Steel industry information portal - Cookie policy.

Our Cookie Policy - Description, Browser Controls.

Cookie usage and management

About Cookies

Cookies are typically small text files which a website may put on your computer or mobile device [iPhone, Blackberry etc] when you first visit their website. The cookie can help the website to recognise your device the next time you visit. Web beacons or other similar small data files can also do the same thing. Steelonthenet.com use the term 'cookies' in this policy statement to refer to all files that collect information in this way.

There are many functions that cookies can serve. For example, they can help computers to remember your username and viewing preferences or they can analyse how well a website is performing. Cookies can also be used to recommend content that is likely to be suited to your browsing behaviour.

Some cookies contain personal information - for example, if you click 'remember me' when logging in. Most cookies however won't collect information that identifies you, and will instead collect more general information such as how users arrive at and use a website [including number of page views, entry page, exit page etc] as well as a user's general location and user browser and similar technical information.

Our Cookie Policy

Use of cookies on the Steelonthenet.com portal is as follows.

• Through StatCounter, a website visitor tracking service. StatCounter makes use of an analytics Cookie (named 'is_unique') to determine whether you are a first-time or returning visitor to our website in order to estimate unique visits to our site. No personal information is stored in this cookie.
• Through Google Analytics, another website tracking service. Google Analytics makes use of several cookies (named '_utma', '_utmb', '_utmc', '_utmz') to collect information in an anonymous form, including the number of visitors to the site, visitor origination and page visits. The cookies only collect information in an anonymous form.
• Through Google Adsense, an advertising network. Google Adsense uses the DoubleClick cookie on our website. This is used to serve more relevant ads to our viewers based on users' previous browsing experience.
• Through NamesCo, our web hosting company. Our web host uses a cookie named "X-Mapping-kjicghkc" to 'balance' server loading and ensure visitors to Steelonthenet.com receive fast page loading. This cookie does not store any personal user data. This is a session cookie which expires when you close your browser.
• Cookies are also used on this website for purchases made through PayPal, the online payment system. These so-called 'session cookies' are used by PayPal to create online shopping baskets as well as for user authentication. Cookies such as these are essential for the purchase process and also help to keep user data safe. Such cookies are however exempt from compliance with the disclosure and consent rules set out by the UK's Information Commissioner.
• With visitor approval, personal data is also displayed on our website's quiz pages: our 'hall of fame' page lists high scores (including user names) in our steel industry quiz. This user data is however kept on our own server and not on visitor's computers; stricly speaking - these data files are not therefore cookies.

Cookie Management

If you would prefer us not to use cookies you may disable cookie usage as described below. If you do this however you may find that certain sections of our website do not display properly or do not operate as intended.

To disable cookies using your browser...

• Google Chrome: Click the wrench image on the browser toolbar. Select Settings. Click 'Show advanced settings'. In the 'Privacy' section, click the 'Content settings' button. To disable cookies, in the 'Cookies' section, then pick 'Block sites from setting any data'.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0, 7.0 or 8.0: Click on 'Tools' at the top of the browser window and select 'Internet Options'. In the options window, navigate to the 'Privacy' tab. To disable cookies move slider to the top to block all cookies.
• Mozilla Firefox: Click on 'Tools' at the browser menu. Select 'Options'. Select the Privacy panel. To disable cookies: Uncheck 'Accept cookies for sites'.
• Other browsers: Please look for a 'support' function in the browser or contact the browser provider.