reused each time the user returns to our website (permanent cookies). However, you can delete your cookies at any time using your browser settings.
- What are cookies placed by third parties?
Certain content sections on some sites may be provided through third parties / providers (eg news boxes, videos, or advertising). 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 the respective website. Third-party providers must also comply with the law in force and the privacy policies of the site owner.
- How cookies are used by a website
A visit to a website may place cookies for:
- increasing the performance of the website;
- visitor analysis;
- geotargetting;
- user registration.
Performance cookies
This type of cookie retains the preferences of the user on this site, so no need to set them every time you visit the site.
Examples: the volume settings for the video player, the streaming speed for videos for which the browser is compatible.
Cookies for visitor analysis
Each time you visit our website, third-party analytics software generate a user analytics cookie. This cookie says if you’ve visited our website before. The browser will signal if you have this cookie, and if not, one will be generated. It allows us to monitor unique users who visit the site, and how often they do this.
As long as the visitor is not registered on the site, this cookie cannot be used to identify individuals, they are only used for statistical purposes. If it is registered, the details provided, such as the e-mail address and the username, can also be known – these are subject to confidentiality, according to the provisions of the legislation in existence regarding the protection of personal data.
Cookies for geotargetting
These cookies are used by a software that determines which country you come from. It is completely anonymous and is used only to target our content – even when the visitor is on the page in Romanian or another language, the same advertisement will be received.
Cookies for registration
When you register on a site, a cookie is generated that alerts you whether or not you are registered. The servers use these cookies to show the account with which you are registered 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 did not select “keep me registered”, this cookie will be automatically deleted when you close your browser or computer.
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 it. For example, when you share (share) an article using the social media button on a website, that social network 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 your Internet browsing experience (eg the language settings in which you want to access a site; keeping a user logged in to your webmail account; online banking security; keeping products in the shopping cart).
- Why are cookies important on the Internet?
Cookies are the central point of the efficient functioning of the Internet, helping generate a user-friendly browsing experience adapted to the preferences and interests of each user. Refusing or disabling cookies can make some sites impossible to use.
Examples of important uses of cookies (which do not require user authentication 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 tailored to the interests of the users – password retention, language preferences;
- retaining child protection filters on Internet content (family mode options, safe search features);
- 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 reaches a website (eg through search engines, directly, from other websites). The websites carry out these analyses of their use to improve them for the benefit of the 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 or self-executing. Consequently, they cannot be duplicated or replicated on other networks to run or replicate again. Because they cannot perform these functions, they cannot be considered viruses.
However, cookies can be used for negative purposes. Because it stores information about users’ browsing 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 fact and are constantly flagging cookies for deletion in anti-virus/anti-spyware removal/scanning 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.
- 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 computer access, you can consider setting the browser to delete individual browsing data each time you close the browser. This is a way to access websites that place cookies and delete any visit information at the end of the browsing session.
Always install and update your anti-spyware applications.
Many spyware detection and prevention applications include site attack detection. This prevents the browser from accessing websites that could exploit browser vulnerabilities or download dangerous software.
- How can I stop using cookies?
Disabling and refusing to receive cookies can make certain websites impractical or difficult to visit and use.
It is possible to set it in your browser so that these cookies are no longer accepted or you can set your browser to accept cookies from a particular site. But for example, if a visitor is not logged in using cookies, he will not be able to leave comments.
All modern browsers offer the ability to change cookie settings. These settings are usually found in the Options/Settings menu or in the Preferences/Favorites menu of the browser.
To understand these settings, the following links may be useful:
Cookie settings in Internet Explorer
Cookie settings in Firefox
Cookie settings in Chrome
Cookie settings in Safari