COOKIE POLICY

1. Cookie Policy

This policy refers to cookies and the webpage operated by S.C. TASTE OF ASIA S.R.L. with the registered office in Cluj-Napoca, București Str., no. 74, ground floor, registered at Trade Registry under no J12/647/2014, tax code RO32843193, (hereinafter referred to as “TASTE OF ASIA“).

2. What is a cookie?

A cookie is a small file consisting of letters and numbers that will be stored on your computer, mobile device or other equipment used by the user to access the Internet. The cookie is installed through a request sent by a web-server to a browser (for instance Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Safari) and is completely ‘passive’ (it does not contain software programs, viruses or spyware and cannot access information on the user’s hard drive).

3. What are cookies used for?

These files make it possible to recognise the user’s terminal and present the content of a website in a relevant way, adapted to the preferences of the user. Cookies provide users with an enjoyable browsing experience and support TASTE OF ASIA’s efforts to provide user-friendly services: for instance, online privacy preferences or relevant advertising. Cookies are also used to prepare certain aggregated statistics that help us understand how users benefit from our webpages, allowing us to improve their structure and content, excluding the personal identification of the user.

4. What cookies do we use?

We are using two types of cookies: per session and fixed. The first ones are temporary files that remain in the user’s terminal until the end of the session or until the application is closed (the web browser). The fixed cookies are stored on the device for the time specified in the cookie parameters or until they are manually deleted by the user.

5. How are cookies used by this website?

A visit to this website can place cookies for the purposes of:

• Website performance cookies
• Visitor analysis cookies
• Geo-targeting cookies
• Registration cookies
• Advertiser cookies
• Advertising provider’s cookies

6. Do cookies contain personal data?

Cookies themselves do not require personal data information to be used and, in most cases, do not personally identify internet users. Personal data collected through the use of Cookies can be collected only to facilitate certain user functions. Such data is encrypted in a way that makes the access of unauthorised individuals to them, impossible.

7. Cookie removal

Generally, an application used to access webpages allows you to save 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 (or the web’s browser). Restricting the use of Cookies can affect certain features of the website.

8. Why are cookies important for the Internet?

Cookies are the central focus of an efficient Internet, helping to generate a friendly browsing experience that is tailored to the preferences and interests of each user. Denying the use of cookies or disabling them can make certain websites unusable.

Denying or disabling cookies does not mean that you will not receive online advertising anymore, only that the advertising will not be able to keep track of your preferences and interests highlighted by your browsing behaviour.

Examples of important uses of cookies (not requiring authentication of a user through an account):

• Content and services tailored to the user preferences – categories of products and services;
• Offers tailored to user’s interests – retaining passwords;
• Retain child protection filters for content (family mode options, safe search functions);
• Limit ad frequency – limit the number of displays of an ad for a particular use on a website;
• providing more relevant advertising to the user;
• Measurement, optimisation 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 (for instance through search engines, directly from other websites etc.). The websites run these analyses in order to improve, for the benefit of the users.

9. Security and privacy issues

Cookies are NOT viruses. They use plain text formats. Cookies are not composed out of pieces of codes so they cannot be executed or auto-run. Consequently, they cannot duplicate or replicate in 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 website and on several other websites, 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, validity periods, and automatic deletion after the user has visited a particular website.

Other security issues related to cookies:

• Because identity protection is quite valuable and represents the right of every internet user, it is advisable to know what problems cookies can create. Given that through cookies constant information is exchanged both ways, between the browser and the website, if an attacker or unauthorised person intervenes in the data transmission path, 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 (for instance an unsecured Wi-Fi 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 trick browsers in sending information via unsecured channels. Attackers then use information for unauthorised access to certain websites. 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:

Due to their flexibility and the fact that many of the most visited websites and the important ones use cookies, they are almost inevitable. Disabling cookies will not allow the user to access the most popular and used websites including YouTube, Gmail, Yahoo and others.

Here are a few tips that can help you navigate worry-free but with the help of cookies:

• Customise your cookie browser settings to reflect a comfortable level of cookie usage security for you. If you do not mind cookies and you are the only person using your computer, you can set long expiration dates to store your browsing history and personal data.
• If you share access to your computer, you can set-up the browser to delete individual browsing data each time you close your browser. This is a way to access websites that place cookies and delete any history information when you close the browsing session.
• Install and constantly update your anti-spyware applications.
• Many of the applications for detection and prevention of spyware include the detection of attacks on websites. 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 attacks based on cookies are happening by exploiting the weaknesses of the old versions of browsers.

Cookies are everywhere and cannot be avoided if you want to access to the best and largest 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 you can browse the Internet with confidence.

Disabling and refusing to receive cookies can make some websites unfeasible or difficult to visit and use. Also, refusing to accept cookies does not mean you will not receive / 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 website. 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.

10. Useful links

If you want to know more about cookies, what they are used for and certain specific instructions on how to block or delete them, we recommend the following links: