The following information is intended to provide the user with more details about the placement, use and management of cookies used by www.mimona.ro. If you need more information and it is not below, you can contact us at: office@mimona.ro.
Please read the following information carefully.
This website uses its own and third-party cookies to provide visitors with a much better browsing experience and services tailored to their needs and interests.
In what we call "web 2.0″, cookies play an important role in facilitating the access and delivery of the many services that the user enjoys on the internet, such as:
- Customize certain settings such as the language in which a site is displayed, the currency in which certain prices or tariffs are expressed, keeping options for different products;
- Cookies provide site owners with valuable feedback on how their sites are being used by users, so they can make them even more effective and user-friendly;
- Cookies allow multimedia or other applications from other websites to be embedded on a particular website to create a more valuable, useful and enjoyable browsing experience;
- Improve the effectiveness of online advertising.
What is a cookie?
An "Internet Cookie" (also known as a "browser cookie" or "HTTP cookie" or simply "cookie") is a small file made up of letters and numbers that will be stored on a user's computer, mobile device or other equipment from which the Internet is accessed.
The cookie is installed by a request issued by a web-server to a browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Chrome) and is completely "passive" (it contains no software programs, viruses or spyware and cannot access the information on the user's hard-drive).
A cookie consists of 2 parts: the name and the content or value of the cookie. Furthermore, the lifetime 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.
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 broad categories of cookies:
- Session cookies - they are temporarily stored in the cookie folder of the web browser to remember them until the user exits the website or closes the browser window (e.g. when logging in/out of a webmail or social networking account).
- Persistent cookies - they are stored on a computer or device's hard drive (and generally depend on the cookie's default lifetime). 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 remember a user's interests so that advertising can be delivered that is as relevant as possible to users.
What are the advantages of cookies?
A cookie contains information that links a web-browser (the user) to a specific web-server (the website). If a browser accesses that web-server again, it can read the information already stored and react accordingly. Cookies ensure a pleasant browsing experience for users and support the efforts of many websites to provide convenient services to users: e.g. online privacy preferences, site language options, shopping carts or relevant advertising.
What is the lifetime of a cookie?
Cookies are managed by webservers. The lifetime 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 not retained once the user has left the website, and some cookies are retained and reused each time the user returns to that website ("persistent cookies"). 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 websites may be provided through third parties/providers (e.g. a news box, a video or an advertisement). These third parties may also place cookies through the website; they are called "third party cookies" because they are not placed by the owner of that website. Third party providers must also comply with applicable law and the website owner's privacy policies.
A visit to this website may place cookies for the purposes of:
- Performance/functional cookies (Google, Youtube, Facebook and Httpool)
- Visitor analytics cookies (Google Analytics and Youtube, lifetime 6 months)
- Geotargeting cookies (Google AdWords and Analytics, lifetime 6 months)
- Advertising cookies (Google AdWords lifetime 6 months and Facebook)
- Advertisers' cookies (Google AdWords lifetime 6 months and Facebook)
These cookies may come from the following third parties: Google AdWords, Facebook, Youtube, SATI, Httpool, SPA.
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.
Cookies for visitor analytics
Each time a user visits this site, Analytics software provided by a third party generates a user analytics cookie. This cookie tells us whether you have visited this site before. Your browser will tell us if you have this cookie and if not, we will generate one. It allows us to track unique users who visit us and how often. This cookie cannot be used to identify individuals, its purpose is statistical only.
Geotargeting cookies
These cookies are used by software that determines which country you come from. It is completely anonymous and is only used to target the content - even when you are on our English or another language page you get the same advertisement.
Advertising cookies
These cookies allow us to track whether or not you have viewed an online advertisement, the type of advertisement and how long it has been since you saw the advertisement. We also use these cookies to target online advertising. We may also use cookies belonging to a third party for better targeting of advertising, for example to show advertisements about a particular type of service if the user has recently visited an article on the site about that service. These cookies are anonymous, they store information about the content viewed, not about the users. We also set anonymous cookies through other sites on which we advertise. By receiving them, so we can use them to recognize you as a visitor to that site if you later visit our site, we can deliver advertising to you based on that information.
