Privacy Statement



Aggregate Data


In the normal course of operating our website, our servers automatically gather certain non-personal information and business data pertaining to the use of the site ("Aggregate Data"). For example, we may collect the number and frequency of visitors, hits on specific pages, advertisements and promotions, access by users of partner and other web sites, revenue collection and subscriptions. We use such collective data in the aggregate to help us understand what aspects of the site are most popular so we can improve our services and features. We also may provide Aggregate Data to our partners, advertisers, members or others so they too can understand how people use our site.


Cookies


As do many websites, we may use cookies to tell us how and when pages on our site are visited. Our Website may use "cookies" to enable you to sign in to our web services and to help personalize your online experience. A cookie is a small text file that is placed on your hard disk by a Web page server. Cookies contain information that can later be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer.
The information collected by cookies is non-personally identifiable and is used generally to make the users experience more friendly and convenient. If you do not wish us to collect this non-personally identifiable information, you can "opt-out" by setting up your browser to refuse cookies.
It is possible for advertisers and others that serve ads on our website or otherwise add content to the site to use their own cookies. This Privacy Policy does not cover the use of cookies by any advertisers or other third parties on our website because we do not have access to the information collected by third party cookies.


Use of Web Beacons


Our Web pages may contain electronic images that allow us to count users who have visited those pages and to deliver co-branded services. We may include Web beacons in promotional e-mail messages or Newsletters in order to determine whether messages have been opened and acted upon.


Use of your Personal Information


We collect and use your personal information to operate our website and deliver the services you have requested. These services may include the display of customized content and advertising based upon the information we have collected. In order to provide services in conjunction with other products or services, personal information collected on our Website may in rare cases be accessed and used by other services as necessary to provide such services. Any use of such information within our Website will remain subject to the limitations of this privacy statement. We also use your personal information to communicate with you and to better supply you services. We may send certain mandatory service communications such as welcome letters, billing reminders, information on technical service issues, and security announcements. Some services, may send periodic member letters that are considered part of the service. We may also occasionally send you product surveys. If we do this we may use this information to send you only information you are interested in. We do this so you are not contacted unnessasarily for things you have no interest in. We may also send you promotional mailings to inform you of other products or services available from our Website and its affiliates.
We do not sell, rent or lease our customer lists to third parties. We may, from time to time, contact you on behalf of external business partners about a particular offering that may be of interest to you. In those cases, your personal information (e-mail, name, address, telephone number) is not transferred to the third party. We do not use or disclose sensitive personal information, such as race, religion, or political affiliations, without your explicit consent.


Personal Data


Whether you are registering as a member, ordering a product or taking part in various activities on our site you may provide personal information ("Personal Data"), including your email address, your credit card number and billing address. In general, we do not share your Personal Data with anyone outside our organization, except:
When you have given express permission for us to do so. Such as when you elect to fill in information requested by us or another party that is specifically intended to be provided to a third party (e.g., an on-line product offering that is sent to the shipper of a book, CD-ROM, or other product.)
For legitimate business purposes, including when a third party is acting as our agent to provide customer service, focus group testing and technical services. In such cases, these third parties are bound by this Privacy Policy and may not reuse your Personal Data. When necessary to enforce our Code of Conduct or when we are required by applicable law, regulation, subpoena, warrant or other legal process to disclose such information to law enforcement authorities or anyone else.


Tell-A-Friend


If customers elect to use our referral service for informing a friend about our sites and services, we may ask them for the friend's name, e-mail address, and possibly other information. We will store and use this information to send the friend an invitation. This information may also be used to provide information about our company and related products and services. The friend may contact us as specified in the tell-a-friend message to request that no further communications be sent.


Surveys and Contests


From time to time we invite web site users and other customers to provide information via surveys or contests. Participation in these surveys or contests is completely voluntary and the website user or other customer therefore has a choice whether to disclose requested contact information (such as name and mailing address) and demographic information (such as zip code or job title). In addition to the other uses set forth in this policy, contact information collected in connection with surveys and contests is used to notify the winners and award prizes and to monitor or improve the use of, and satisfaction with the website or our other product or service. Subject to the given customers preferences (as described in the "Permission" section below), such information also may be shared with third party sponsors of such surveys or contests.


E-mail Newsletters


If users wish to subscribe to our e-mail newsletters, we ask for contact information (such as name, e-mail address and, occasionally, demographic information). We use this information in the same manner as we use contact information in the registration and ordering process described above. Recipients of our newsletters can unsubscribe using the instructions listed at the end of the e-mail newsletter.


Posting to Forums and Blogs


If you are posting to Forums or Web Logs (Blogs) any information you post may be used by us at our sole discretion. By posting on our sites you give ownership of that post to us. We have the right to use that post on this or other sites. You are responsible for the information you post.


Children's Data


We do not direct or target any part of this site towards children under the age of 13. In addition, we do not knowingly collect personal data from children under the age of 13.


Member Access to Information


Registered members of our site may have access to their own, personal profile information at all times in order to determine its accuracy and make changes if necessary. If you do not feel you have access, you may email us at an email from our site.


Third Party Linked Sites


Please be aware that advertisers, merchants, publishers and websites that have links on our site may collect personally identifiable information about you on their site. This Privacy Policy does not cover the information practices of those advertisers, merchants, publishers and websites.


User Responsibility for Protection and Privacy


User Account Protection: Every registered member of our site will have a member name and password. You are responsible for keeping your password confidential. You are also responsible for all activity occurring through use of your account and/or password. Specifically, users that allow access by others, including family or household members, to their account are responsible for the actions of those individuals, including the invasion of privacy on the user's Personal Data.
Voluntary Disclosures: Please be aware that if you voluntarily disclose information online, personal or otherwise, such information can be collected by others. For example, using chat, bulletin boards, your email, or if you post personal information online you may receive unsolicited messages from others. Our company will have no means to control this and takes no responsibility for your use of the Internet to voluntarily transmit information to others.
Information concerning the Privacy Act can be found on the following Web site: http://www.cftc.gov/foia/foiprivacyact.htm