The website www.belor.ro uses cookies. The information provided below is intended to inform the user about the placement, use, and management of the cookies used by the website belor.ro. Additionally, there are some useful links related to this subject. If you need more information and it is not provided below, you can contact the Data Protection Officer at the email address andreea.banceanu@belor.ro.

This website uses cookies, both its own cookies and third-party cookies, to provide visitors with a better browsing experience and services tailored to each individual’s needs and interests. The cookies used on this website provide valuable feedback and help us improve the online experience. The website uses cookies, such as tokens that remain active until the browser window is closed, to enhance the browsing experience. Information obtained from these cookies is not stored in the database, and once the browser is closed, the cookies are deleted from your computer. We process your data to provide content or advertisements. We analyze the distribution of this content or advertisements to obtain information about our website. We share this information with our partners based on consent. The right to consent can be exercised based on a specific purpose below or at the partner level, in the link within each specific purpose. These options will be reported to our providers participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.

What is a “cookie”?

An “Internet Cookie” (also known as a “browser cookie” or “HTTP cookie” or simply “cookie”) is a small file, consisting of letters and numbers, that will be stored on the computer, mobile device, or other equipment of a user who accesses the Internet.

The cookie is installed by a request from a web server to a browser (e.g., Internet Explorer, Chrome) and is completely “passive” (it does not contain software programs, viruses, or spyware and cannot access 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 technically determined; 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 two major categories of cookies:

Session Cookies – these are temporarily stored in the web browser’s cookie folder to remember them until the user exits the respective website or closes the browser window (e.g., when logging in/logging out of a webmail account or social networks).

Persistent Cookies – These are stored on the hard drive of a computer or device (and generally depend on the predetermined 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 anonymously used to remember a user’s interests in order to deliver relevant advertising.

What are the benefits of cookies?

A cookie contains information that links a web browser (the user) with a specific web server (the website). If a browser accesses that web server again, it can read the previously stored information and react accordingly. Cookies provide users with a pleasant browsing experience and support the efforts of many websites to offer convenient services to users: e.g., privacy preferences online, website 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 respective website, while others 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 websites can be provided by third parties/providers (e.g., news boxes, videos, or advertisements). These third parties can also place cookies through the website, and they are called “third-party cookies” because they are not placed by the owner of that particular website. Third-party providers must also comply with applicable law and the privacy policies of the website owner. Examples of these are Google Analytics and Right Now.

How are cookies used by this website?

A visit to this website may place cookies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies: These files are strictly necessary for the functioning of the website, including those for saving/processing your choices regarding Cookie Technologies. They do not require your consent for placement/access and cannot be disabled.

Functional Cookies: These files allow the website to provide enhanced and personalized functionality, such as retaining personal preferences during browsing and login data, running videos, or providing live chat. If you do not allow the placement/access of these files, some or all of these services may not function correctly. Selecting the general option “Active (YES)” for this purpose also implies your consent for the placement/access of information through Cookie Technologies.

Measurement and Analysis Cookies (Statistics): These files allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our website. They help us understand which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the website. If you do not allow the placement/access of these files, we will not know when you visited our website and will not be able to monitor its performance. Selecting the general option “Active (YES)” for this purpose also implies your consent for the placement/access of information.

Marketing Cookies: These files are added to our website by our advertising provider partners (Vendors). They may be used by these companies to create a profile of your interests and display advertisements tailored to your interests and behavior, including on other websites. They work by uniquely identifying your browser and device. If you do not allow the placement/access of these files, you will see non-customized advertisements. Selecting the general option “Active (YES)” for this purpose also implies your consent for the placement/access of information through Cookie Technologies.

Except for strictly necessary cookies for the website’s operation, consent is required for all other categories of cookies. Functional and marketing (targeted advertising) cookies, including cookies like Google Analytics, which transfer data to the United States of America to Google Inc., fall under this category. After the invalidation of the Privacy Shield, the legal basis for this transfer is your consent, which you can express by configuring the cookies from the cookie bar and at any other time by clicking the preference management button.

What type of information is stored and accessed through cookies?

Cookies store 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.

Why are cookies important for the Internet?

