GDPR

GDPR AND COOKIES POLICY

The information presented below aims to inform the user more details about the placement, use and administration of "cookies" used by our site. There are also some useful links related to this topic.

This website uses its own and third-party cookies to provide visitors with a much better browsing experience and services tailored to everyone's needs and interests.

In what we call web 2.0, "cookies" play an important role in facilitating access to and delivery of multiple services that the user enjoys on the Internet, such as:
• Personalization of certain settings such as: the language in which a site is viewed, currency in which certain prices or tariffs are expressed, keeping the options for various products (measures, 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 button forward ”and“ backward ”)
• Cookies provide site owners with valuable feedback on how their sites are used by users, so that they can make them even more efficient and accessible to users.
• 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;
• Improve the efficiency of online advertising.

What is a "cookie"?

An "Internet Cookie" (also known as a "browser cookie" or "HTTP cookie" or simply a "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 which the Internet is accessed.

The cookie is installed by 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 information on the user's hard drive) .

A cookie consists of 2 parts: the name and content or value of the cookie. Moreover, the duration of the existence of a cookie is determined, technically, only by 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 temporarily stored in the cookies folder of the web browser so that it can store them until the user leaves the respective website or closes the browser window ( ex: when logging in / logging out on a webmail account or on social networks).
•  Persistent cookies - These are stored on the hard drive of a computer or equipment (and generally depend on the default lifetime for the cookie). 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 memorize a user's interests so that the most relevant advertising for users is delivered.

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 provide users with a pleasant browsing experience and support the efforts of many websites to provide comfortable services to users: eg - online privacy preferences, site language options, shopping carts or relevant advertising.

What is the lifetime of a cookie?

Cookies are administered by webservers. The lifespan 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 no longer retained once the user has left the website and some cookies are retained and reused each time the user returns to that website ('cookie- permanent '). However, cookies can be deleted by a user at any time through the browser settings.

What are third-party cookies?

Certain sections of content on some sites may be provided through third parties / providers (eg news box, a video or an advertisement). 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 website. Third party providers must also comply with applicable law and the privacy policies of the site owner.

How cookies are used by this site

A visit to this site may place cookies for the purposes of:
• Site performance cookies
• Visitor analysis cookies
• Geotargetting cookies
• Registration cookies
• Advertising cookies
• Cookies of advertising providers

These cookies may come from the following third parties: google.com, facebook.com and others.

Performance cookies

This type of cookie retains the user's preferences on this site, so there is no need to set them each time you visit the site.

Examples:
• volume settings for the video player
• speed of video streaming with which the browser is compatible

Cookies for visitor analysis

Each time a user visits this site the analytics software provided by a third party generates a user analysis cookie. This cookie tells us if you have visited this site before. The browser will tell us if you have this cookie, and if not, we will generate one. It allows monitoring the unique users who visit us and how often they do it.

As long as you are not registered on this site, this cookie cannot be used to identify individuals, they are used only for statistical purposes. If you are registered we may also know the details you have provided to us, such as your e-mail address and username - these being subject to confidentiality and the provisions of the Terms and Conditions, the Privacy Policy and the provisions of the legislation in force regarding the protection of personal data.

Geotargetting cookies

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

Cookies for registration

When you register on this site, we generate a cookie that notifies us if you are registered or not. Our servers use these cookies to show us the account with which you are registered and if you have permission for a specific service. It also allows us to associate any comment you post on our site with your username. If you have not selected "keep me registered", this cookie will be automatically deleted when you close your browser or computer.

Advertising cookies

These cookies allow us to find out whether or not you have viewed an online advertisement, what its type is and how long it has been since you saw the advertising message.

We also use these cookies to target online advertising. We may also use third-party cookies to better target advertising, to show, for example, holiday advertisements, if the user has recently visited an article on the holiday site. These cookies are anonymous, they store information about the content viewed, not about users.

We also set anonymous cookies through other sites we advertise on. By receiving them, we can use them to recognize you as a visitor to that site if you later visit our site, we will be able to deliver advertising based on this information.

Advertising provider cookies

Much of the advertising you find on this site belongs to third parties. Some of these parties use their own anonymous cookies to analyze how many people have been exposed to an advertisement, or to see how many people have been exposed to the same ad several times.

The companies that generate these cookies have their own privacy policies, and this site does not have access to read or write these cookies. Third-party cookies may be used to show you targeted advertising on other sites as well, based on your browsing on this site.

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. Due to the use of this site, this site cannot access these cookies, just as third parties cannot access the cookies held by this site.

For example, when you share an article using the social media button 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 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 improves the Internet browsing experience (eg: the settings of the language in which you want to access a site; keeping a user logged in to the webmail account; online banking security; keeping products in the shopping cart)

Why are cookies important for the Internet?

Cookies represent the central point of the efficient functioning of the Internet, helping to generate a friendly browsing experience and adapted to the preferences and interests of each user. Declining or disabling cookies may make some sites impossible to use.

Refusing 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 browsing behavior.

Examples of important uses of cookies (which do not require the authentication of a user 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 adapted to users' interests - password retention, language preferences (Ex: displaying search results in Romanian).
• Retention of child protection filters on Internet content (family mode options, safe search functions).
• Limit the frequency of ads - limit the number of impressions of an ad for a specific user on a site.
• Providing more relevant advertising for the user.
• 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). uri etc). Websites conduct these analyzes of their use to improve the sites for the benefit of 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 auto-run. 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' 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.

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.

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 cookies can be intercepted,  although very rarely , 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.

Tips for safe and responsible browsing, based on cookies

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 access to the most widespread and used sites including Youtube, Gmail, Yahoo and others.

Here are some tips that can ensure that you browse without worries, but with the help of cookies:
• Customize your browser settings for cookies to reflect a comfortable level of security for you to use cookies.
• 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.
• If you share access to your computer, you may want to 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.
• 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 of the cookie-based attacks are exploited by exploiting the weaknesses of older versions of browsers.

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. With a clear understanding of how they operate and the benefits they bring, you can take the necessary security measures so that you can surf the Internet with confidence.

How can I stop cookies?

Disabling and refusing to receive cookies may make certain sites impractical or difficult to visit and use. Also, the refusal to accept cookies does not mean that you will no longer receive / see online advertising.

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 Firefox
Cookie settings in Chrome
Cookie settings in Safari

For the settings of cookies generated by third parties, you can also consult the website:  http://www.youronlinechoices.com.