What are Cookies?
Cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that will be stored on your computer, mobile terminal, or other equipment of a user accessing the Internet. The cookie is installed through a web browser request from a browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Chrome) and is completely “passive” (does not contain software, viruses or spyware and cannot access the information on the user’s hard drive).
What are Cookies used for?
These files make possible to recognize the user’s terminal and present the content in a relevant way, adapted to the user’s preferences. Cookies provide users with a pleasant browsing experience and support Netlogiq’s efforts to provide user-friendly services. They are also used to prepare aggregated anonymous statistics that help us understand how a user benefits from our web pages, allowing us to improve their structure and content, excluding the user’s personal identification.
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 the closing of the application (the web browser). Fixed files remain on the user’s terminal for a while in the Cookie’s parameters or until they are deleted manually by the user.
How are cookies used by this site?
A visit to this site may place cookies for purposes of:
- Site performance cookies
- Visitor analysis cookies
- Cookies for geo localization
- Recording cookies
- Cookies for advertising
- Advertiser cookies
Does Personal Data Cookies Work?
Cookies themselves do not require personal information to be used and, in most cases, do not personally identify Internet users. Personal data collected through the use of Cookies can only be collected to facilitate certain user functions. Such data is encrypted in a way that makes unauthorized person’s unaffected access to them.
Delete cookies
In general, an application used to access web pages allows you to save your Cookies to the terminal by default. These settings can be changed in such a way that the automatic administration of Cookies is blocked by the web browser or the user is informed whenever cookies are sent to his or her terminal. Detailed information about the possibilities and ways of managing cookies can be found in the application settings area (the web browser). Restricting the use of Cookies may affect certain features of the web page.
Why are Internet Cookies Important?
Cookies are the central focus of the efficient Internet, helping to generate a friendly browsing experience and tailored to the preferences and interests of each user. Denying or disabling cookies can make some sites unusable. Denying or disabling cookies does not mean you will not receive online advertising – just that it will no longer be able to keep track of your preferences and interests highlighted by your browsing behaviour. Examples of important uses of cookies (which do not require authentication of a user through an account):
- Content and services tailored to user preferences – product categories and services
- Offers tailored to user interests – retaining passwords
- Retain Child Protection Filters for Content on the Internet (family mode options, safe search functions)
- Limit ad serving frequency – limit the number of impressions of an ad for a particular user on a site
- Providing more relevant advertising to 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 (e.g. through search engines, directly from other websites, etc.). Websites run these analyses of their use to improve 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 can auto-run. Consequently, they cannot duplicate or replicate on other networks to run or replicate again. Because they cannot perform these functions, they cannot be considered viruses. Cookies can still be used for negative purposes. Because it stores information about user 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 consistently mark cookies to be deleted in anti-virus / anti-spyware removal / scanning procedures. In general, browsers have built-in privacy settings that provide different levels of cookie acceptance, shelf life, and automatic deletion after the user has visited a particular site. Other security issues related to cookies: Because identity protection is very valuable and is the right of every Internet user, it is advisable to know what problems can create cookies. In order to transmit constant information in both ways between the browser and the website, if an attacker or unauthorized person intervenes during the data transmission, the information contained in the cookie can be intercepted. Although very rarely, 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 bad cookie settings on servers. If a website does not require the browser to use only encrypted channels, attackers can use this vulnerability to prevent browsers from sending information through insecure channels. Attackers then use the information for the purpose of unauthorized access to certain sites. It is very important to be careful in choosing the most appropriate method of protecting personal information.
Tips for a safe and responsible cookie-based navigation
Because of their flexibility and the fact that most of the most visited sites and the largest ones use cookies, they are almost inevitable. Disabling cookies will not allow the user to access the most popular and used sites including Youtube, Gmail, Yahoo and others. Here are a few tips that can help you navigate without worries, but with cookies: Customize your cookie browser settings to reflect a comfortable level for you on cookie security. If you do not mind cookies and you are the only person using your computer, you can set expiration dates to store your browsing history and personal access data. If you share your computer access, you can consider the browser setting to delete your individual browsing data each time you close your browser. This is a way to access sites that place cookies and delete any business information when you close the browsing session. Install and constantly update your antispyware applications. Many of the applications for detection and prevention of spyware include the detection of attacks on sites. 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 of the cookies attacks are exploited by exploiting the weaknesses of the old versions of browsers. Cookies are everywhere and cannot be avoided if you want to enjoy access to the best and greatest websites 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 browse with confidence on the internet. Disabling and refusing to receive cookies can make some sites unfeasible or difficult to visit and use. Also, refusing to accept cookies does not mean you will not get / see online advertising anymore. It is possible to set up the browser so that these cookies are no longer supported or you can set the browser to accept cookies from a particular 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 your browser’s “options” or “preferences” menu.
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
If you want to know more about cookies and what they are used for, we recommend the following links: