Cookies

  1. The website www.HOUSEPLANSCREATORS.com uses cookies.

This section gives you more information about what cookies are, how we use them and how you can manage them both on our site and on other sites.

About cookies, what they are and how they work.

The following information is intended to inform the user about the placement, use and management of the "cookies" used by the www.HOUSEPLANSCREATORS.com website.

Please read the following information carefully:

This website uses its own cookies as well as cookies added by third parties, in order to provide visitors with a much better browsing experience and services adapted to the needs and interests of each.

In what we call "modern web" or "web 2.0", cookies play an important role in facilitating the access and delivery of the multiple services that the user enjoys on the Internet, such as:

  • Personalizing certain settings such as: language in which the site is viewed, date and time, keeping options/settings (including saving them) and keeping older preferences by accessing different buttons/functions.
  • Cookies provide website owners with valuable feedback on how their websites are used by users, so that they can make them even more efficient or accessible to users.
  • Allow multimedia or other applications from other sites to be included (inserted/embed) in certain pages to create a more valuable, useful and enjoyable browsing experience.
  1. What is a "cookie"?

An "Internet Cookie" (term also known as "browser cookie" or "HTTP cookie" or simply "cookie") is a small file, consisting of letters and numbers, which will be stored on the computer, mobile terminal or other equipment of a user from which the Internet is accessed.

The cookie is sent through a request issued by the web server on which the site is hosted, to the user's browser (Ex: Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome, etc.) and is completely "passive", in the sense that it does not contain software, viruses or spyware, nor can it access information on the user's hard drive.

A cookie consists of 2 parts: the name and the content or value of the cookie and is uniquely associated with the domain on which the site that sent it to the user's browser is hosted (eg: www.HOUSEPLANSCREATORS.com). Moreover, the duration of existence of a cookie is determined and only the web server that sent the cookie can access it again, and only when the user returns to the site associated with that web server.

Cookies do not require personal information to be used, nor can they personally identify Internet users.

There are two main categories of cookies:

  • Session cookies – these are temporarily stored in the cookie folder of the web browser until the user leaves the respective site or closes the browser window.
  • Persistent cookies – these are stored on the computer or the equipment used on the hard drive for a longer period and remain stored even after leaving the site or after closing the web browser (and generally depend on the lifetime of the cookie).

Persistent cookies also include those placed by a website other than the one the user is visiting at the time - known as "third party cookies" - which can be used anonymously to remember a user's interests so that advertising is delivered as relevant to the user as possible.

  1. Advantages of cookies

A cookie contains information that connects a browser (the user) and a specific 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 sites to provide comfortable services to users. Examples – online privacy preferences, website language options or relevant advertising, etc.

  1. Lifetime of a cookie

Cookies are managed by web servers. The lifetime 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 not retained after the user leaves the site, and some cookies are retained and reused every time the user returns to that site ("cookie permanent ones").

However, cookies can be deleted by the user at any time through the browser settings.

  1. Cookies placed by third parties

Certain sections of content on some sites may be provided through third parties/providers (Ex: news box, a video or an advertisement). These third parties can also place cookies through the site and they are called "third party cookies", because they are not placed by the respective site. Third party providers must also comply with applicable law and the privacy policies of the site owner.

  1. Use of cookies by this site

Visiting this site may place cookies for the purposes of:

  • Website performance cookies
  • Visitor analysis cookies
  • Registration or authentication cookies
  • Third party cookies

         6.1. Performance cookies

This type of cookie remembers the user's preferences on this site, so that there is no need to set them each time the site is visited.

         6.2. Visitor analysis cookies

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 have visited this site before. The browser communicates if this cookie exists, and if not, one is generated. This allows monitoring of unique users who visit the site and how often they do so.

This cookie cannot be used to identify individuals, they are used only for statistical purposes.

         6.3. Cookies for registration or authentication

When you register or log in on this site, a cookie is generated that tells us whether you are registered or not. Our server uses these cookies to identify the account with which you are registered and if you have the necessary permissions for a certain service or for access to sections of the site. It also allows the association of the comments you post on the site with your account username. If you have not selected "keep me registered", this cookie will be automatically deleted when you close your browser or computer.

         6.4. Third party cookies

On some pages, third parties can set their own anonymous cookies, in order to track the success of an advertisement/application or to customize an application. Due to the way of use, this site cannot access these cookies, just as third parties cannot access the cookies owned by this site.

Online advertising belonging to third parties

Some of these use their own anonymous cookies to analyze how many people have viewed an advertising message, or to see how many people have viewed the same advertisement several times.

The companies that generate these cookies have their own privacy policies, and this site does not have access to these cookies. Third-party cookies are used to show you targeted advertising on other sites as well, based on your browsing on this site.

  1. The type of information 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.

The cookie stores important information that improves the Internet browsing experience. Ex: the settings regarding the language in which you want to access a site, keeping a user logged in to the member account or email account, online security, keeping and memorizing some settings, etc.

Although cookies are stored in the memory of the Internet user's computer, they cannot access/read other information on that computer. Cookies are not viruses. They are just small text files; they are not compiled into code and cannot be executed. Thus, they cannot self-copy, cannot spread to other networks to generate actions, and cannot be used to spread viruses.

  1. The importance of cookies for the Internet

Cookies are the central point of the efficient functioning of the Internet, helping to generate a friendly browsing experience, adapted to the preferences and interests of each user.

Cookies can ensure a faster and easier interaction between users and websites. For example, when a user authenticates on a certain website, the authentication data is stored in a cookie; afterwards, the user can access that site without having to log in again.

Similarly, cookies can store information about products ordered by the user on an e-commerce site, thus making the concept of a "shopping cart" possible.

Cookies can also enable websites to monitor users' online activities and establish user profiles, which can then be used for marketing purposes.

Rejecting or deactivating cookies does not mean that you will no longer receive online advertising, but only that it will no longer be able to take into account your preferences and interests highlighted by your browsing behavior.

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

  • Content and services adapted to user preferences – categories of news, weather, sports, maps, public and government services, entertainment sites and travel services.
  • Offers tailored to the interests of users – password retention, language preferences (Ex: display of search results in Romanian).
  • Retention of child protection filters regarding Internet content (family mode options, safe search functions).
  • Advertising frequency limitation – limiting the number of times an advertisement is displayed for a specific user on a site.
  • Providing relevant advertising to the user.
  • Measurement, optimization and analytics features - such as confirmation of a certain level of traffic on a site, what type of content is viewed more and how a user reaches the site (eg: through search engines, directly, from other sites- uri etc). The sites run these analyzes of their use in order to improve the sites for the benefit of the user.
  1. Remarketing policy

In the pages of the website www.HOUSEPLANSCREATORS.com, by means of a remarketing tag and a conversion code, received from Google AdWords, cookies are collected (a number that uniquely identifies a web browser on a specific computer, not a person). The Google remarketing tag collects cookies in order to display ads on the websites of the Google Display network and in Google Search.

When users visit a page of the website that contains the remarketing tag, the cookie of the browser they are using is added to a list for remarketing. A remarketing list is a set of user cookies generated by one or more remarketing tags. 

Google AdWords uses cookies to display sponsored ads on the websites of the Google Display network and in Google Search to users who have visited the pages of the website www.HOUSEPLANSCREATORS.com. If you do not agree with the use of cookies by Google, deactivation can be done through the Ads Preferences Manager. The same can happen with other services, eg: Facebook Ads.

  1. Security and privacy issues

Cookies are NOT viruses! They use a plain text format. They are not made up of pieces of code, so they cannot be executed or auto-run. Consequently, they cannot be duplicated or replicated on other networks to run or replicate again. Since they cannot perform these functions, they cannot be considered viruses.

Cookies can still be used for negative purposes. Because they store information about users' preferences and browsing history, both on a single site and across multiple sites, cookies can be used as a form of spyware. Many anti-spyware products are aware of this fact and constantly mark cookies for deletion during anti-virus/anti-spyware deletion/scanning procedures.

In general, browsers have integrated privacy settings that provide different levels of cookie acceptance, validity period and automatic deletion after the user has visited a certain site.

  1. Other security aspects related to cookies.

Considering that identity protection is very important and represents the right of every internet user, it is advisable to know what are the possible problems that may arise in connection with cookies. Since through them information is constantly transmitted in both directions between the browser and the site, if an attacker or unauthorized person intervenes during data transmission, the information contained in the cookie can be intercepted. Although very rare, this can happen if the browser connects to the server using an unencrypted network (Ex: an unsecured Wi-Fi network).

Other cookie-based attacks involve missetting cookies on servers.

If a site does not require the browser to use only encrypted channels, attackers can use this vulnerability to trick browsers into sending information over unsecured channels. The attackers then use the information to gain unauthorized access to certain websites. It is very important to be careful in choosing the most suitable method of personal information protection.

  1. Managing, deactivating and deleting cookies

Detailed information on how to manage, disable and delete cookies by using the settings of the browser used to browse the Internet is available at the following addresses:

Internet Explorer – Deleting and managing cookies (IE 8, 9 and 10):

Mozilla Firefox – Cookie settings and cookie troubleshooting (turn cookies on and off, delete cookies, block certain sites from placing cookies, unblock cookie placement, etc.)

Google Chrome – Cookie management (delete, block, allow, set exceptions, etc.)

Safari – Manage cookies – Manage cookies (only in English)

Remove cookies – Delete cookies (only in English)

Opera – Managing and deleting cookies (only in English)

  1. Other Helpful Resources and Information: