What "cookies" and "Web beacons" are and how they are used
In addition to the personally identifiable information that we actively collect when you register, we also collect anonymous information passively using cookies and Web beacons. This technology plays an important role in making the Internet work, but there is much confusion among Internet users about what cookies and Web beacons are and how they are used.
A cookie is a small text file containing a unique identification number that is transferred from a Web site to the hard drive of your computer so that the site administrator may identify your computer and passively track its activities on the Web site. This unique number identifies your Web browser to our computer system whenever you visit one of the Privatebanking.com sites. A cookie will not allow a Web site to learn any personally identifiable information (such as your real name and address) that you have not otherwise disclosed.
Cookies allow us to automatically remember your Web browser when you visit our Web sites. To help serve you better, we generally uses cookies to allow us to deliver products and services more efficiently. By storing certain registration and preference information on cookies or associating cookies with registration, preference or profile information stored on our computers, we can deliver products and services that use such information more quickly and efficiently for more users. This information is normally saved in an encrypted form that only we can interpret.
Prevent others from using your account. On some E-Bango.net sites, cookies help us efficiently determine that only one user is logged on under the same member name at a time.
Measure statistics such as audience size and traffic patterns. This information is only collected in aggregate form and will not be linked to your personally identifiable information.
Display advertisements. Cookies let us know whether or not a Web browser has seen a particular advertisement (so we can show you a variety of material) and count the number of advertisements displayed to a particular browser. We also use cookies to customize the advertising you see based on non-personally identifiable demographic information that you provide when you register.
The use of cookies is an industry standard, and they are currently used on most major Web sites. It is possible to adjust your Web browser preferences to alert you when a cookie is sent to your hard drive, or to refuse cookies altogether. While we do not require you to use cookies, keep in mind that certain sites and services will not function properly if you set your browser to refuse all cookies.
Web beacons, also known as clear GIFs or single-pixel GIFs, are small image files that we may place on Web pages and within Web-based email newsletters that we send. Working in conjunction with cookies, Web beacons allow us to accurately count the number of unique users who have visited a specific page on Privatebanking.com's sites and the number of times those pages are displayed. We can also use Web beacons to let us know how many people opened a Web-based email newsletter. This information is only collected in aggregate form and will not be linked to your personally identifiable information.
Without cookies and Web beacons, it would be difficult for the Company to know which services have a larger audience than others. Tracking audience size helps us to better understand when to launch new services and enhance the current offerings. Keep in mind that any image file on a Web page can act as a Web beacon.
Because Web beacons work in conjunction with cookies, you can prevent our Web beacon from collecting anonymous information by setting your Web browser to refuse all cookies or the E-Bango.com cookie in particular. Web beacons are built into our Web pages, therefore non-functional Web beacons will continue to appear even if you refuse cookies.