The Samdam Loyalty website uses cookies. The information presented below is intended to inform the user of more details about the placement, use, and administration of "cookies" used by the Samdam Loyalty website. 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. Cookies give site owners valuable feedback on how their sites are used by users so that they can make them more efficient and accessible to users. Improving the efficiency of online advertising.

1.    What is a cookie?

An "Internet Cookie" (also known as "browser cookie", "HTTP cookie" or simply "cookie") is a small file, made up of letters and numbers, that will be stored on your computer, mobile terminal or other equipment of a user accessing the Internet.
The cookie is installed by a request issued by a web server to a browser (eg Internet Explorer, Chrome) and is completely "passive" (it does not contain software, viruses or spyware and cannot access the information on the user's hard drive).
A cookie consists of 2 parts: the name and content or value of the cookie. Moreover, the duration of the existence 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 the respective web-server.
By itself, cookies do not require the personal information to be used and, in most cases, do not personally identify Internet users.
There are 2 major categories of cookies:
• Session cookies - these are temporarily stored in the cookie file of the web browser so that it can store them until the user exits the respective website or closes the browser window (eg when logging in / logging out on a webmail account or on social networks);
• Persistent cookies - these are stored on the hard drive of a computer or equipment (in general, it depends on the default lifetime of the cookie). Persistent cookies include those placed by another website than the one the user visits at the time - they are known as 'third party cookies' - which can be used in away. anonymously to memorize the interests of a user, so that advertising is delivered as relevant to users.

2.    What are the benefits of cookies?

A cookie contains information that links a web browser (the user) and a particular web-server (the website). If a browser accesses that web server again, it can read the information already stored and react accordingly. Cookies provide users with a pleasant browsing experience and support the efforts of many web sites to provide comfortable services to users (eg preferences regarding online confidentiality, site language options, shopping carts or relevant advertising).

3.    How long is the life a cookie?

Cookies are managed by web servers. The lifetime of a cookie may 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 has left the website and some cookies are retained and reused each time the user returns to that website (" permanent cookies ”). However, cookies can be deleted by a user at any time through the browser settings.

4.    What are cookies placed by third parties?

Certain sections of content on some sites may be provided through third parties/providers (eg news box, a video or an advertisement). 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 the respective website. Third-party providers must also comply with the law in force and the privacy policies of the site owner.
How are cookies used by this site?
A visit to this site may place cookies for:

• Site performance cookies;
• Cookies for analysing visitors;
• Cookies for geotargeting;
• Registration cookies;
• Advertising cookies;

These cookies may come from the following third parties: Google, Facebook, Instagram

a. Performance cookies
This type of cookie retains the preferences of the user on this site, so no need to set them every time you visit the site. Examples: the volume settings for the video player, the streaming video speed at which the browser is compatible.

b. Cookies for visitor analysis
Each time a user visits this site the analytics software provided by a third party generates a user analysis cookie. This cookie tells us if you've visited this site before. The browser will tell you if you have this cookie, and if not, we will generate one. This allows monitoring the unique users who visit us and how often they do. If you are not registered on this site, this cookie cannot be used to identify individuals, they are only used for statistical purposes. If you are registered we may also know the details you have provided to us, such as your email address and username - these are subject to confidentiality and the provisions of the Terms and Conditions, the Privacy Policy, as well as the provisions of the legislation in force regarding the protection of personal data.
c. Cookies for geotargeting
These cookies are used by software that determines which country you come from. It is completely anonymous and is used only to target content - even when you are on our page in Romanian or another language, you receive the same advertisement.
 
d. Cookies for registration
When you register on this site, we generate a cookie that notifies us whether you are registered or not. Our servers use these cookies to show us the account you are registered with and if you have permission for a particular service. It also allows us to associate any comments you post on our site with your username. If you have not selected "keep me registered", this cookie will be automatically deleted when you close your browser or computer.

e. Cookies for advertising
These cookies allow us to find out if you have viewed or not an online advertisement, which is its type and how long it has been since you saw the advertising message. We also use these cookies to target online advertising. We may also use third-party cookies for better advertising targeting (for example: to show holiday advertisements, if the user recently visited an article on the holiday site). These cookies are anonymous, they store information about the visualized content, not about the users. We also set anonymous cookies through other sites that we advertise. By receiving them, we can use them to recognize you as a visitor to that site. If you later visit our site, we will be able to deliver advertising based on this information.
 
f. Cookies of advertising providers
Much of the advertising you find on this site belongs to third parties. Some of these parties use their own anonymous cookies to analyse how many people have been exposed to an advertising message or to see how many people have been exposed multiple times to the same advertisement. 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 display your card advertising on other sites, based on your browsing this site.

5.    What kind of information is stored and accessed?

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 (eg the language settings in which you want to access a site, keeping a user logged in to your webmail account, online banking security, keeping products in the shopping cart).

6.    Why cookies are important for the Internet

Cookies are the central point of the efficient functioning of the Internet, helping to generate a friendly browsing experience and adapted to the preferences and interests of each user. Refusing or disabling cookies can make some sites impossible to use. Refusing or disabling cookies does not mean that you will no longer receive online advertising - only that it will no longer be able to consider your preferences and interests as evidenced by your browsing behaviour.

7.    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 nor can they self-run. As a result, you cannot duplicate or replicate on other networks to run again. Because they cannot perform these functions, they cannot be considered viruses. However, cookies can be used for negative purposes. Because it stores information about users' browsing preferences and browsing history, both on a site and many other sites, cookies can be used as a form of Spyware. Many anti-spyware products are aware of this fact and are constantly flagging cookies for deletion in anti-virus / anti-spyware removal/scanning procedures.
In general, browsers have built-in privacy settings that provide different levels of cookie acceptance: the period of validity and automatic deletion after the user has visited a site. Because identity protection is very valuable and represents the right of every Internet user, it is advisable to know what possible problems cookies may create. Because through them it is constantly transmitted, in both directions, information between the browser and the website, if an attacker or an unauthorized person intervenes during the data transmission, 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 (eg an unsecured Wi-Fi network).
Other cookie-based attacks involve incorrect 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 unsecured channels. The attackers then use the information for unauthorized access to certain sites. It is very important to be careful when choosing the most appropriate method of protecting personal information.

8.    Safe and responsible navigation

Due to their flexibility and the fact that most of the most visited and largest sites use cookies, these are almost inevitable. Disabling cookies will not allow the user access to the most popular and used sites, including Youtube, Gmail, Yahoo, and others.
Here are some tips that can ensure you worry-free browsing with cookies:
• customize your browser settings regarding cookies, to reflect a comfortable level for you of the security of the use of cookies;
• If you do not mind cookies and you are the only person using the computer, you can set long deadlines for storing your browsing history and personal access data;
• If you share access to the computer, you can consider setting the browser to clear individual browsing data each time you close the browser - this is a variant of accessing sites that place cookies and deleting any browsing information at the close of the navigation session;
• constantly install and update antispyware applications.
Many spyware detection and prevention applications include detecting site attacks. Thus, it 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 cookie-based attacks are performed by exploiting the weaknesses of older versions of browsers. Cookies are everywhere and cannot be avoided if you want to enjoy access to the best and largest sites on the Internet - local or international. With a clear understanding of how they operate and the benefits they bring, you can take the necessary security measures so you can surf the Internet with confidence.

9.    How can I stop cookies?

Disabling and refusing to receive cookies can make certain sites impractical or difficult to visit and use. Also, refusing to accept cookies does not mean that you will no longer receive/see online advertising.
It is possible to set it in the browser so that these cookies are no longer accepted, or you can set the browser to accept cookies from a particular site. 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. Usually, these settings can be found in the "options" or "preferences" menu of your browser.