Cookies policy

Please read the following information carefully.

This website uses cookies to provide visitors with a much better browsing experience and services tailored to their needs and interests. In what we call „web 2.0”, cookies play an important role in facilitating access to and delivery of the many services that the user enjoys on the internet, such as:

• Adjusting certain settings, such as the display language of a site, the currency in which prices or rates are expressed, keeping selected options for various products (sizes, other details, etc.) in the shopping cart and saving them, helps to create a flexible and personalized shopping cart. (access old preferences by clicking on the „forward” and „back” buttons)
• Cookies provide site owners with valuable information about how users interact with their sites, allowing them to optimize their sites to be more effective and accessible.
• Enables the integration of multimedia and other applications from other sites into a given site to provide a more valuable, useful and enjoyable browsing experience.
• Improve the efficiency of online advertising.

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 that will be stored on a user’s computer, mobile device or other equipment from which the Internet is accessed.

The cookie is installed by a web-server’s request to a browser (e.g. Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, etc.) and is completely „passive” (it contains no software, viruses or spyware and cannot access information on the user’s hard disk).

A cookie consists of two components: its name and its content or value. The lifetime of a cookie is also predetermined; technically, only the web server that issued the cookie can technically access it again when the user returns to the site associated with that server.

Cookies themselves do not require personal information in order to be used and, in most cases, do not personally identify internet users.

There are two broad categories of cookies:

• Session cookies – these are stored temporarily in the web browser’s cookie folder for the web browser to remember them until the user exits the website or closes the browser window (e.g. when logging in/out of a webmail or social networking account).
• Persistent Cookies – These are stored on the hard disk of a computer or other equipment, and their duration generally depends on the pre-set cookie period. Persistent cookies also include those placed by a website other than the one the user is currently visiting, known as third-party cookies. These may be used anonymously to track the user’s interests and provide the most relevant advertising.

What are the benefits of cookies?

A cookie contains information that creates a link between a web-browser (the user) and a particular webserver (the website). If the browser accesses that webserver again, it can read the stored information and react accordingly. Cookies contribute to a pleasant browsing experience and support the efforts of many websites to offer convenient services to users, such as online privacy preferences, language settings, shopping-carts or relevant advertising.

What is the lifetime of a cookie?

Cookies are managed by webservers and their lifetime can vary significantly depending on the purpose for which they are placed. Some cookies are used exclusively for a single session (session cookies) and are not retained once the user leaves the site, while others are retained and reused each time the user returns to the same site (persistent cookies). However, users can delete cookies at any time through their browser settings.

What are third-party cookies?

Certain sections of content on some websites may be provided through third parties/providers (e.g. a news box, a video or an advertisement). These third parties may also place cookies through the website, and they are called „third party cookies” because they are not placed by the owner of that website. Third party vendors must also comply with applicable law and the website owner’s privacy policies.

How cookies are used by this website:

A visit to this site may place cookies in order to customize it for each site:

• Site performance cookies
• Visitor analysis cookies
• Geotargeting cookies
• Registration cookies
• Advertising cookies
• Advertiser cookies

These cookies may come from the following third parties:

1. Performance cookies

This type of cookie retains the user’s preferences on this site, so they no longer need to be set each time the site is visited.

Exeamples:

• video player volume settings
• the video streaming speed the browser supports

2. Visitor analytics cookies

Each time a user accesses this site, analytics software provided by a third party generates a cookie to analyze user activity. This cookie indicates whether you have visited the site before. Your browser will tell us if this cookie already exists and if not, we will create one. It allows us to track the number of unique users who visit the site and their frequency. If you are not registered on the site, the cookie cannot be used to identify individuals and is used for statistical purposes only. If you are registered, we can access the details you have provided to us, such as your e-mail address and username, which are privacy protected and governed by our Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy and applicable data protection legislation.

3. Geotargeting cookies

These cookies are used by software that determines which country you come from. It is completely anonymous and is only used to target the content – even when you are on our page in English or another language you get the same advertisement.

4. Registration cookies

When you register on this site, we generate a cookie that tells us whether you are registered or not. Our servers use this cookie to display the account with which you are registered and to check whether you have access to certain services. This cookie also allows us to associate comments you post on the site with your username. If you have not selected the „keep me logged in” option, this cookie will automatically be deleted when you close your browser or computer.

5. Advertising cookies

These cookies allow us to track whether you have seen an online advertisement, what type of advertisement it was and how long it has been since you saw it. We also use them to target online advertising. We may also use third-party cookies for more precise targeting of advertising, for example, by displaying vacation ads if the user has recently visited a vacation article on the site. These cookies are anonymous and store information about the content viewed, not about users. We also set anonymous cookies on other sites where we advertise, and when you receive them, we may recognize you as a visitor to those sites and then display relevant advertising to you based on that information.

6. Advertisers’ cookies

Much of the advertising available on this site comes from third parties. Some of these parties use anonymous cookies to analyze how many people have been exposed to an advertisement or to determine how many people have seen the same advertisement multiple times.

The companies that create these cookies have their own privacy policies, and this site does not have the ability to read or write these cookies. Third-party cookies may be used to display targeted advertising to you on other sites based on your browsing activity on this site.