Advertisers' 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 advertisement multiple 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 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 way it is used, this site cannot access these cookies, just as third parties cannot access cookies owned 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 does accepting or refusing cookies on this site mean?
- Accept - installation of all cookies used by this website.
- Refuse - setting functional and analytical cookies.
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 enhances your browsing experience on the Internet (e.g. language settings for accessing a website; keeping a user logged into a webmail account).
Why are cookies important for the Internet?
Cookies are central to the efficient functioning of the Internet, helping to create a user-friendly browsing experience tailored to each user's preferences and interests. Refusing or disabling cookies may make some sites unusable. Rejecting or disabling cookies does not mean that you will no longer receive online advertising - it just means that it will no longer be able to take into account your preferences and interests as evidenced by your browsing behavior.
Examples of important uses of cookies (which do not require a user to authenticate via an account):
- Content and services tailored to user preferences - news categories, maps, public and government services or entertainment sites.
- Offers tailored to users' interests - remember passwords, language preferences (e.g. display search results in Romanian).
- Retain child protection filters on internet content (options family mode, functions of safe search).
- Limiting how often ads are shown - limiting the number of times an ad is shown to a particular user on a website.
- Provide more relevant advertising to the user.
- Measurement, optimization, and analytics features - such as confirming a certain level of traffic to a website, what type of content is being viewed, and how a user gets to a website (e.g. through search engines, directly, from other websites, etc.) Websites run these analytics on their usage to improve their websites for the benefit of their 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 and cannot self-run. Consequently, they cannot be duplicated or replicated on other networks to run or replicate themselves again. Since they cannot perform these functions, they cannot be considered viruses. Cookies can however be used for negative purposes. Because they store information about users' preferences and browsing history, both on a particular site and on many other sites, cookies can be used as a form of Spyware. Many anti-spyware products are aware of this fact and routinely flag cookies for deletion as part of their anti-virus/anti-spyware deletion/scanning procedures.
In general, browsers have built-in privacy settings that provide different levels of cookie acceptance, validity period and automatic deletion after the user has visited a particular site.
Since identity protection is very valuable and is the right of every Internet user, it is advisable to be aware of the potential problems that cookies can create. Because cookies constantly transmit information back and forth between the browser and the website, if an attacker or unauthorized person intervenes in the data transmission path, the information contained in the cookie can be intercepted. Although very rare, 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 wrong 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 unsecure 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 way to protect your personal information.
Tips for safe and responsible browsing based on cookies.
Because of their flexibility and the fact that most of the biggest and most visited sites use cookies, they are almost unavoidable.
Here are some tips that can make sure you browse worry-free, but with cookies:
- Customize your browser's cookie settings to reflect a level of cookie security you are comfortable with.
- If you don't mind cookies and you're the only person using your computer, you can set long expiry times for storing your browsing history and personal access data.
- If you share access to your computer, you may consider setting your browser to delete individual browsing data each time you close your browser. This is one option to access sites that place cookies and delete any visiting information when you close your browsing session.
- Install your apps antispyware.
Many spyware detection and prevention applications include website attack detection. Make sure you always have your browser updated. Many cookie-based attacks are carried out by exploiting weaknesses in older versions of browsers.
Cookies are everywhere and cannot be avoided if you want to enjoy access to the best and biggest sites 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 confidently surf the web.
How can I stop cookies?
Disabling and refusing to receive cookies may make certain websites impracticable or difficult to visit and use. Also, refusing to accept cookies does not mean that you will no longer receive/see online advertising.
You can set your browser to stop accepting these cookies, or you can set your browser to accept cookies from a specific website.
All modern browsers offer the possibility to change cookie settings. These settings are usually found in the 'options' or 'preferences' menu of your browser.