What are cookies and why are cookies used?
Last updated on: 15thOctober 2019 Cookies are used by nearly all websites and do not harm your system. A cookie is a piece of data that a website can send to your browser, which may then be stored on your computer as a tag that identifies your computer. While cookies are often only used to measure website usage (such as number of visitors and duration of visit) and effectiveness (such as topics visitors are most interested in) and to allow for ease of navigation or use and, as such, are not associated with any personal information, they are also used at times to personalise a known visitor’s experience of a website by being associated with profile information or user preferences. Over time this information provides valuable insight to help improve the user experience. Learn more about cookies. Cookies are typically classed as “session” cookies or “persistent” cookies.
- Session cookies help you navigate through the website efficiently, keeping track of your progression from page to page so that you are not asked for information you have already provided during the current visit, or information needed to be able to complete a transaction. Session cookies are stored in temporary memory and erased when the web browser is closed.
- Session cookies on the other hand, store user preferences for current and successive visits. They are written on your device’s hard disk and are still valid when you restart your browser. We use persistent cookies, for example, to record your choice of language and country location and for Google Analytics
Cookies can also be categorised as:
- Strictly necessary cookies : hese cookies are essential to enable you to use the website effectively, such as when buying a product and / or service, and therefore cannot be turned off. Without these cookies, the services available to you on our website cannot be provided. These cookies do not gather information about you that could be used for marketing or remembering where you have been on the internet.
- Performance cookies :These cookies enable us to monitor and improve the performance of our website. For example, they allow us to count visits, identify traffic sources and see which parts of the site are most popular.
- Functionality cookies : These cookies allow our website to remember choices you make and provide enhanced features. For instance, we may be able to provide you with news or updates relevant to the services you use. They may also be used to provide services you have requested such as viewing a video or commenting on a blog. The information these cookies collect is usually anonymised.
If you want to check or change what types of cookies you accept, this can usually be altered within your browser settings. You can block cookies at any time by activating the setting on your browser that allows you to refuse the setting of all or some cookies. However, if you use your browser settings to block all cookies (including essential cookies) you may not be able to access all or parts of our site. We use cookies on our websites and Support Portal for the following purposes:
- 1. Support Portal Login -these are cookies that are set by oursupport portal directly. These cookies are used to verify whether your login has been authenticated. Only secure cookies with specified expiration times are used for session management. Proper session management techniques are used to help prevent cross-site forgery (CSRF) attacks
- 2. Statistics -to track how many unique users we have and how often they visit our website using google analytics. These cookies are set by Google, Inc. Data we collect includes which of our pages are most frequently visited, and we use this information to continually improve our websites.
Google store information on servers in the USA. Google may transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google’s behalf. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. Data collected and stored by Google is anonymous and does not contain any personal data or identify you. By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above. How do I turn cookies off? If you wish, you can disable to track how many unique users we have and how often they visit our website using google analytics. These cookies are set by Google, Inc. Data we collect includes which of our pages are most frequently visited, and we use this information to continually improve our websites.cookies from your browser and delete all cookies currently stored on your computer. However, this may prevent websites that you visit from working correctly. Find out how to disable cookies. You can also opt out of a third party’s use of cookies on the Network Advertising Initiative’s opt out page.