7. Other third-partycookies

On some pages, third parties may set their own anonymous cookies to track the effectiveness of an application or to personalize the user experience. Because of the way these cookies are used, this site cannot access that information, just as third parties do not have access to cookies owned by this site. For example, when you share an article using the social networking button available on this site, 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, allowing a website to recognize a browser. The web server will identify the browser until the cookie expires or is deleted. These cookies store essential information that enhances the Internet browsing experience, such as language settings for accessing a website, keeping the user logged into their webmail account, providing security in online banking and keeping products in the shopping cart.

Why are cookies important for the Internet?

Cookies are central to the efficient functioning of the Internet, helping to create a user-friendly browsing experience tailored to each user’s preferences and interests.

Refusing or disabling cookies can make some sites difficult to use. However, refusing or disabling cookies does not mean that you will no longer receive online advertising; it just means that it will no longer be able to take into account your preferences and interests as evidenced by your browsing behavior.

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

• Content and services tailored to the user’s preferences – news categories, weather, maps, public and government services, engineering and rail industry sites.
• Offers tailored to users’ interests – remember passwords, language preferences (e.g. display search results in English).
• Retain child protection filters on internet content (family mode options, safe search features).
• Limiting how often ads are shown – limiting the number of times an ad is shown to a particular user on a website.
• Provide more relevant advertising to the user.
• Measurement, optimization and analytics features, such as monitoring the level of traffic to a site, the type of content being viewed, and the ways in which a user gets to the site (e.g. through search engines, direct access or from other sites), are essential. Websites perform these analytics to improve their services and provide a better user experience.

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 autorun. Consequently, they cannot be duplicated or replicated on other networks to run or replicate themselves again. Since they cannot perform these functions, they cannot be considered viruses.

Cookies can also be used for negative purposes. Because they store information about users’ browsing preferences and browsing history, both on a particular site and on several other sites, they can be used as a form of spyware. Many anti-spyware programs are aware of this and are constantly marking cookies for deletion during anti-virus/anti-spyware cleaning or scanning procedures.

In general, browsers have privacy settings that offer different levels of cookie acceptance, specify how long cookies are valid, and set automatic deletion after the user has visited a particular site.

Other security issues related to cookies

As identity protection is extremely valuable and a fundamental right of every Internet user, it is important to be aware of the potential problems caused by cookies. Cookies facilitate the constant transmission of information between browsers and websites and, if an attacker or unauthorized person interferes with the data transfer process, the information contained in cookies can be intercepted. Although a rare event, this can occur if the browser connects to a server over an unencrypted network (e.g. an unsecured WiFi network). Other types of cookie-based attacks can be caused by incorrect cookie settings on servers. If a website does not require the browser to use only encrypted channels, attackers can exploit this vulnerability to cause browsers to send information through insecure channels. Attackers can then use this information to gain unauthorized access to specific sites. It is essential to be careful in choosing the most appropriate methods to protect your personal information. Here are some tips for safe and responsible cookie-based browsing.

Because of their flexibility and widespread use by most popular and large websites, cookies are almost unavoidable. Disabling cookies will prevent users from accessing some of the most frequently visited sites such as YouTube, Gmail, Google and others. Here are some tips that can help you browse without worry while still taking advantage of the benefits of cookies:

• Customize your browser’s cookie settings to reflect a level of cookie security you are comfortable with.
• If you don’t mind cookies and you’re the only person using your computer, you can set long expiry times for storing your browsing history and personal access data.
• If you share access to your computer, you may want to set your browser to delete individual browsing data each time you close it. This is a workaround that allows you to access sites that place cookies, while deleting any visiting information at the end of your browsing session.
• Make sure you install and constantly update anti-spyware applications.

Many spywares detection and prevention applications include features to identify attacks on websites. These prevent your browser from accessing sites that could exploit browser vulnerabilities or download malicious software. Make sure your browser is always up to date, as many cookie-based attacks take advantage of weaknesses in older versions of browsers.

Cookies are ubiquitous and can’t be avoided if you want to access the most popular and biggest sites on the internet, whether local or international. With a clear understanding of how cookies work and the benefits they offer, you can implement appropriate security measures to browse the internet with confidence.

How can I stop cookies?

Disabling and refusing to accept cookies may make some sites impracticable or difficult to use. In addition, refusing to accept cookies does not mean that you will no longer receive or see online advertising.

You may set your browser not to accept these cookies or to allow cookies only from certain sites. However, for example, if you are not registered via cookies, you will not be able to leave comments. All modern browsers offer the option to change cookie settings, usually found in the ‘options’ or ‘preferences’ menu of your browser. To understand these settings, the following links may be useful. You can also use your browser’s „help” option for more information:

• Cookie settings in Microsoft Edge
• Cookie settings in Firefox
• Cookie settings in Chrome
• Cookie settings in Safari

For third-party cookie settings, see also: http://www.youronlinechoices.com/ro/.

Useful links

If you want more information about cookies and what they are used for, we recommend the following links:

• Microsoft Cookies guide
• All About Cookies

IAB Romania provides the following website to provide more information on online advertising privacy: http://www.youronlinechoices.com/ro/.

For more details on privacy issues, you can also access the following links:

• OUG 13/2012 amending and supplementing Law No 506/2004 on the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector
• youronlinechoices.eu/ro
• http://www.guardian.co.uk/info/cookies