The information presented below aims to bring to the user’s knowledge more details about the placement, use and administration of “cookies” used by the austriamedical.ro website. There are also some useful links related to this topic.
The website www.austriamedical.ro uses its own and third-party cookies to provide visitors with a much better browsing experience.
1. 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 terminal or other equipment of a user from whom the Internet is accessed.
A cookie consists of 2 parts: the name and content or value of the cookie. Moreover, the lifespan 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.
The cookie is installed by the request issued by a web server to a browser (eg Internet Explorer, Chrome) and is completely “passive” (does not contain software, viruses or spyware and can not access the information on the user’s hard drive) .
Cookies themselves do not require personal information in order to be used and, in most cases, do not personally identify internet users.
2. What are the advantages of cookies?
A cookie contains information that links a web browser (user) to a specific web server (website). If a browser accesses that web server again, it can read the information already stored and react accordingly. Cookies play an important role in facilitating access to and delivery of multiple services that the user enjoys on the Internet, such as:
• Keeping options for various products (sizes, other details, etc.) in the shopping cart (and storing these options) – thus generating the flexibility of the “shopping cart” (accessing old preferences by accessing the “forward” and “back” button);
• Allow multimedia or other applications from other sites to be included in a particular site to create a more valuable, useful and enjoyable browsing experience;
• Cookies provide site owners with valuable information about how their sites are used by users, so that they can make them even more efficient and accessible to users;
3. What type of information is stored and accessed through cookies?
The cookie stores important information that improves the Internet browsing experience (eg keeping a user logged in to their webmail account; keeping products in the shopping cart).
4. Why are cookies important for the Internet?
Cookies are the focal point of the efficient operation of the Internet, helping to generate a friendly browsing experience tailored to the preferences and interests of each user. Declining or disabling cookies may make some sites impossible to use.
Rejecting 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.
5. What cookies do we use?
We use two types of cookies: per session and fixed. The latter are temporary files that remain in the user’s terminal until the end of the session or closing the application (web browser). The fixed files remain on the user’s terminal for a period in the cookie parameters or until they are manually deleted by the user.
6. How are cookies used by this site?
• Site performance cookies;
• Visitor analysis cookies;
• Cookies for geotargetting;
• Registration cookies;
• Cookies for advertising;
• Cookies of advertising providers.
Example:
– volume settings for video player;
– the video streaming speed with which the browser is compatible.
7. Do cookies contain personal data?
Cookies themselves do not require personal information in order to be used and, in most cases, do not personally identify internet users. Personal data collected through the use of cookies may only be collected to facilitate certain functionalities for the user. Such data is encrypted in a way that makes it impossible for unauthorized persons to access it.
8. Tips for safe and responsible browsing based on cookies.
Cookies are everywhere and cannot be avoided if you want to enjoy access to the best and largest sites on the Internet – local or international. Due to their flexibility and the fact that most of the most visited and largest sites use cookies, they are almost inevitable. Disabling cookies will not allow the user to access the most widespread and used sites including Youtube, Gmail, Yahoo and others.
Here are some tips that can ensure you navigate worry-free but with the help of cookies:
Customize your browser settings for cookies to reflect a comfortable level of cookie security for you.
If you share access to your computer, you can consider setting your browser to clear individual browsing data each time you close your browser. This is a way to access the sites that place cookies and to delete any visit information at the end of the browsing session.
If you do not mind cookies and you are the only person using the computer, you can set long expiration dates for storing your browsing history and personal access data.
Install and constantly update your antispyware applications. Many of the spyware detection and prevention applications include site attack detection. This prevents the browser from accessing websites that could exploit browser vulnerabilities or download malicious software.
Make sure your browser is always up to date. Many cookie-based attacks are exploited by exploiting the weaknesses of older versions of browsers.
It is possible to set in the browser so that these cookies are no longer accepted or you can set the browser to accept cookies from a specific site. But, for example, if you are not registered using cookies, you 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” or “preferences” menu of your browser.
To understand these settings, the following links may be useful, otherwise you can use the browser’s “help” option for more details:
Cookie settings in Internet Explorer
Cookie settings in Firefox
Cookie settings in Chrome
Cookie settings in Safari
For third-party cookie settings, you can also visit the website:
www.youronlinechoices.com/ro/
9. Security and privacy issues
Cookies are not viruses. They are not made up of pieces of code so they cannot be executed or run. As a result, they cannot be duplicated or replicated on other networks to run or replicate. Because they cannot perform these functions, they cannot be considered viruses.
In general, browsers have integrated privacy settings that provide different levels of acceptance of cookies, validity period and automatic deletion after the user has visited a particular site.
However, cookies may be used for negative purposes. Because it stores information about users’ 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 and constantly mark cookies to be deleted during anti-virus / anti-spyware deletion / scanning procedures.
Other security issues related to cookies:
Because identity protection is very valuable and represents the right of every internet user, it is advisable to know what possible problems cookies can create. Because through them information is constantly transmitted in both directions between the browser and the website, if an attacker or unauthorized person intervenes during the transmission of data, the information contained in the cookie may be intercepted.
Although very rare, this can happen if the browser connects to the server using an unencrypted network (eg 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 unsecured channels. Attackers then use the information to gain unauthorized access to certain sites. It is very important to be careful in choosing the most appropriate method of personal information protection.
10. Useful links
If you want to know more about cookies and what they are used for, we recommend the following links:
Microsoft Cookies guide
All About Cookies
For more details on privacy issues, you can also access:
http://www.dreptonline.ro/legislatie/oug_13_2012_modificare_prelucrare_date_caracter_personal_protectia_vietii_private_comunicatii_electronice.php