The following information is intended to provide you with more details about the placement, use and management of cookies used by the www.decolife.ro website.
There are also some useful links related to this topic.
If you need more information and it is not below, you can contact us at www.decolife.ro
Please read the following information carefully:
This website uses its own and third party 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 the access and delivery of the many services that the user enjoys on the Internet, such as:
– Customize certain settings such as: the language in which a site is displayed, the currency in which certain prices or tariffs are expressed, keeping options for various products (measurements, other details, etc.) in the shopping cart (and storing these options) – thus generating the flexibility of the „shopping cart” (accessing old preferences by clicking the „back” and „forward” buttons)
– Cookies provide site owners with valuable feedback on how their sites are being used by users, so that they can make them even more effective and user-friendly.
– Allow multimedia or other applications from other sites to be embedded on a given site to create 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 terminal or other equipment from which the Internet is accessed.
The cookie is installed by a request issued by a web-server to a browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Chrome) and is completely „passive” (it does not contain any software programs, 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 value of the cookie. Furthermore, the lifetime of a cookie is determined; technically, only the webserver that sent the cookie can access it again when a user returns to the website associated with that webserver.
Cookies themselves do not require personal information in order to be used and, in most cases, do not personally identify Internet users.
There are 2 main categories of cookies:
– Session cookies – these are stored temporarily in the web browser’s cookie folder for the 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-drive of a computer or device (and generally depend on the cookie’s default lifetime). 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 the most relevant advertising can be delivered to users.
What are the advantages of cookies?
A cookie contains information that links a web-browser (the user) to a specific 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 convenient services to users: e.g. online privacy preferences, site language options, shopping carts or relevant advertising.
What is the lifetime of a cookie?
Cookies are managed by webservers. The lifetime 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 once the user has left the website and some cookies are retained and reused each time the user returns to that website (‘permanent cookies’). However, cookies can be deleted by a user at any time through 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 providers must also comply with applicable law and the privacy policies of the website owner.
How cookies are used by this website
A visit to this site may place cookies for the following purposes:
– Site performance cookies
– Visitor analysis cookies
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.
Examples:
– Video player volume settings
– the video streaming speed the browser supports
Cookies for visitor analysis
Each time a user visits this site analytics software provided by a third party generates a user analytics cookie. This cookie tells us whether you have visited this site before. Your browser will tell us if you have this cookie and if not, we will generate one. It allows us to track unique users who visit us and how often.
As long as you are not registered on this site, this cookie cannot be used to identify individuals, they are used for statistical purposes only.
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. Because of the way it is used, this site cannot access these cookies, just as third parties cannot access cookies owned by this site. For example, when you share an article using the social network button located on this site, that social network will record your activity.
What information is stored and accessed through cookies?
Cookies store information in a small text file that allows a website to recognize a browser. The webserver will recognize the browser until the cookie expires or is deleted.
The cookie stores important information that enhances the Internet browsing experience (e.g. setting the language in which you want to access a site; keeping a user logged into a webmail account; online banking security; keeping products in your shopping cart).
Why are cookies important for the Internet?
Cookies are central to the efficient functioning of the Internet, helping to generate a user-friendly browsing experience tailored to each user’s preferences and interests. Refusing or disabling cookies may make some websites unusable.
Examples of important uses of cookies (which do not require a user to authenticate through an account):
§ Content and services tailored to the user’s preferences – news categories, weather, sports, maps, public and government services, entertainment sites and travel services.
§ Offers tailored to users’ interests – password retention, language preferences (Ex:
display search results in Romanian).
§ Retention of child protection filters on Internet content (family mode options,
safe search functions).
§ Limiting ad frequency – limiting the number of times an ad is displayed
for a particular user on a website.
§ Provide more relevant advertising to the user.
§ Measurement, optimization and analytics features – such as confirming a certain level of traffic to a website, what type of content is being viewed and how a user gets to a website (e.g. through search engines, directly, from other websites etc). Websites run these usage analytics to improve their sites for the benefit of their users.
Security and privacy issues
Cookies are NOT viruses! They use plain text formats. They are not made of pieces of code so they cannot be executed nor can they self-run. Consequently, they cannot be duplicated or replicated on other networks to run or replicate again. Since they cannot fulfill these functions, they cannot be considered viruses.
Cookies can still be used for negative purposes. Because they store information about users’ preferences and browsing history, both on a particular site and on many other sites, cookies can be used as a form of Spyware. Many anti-spyware products are aware of this fact and constantly mark cookies for deletion as part of the anti-virus/anti-spyware removal/scanning procedures.
Browsers generally have built-in privacy settings that provide different levels of cookie acceptance, validity period and automatic deletion after the user has visited a particular site.
Other security issues related to cookies:
Since identity protection is very valuable and is the right of every Internet user, it is advisable to be aware of what possible problems cookies can create. Because they constantly transmit information back and forth between the browser and the website, if an attacker or unauthorized person intervenes in the data transmission, 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 (e.g. an unsecured WiFi network).
Other cookie-based attacks involve incorrect cookie settings on servers. If a website does not require the browser to use only encrypted channels, attackers can use this vulnerability to trick browsers into sending information through insecure channels. The attackers then use the information to gain unauthorized access to certain websites. It is very important to be careful in choosing the most appropriate way to protect your personal information.
Tips for safe and responsible browsing based on cookies.
Due to their flexibility and the fact that most of the most visited and biggest websites use cookies, they are almost unavoidable. Disabling cookies will not allow the user to access the most popular and widely used websites including Youtube, Gmail, Yahoo and others.
Here are a few tips that can ensure that you can browse worry-free but with cookies:
– Customize your browser’s cookie settings to reflect a level
comfortable level of cookie security.
– If you don’t mind cookies and you are the only person using your computer,
you can set long expiration times for storing your browsing history and data
personal access data.
– If you share access to your computer, you may consider setting your browser to delete individual browsing data each time you close your browser. This is one option to access sites that place cookies and delete any visiting information when you close your browsing session.
– Install and constantly update anti-spyware applications.
Many spyware detection and prevention applications include website attack detection. This prevents the browser from accessing websites that could exploit browser vulnerabilities or download dangerous software.
Make sure your browser is always up-to-date.
Many cookie-based attacks exploit weaknesses in older versions of browsers.
Cookies are everywhere and cannot be avoided if you want to enjoy access to the best and biggest sites on the Internet – local or international. With a clear understanding of how they work and the benefits they bring, you can take the necessary security measures so that you can confidently surf the internet.
How can I stop cookies?
Disabling and refusing to accept cookies may make certain websites impracticable or difficult to visit and use. Also, refusing to accept cookies does not mean that you will no longer receive/see online advertising.It is possible to set your browser to stop accepting cookies or you can set your browser to accept cookies from a specific website. But, for example, if you are not registered using cookies, you will not be able to leave comments.All modern browsers offer the possibility to change cookie settings. These settings are usually found in the „options” or „preferences” menu of your browser.To understand these settings, the following links may be useful, otherwise you can use the
„help” option of your browser for more details.
Cookie settings in Internet Explorer
Cookie settings in Firefox
Cookie settings in Chrome
Cookie settings in Safari
For cookie settings generated by third parties, you can also consult the website:
http://www.youronlinechoices.com/ro/