The website
This website may use both its own and third-party cookies to provide visitors with a much better browsing experience and services tailored to the needs and interests of each individual.
Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose to block certain types of cookies originating from this site.
Cookies play an important role in facilitating access to and the delivery of multiple services that the user enjoys on the internet, such as:
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Personalizing certain settings such as: the language in which a site is viewed, the currency in which certain prices or rates are expressed, keeping options for various products (sizes, other details, etc.) in the shopping cart (and remembering these options), and saving certain preferences for future reuse.
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Cookies provide website owners with valuable feedback on how their sites are used by users, so they can make them even more efficient and easily accessible.
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They allow multimedia or other types of applications from other sites to be included in a particular site to create a more valuable, useful, and pleasant browsing experience.
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They improve the efficiency of online advertising.
What is a Cookie?
A cookie is a small file, consisting of letters and numbers, that will be stored on a computer, mobile terminal, or other equipment of a user accessing the Internet. The cookie is installed via a request issued by a web server to a browser (e.g., Chrome, Firefox) and is completely "passive" (it does not contain software programs, viruses, or spyware and cannot access information on the user's hard drive).
A cookie consists of two parts: the name and the content or value of the cookie. Furthermore, the lifespan of a cookie is determined; technically, only the web server that sent the cookie can access it again when a user returns to the website associated with that web server.
Cookies themselves do not request personal information to be used and, in most cases, do not personally identify internet users.
There are 2 major categories of cookies:
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Session Cookies – these are stored temporarily in the web browser's cookie folder so that it can remember them until the user closes the browser window or logs out of that site.
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Persistent Cookies – these are stored on the hard drive of a computer or equipment (and generally depend on the pre-established lifespan of 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 remember a user's preferences.
What are the advantages of cookies?
A cookie contains information that links a web browser (the user) and 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 users have a pleasant browsing experience 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 lifespan of a cookie?
Cookies are managed by web servers. 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 leaves the website, and some cookies are retained and reused every time the user returns to that website (permanent cookies). However, cookies can be deleted by a user at any time through browser settings.
What are third-party cookies?
Certain sections of content on some sites may be provided through third parties/providers (e.g., a video, an advertisement, a chat application, etc.). 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 that 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
Cookies ensure users a pleasant browsing experience and support our efforts to provide convenient services to users through features such as online privacy preferences, the shopping cart, or relevant advertising. They are also used in preparing 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 personal identification of the user.
A visit to this site may place the following types of cookies:
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Essential cookies
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Performance cookies
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Social media and advertising cookies
Certain cookies, such as performance or social media and advertising cookies, may come from third parties.
Essential cookies
These cookies allow both the saving of preferences regarding the other types of cookies used and access to the basic features of this site. They remember user preferences on this site so that they do not need to be set upon every visit. Registration cookies are generated when a user registers on this site to inform us later whether they are registered or not. Our servers use these cookies to show us the account you are registered with and to offer you an easier interaction experience with the site.
Other cookies we place to allow optimal use of the site include shopping cart and Favorites list cookies (to save information related to products added to the cart or as Favorites), location cookies (used to establish your location based on IP for pre-filling certain fields required for registration or placing orders), session cookies generated upon access and automatically deleted when the browser is closed, and cookies that recognize the type of terminal used—desktop or mobile.
Performance cookies
These include both cookies from traffic analysis services and cookies placed by certain third-party services that offer complementary features to the site. Traffic analysis cookies allow the aggregate measurement of site traffic, identifying traffic sources, and providing information about the most visited or least accessed pages. This data is collected in aggregate and is completely anonymous. These may come from third parties such as Google Analytics.
Social media and advertising cookies
These may be placed through the site by the social media or advertising services we use. This type of cookie can be used by these services to determine a certain visitor profile and to display relevant advertising messages on other sites you visit. They may come from third parties such as advertising services (e.g., AdSense, AdWords) or social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Twitter). Due to how they work, this site cannot access these third-party cookies, just as third parties cannot access cookies owned by this site.
What type of information is stored and accessed through cookies?
Cookies keep information in a small text file that allows a website to recognize a browser. The web server will recognize the browser until the cookie expires or is deleted. The cookie stores important information that improves the Internet browsing experience (e.g., keeping a user logged into their account; 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 adapted to the preferences and interests of each user. Refusing or disabling cookies can make a site difficult to use. It does not mean you will no longer receive online advertising—only that it will no longer be able to take into account your preferences and interests evidenced by your browsing behavior.
Security and privacy issues
Cookies use plain text formats. They are not made of pieces of code, so they cannot be executed nor can they auto-run. Consequently, they cannot be duplicated or replicated on other networks to run or replicate again. However, cookies can be used for negative purposes. Because they store information about preferences and browsing history, they can be used as a form of spyware. Many anti-spyware products are aware of this and constantly mark cookies to be deleted during virus/spyware scanning procedures.
Tips for safe and responsible cookie-based browsing
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 user access to the most widespread sites, including YouTube, Gmail, Facebook, and others.
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Customize your browser settings regarding cookies to reflect a comfortable level of security for you.
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If you are the only person using the computer, you can set long expiration dates for storing browsing history.
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If you share computer access, consider setting the browser to delete individual browsing data every time you close the browser.
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Install and constantly update anti-spyware applications.
How can I stop cookies?
It is possible to configure the browser so that these cookies are no longer accepted, or you can configure the browser to accept cookies only from a specific site. All modern browsers offer the possibility to configure cookie storage preferences. These settings are usually found in the "options" or "preferences" menu of your browser.
Useful links
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All About Cookies