Cookies are at the core of the efficient functioning of the Internet, helping generate a user-friendly browsing experience tailored to the preferences and interests of each user. Rejecting or disabling cookies can make some websites nearly impossible to use.

Rejecting or disabling cookies doesn’t mean you won’t receive online advertising anymore; it just means that advertising won’t be able to consider your preferences and interests as indicated by your browsing behavior.

Examples of important uses of cookies (which do not require user authentication through an account):

Content and services tailored to user preferences, such as news categories, weather, sports, maps, public services, government websites, entertainment sites, and travel services.

Offers tailored to user interests, like saving passwords, language preferences (e.g., displaying search results in Romanian).

Retaining child protection filters for internet content (family mode options, safe search functions).

Limiting the frequency of ad displays – restricting the number of times a specific ad is shown to a particular user on a website.

Providing more relevant advertising to users.

Measuring, optimizing, and analytics features, such as confirming a certain level of traffic on a website, what type of content is viewed, and how a user arrives at a website (e.g., through search engines, directly, from other websites, etc.). Websites perform these usage analyses to improve their sites for the benefit of users.

Security and privacy issues related to cookies:

Cookies are NOT viruses! They use plain text formats. They are not made up of pieces of code, so they cannot be executed or self-run. Therefore, they cannot duplicate or replicate on other networks to run or replicate again. Because they cannot perform these functions, they cannot be considered viruses.

However, cookies can still be used for negative purposes. Since they store information about user preferences and browsing history, both on a particular site and on multiple other sites, cookies can be used as a form of spyware. Many anti-spyware products are aware of this and consistently mark cookies for deletion during anti-virus/anti-spyware scanning and removal procedures.

In general, browsers have built-in privacy settings that provide different levels of cookie acceptance, expiration periods, and automatic deletion after a user visits a particular site.

Other security aspects related to cookies:

Because identity protection is highly valuable and represents the right of every internet user, it is advisable to know what potential problems cookies can create. Because they constantly transmit information in both directions between the browser and the website, if an attacker or unauthorized person intervenes in the data transmission process, the information contained in cookies can be intercepted. Although very rare, this can happen if the browser connects to the server using an unencrypted network (e.g., an unsecured Wi-Fi network).

Other cookie-based attacks involve incorrect cookie settings on servers. If a website does not request the browser to use only encrypted channels, attackers can exploit this vulnerability to deceive browsers into sending information through unsecured channels. Attackers then use the information for unauthorized access to certain sites. It is crucial to be cautious in choosing the most suitable method of personal information protection.

Tips for safe and responsible browsing based on cookies:

Due to their flexibility and the fact that most of the most visited and largest websites use cookies, they are almost unavoidable. Disabling cookies may prevent user access to the most widespread and commonly used sites like YouTube, Gmail, Yahoo, and others. Here are some tips to ensure worry-free browsing with the help of cookies:

Customize your browser’s cookie settings to reflect a comfortable level of security for your cookie use.

If you don’t mind cookies and are the sole user of your computer, you can set long expiration times for storing browsing history and personal access data.

If you share computer access, consider configuring your browser to delete individual browsing data each time you close the browser. This is a way to access cookie-placing sites and delete any visit information when closing the browsing session.

Install and regularly update anti-spyware applications.

Many spyware detection and prevention applications include detection of attacks on websites. They prevent the browser from accessing websites that could exploit browser vulnerabilities or download dangerous software. Make sure your browser is always up to date. Many cookie-based attacks exploit the weaknesses of older browser versions.

Cookies are everywhere and cannot be avoided if you want to enjoy access to the best and largest websites on the Internet, whether local or international. With a clear understanding of how they operate and the benefits they bring, you can take the necessary security measures to confidently navigate the Internet.

How can you stop cookies?

You can always change your initial preferences on our website by clicking the preference management button.

To learn more about cookies, including how to view the types of cookies that have been installed and how to manage and delete them, visit wikipedia.org, http://www.youronlinechoices.com/ro, http://www.allaboutcookies.org/, or www.aboutcookies.org.

All modern browsers offer the ability to change cookie settings, typically found in the “options” or “preferences” menu of your browser.