COMMITMENT TO YOUR PRIVACY
This site is owned and operated byToad Software, Inc ("Toad Software", "TS", "The Company"). Your privacy on the Internet is of the utmost importance to us. At Toad Software,
we want to make your experience online satisfying and safe.
Because we gather certain types of information about our users,
we feel you should fully understand the terms and conditions surrounding the capture
and use of that information. This privacy statement discloses what information we
gather and how we use it.
INFORMATION Toad Software GATHERS AND TRACKS
Toad Software gathers two types of information about users:
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Information that users provide through optional, voluntary submissions.
These are voluntary submissions to receive our electronic newsletters, to participate
in our message boards or forums, to email a friend, and from participation in polls
and surveys:
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Information Toad Software gathers through aggregated tracking information
derived mainly by tallying page views throughout our sites. This information allows
us to better tailor our content to readers' needs and to help our advertisers and
sponsors better understand the demographics of our audience. Because Toad Software derives
its revenue mainly from sponsorships and advertising, providing such aggregated
demographic data is essential to keeping our service free to users. Under no circumstances
does Toad Software divulge any information about an individual user to a third party.
Toad Software Gathers User Information In The Following
Processes:
Optional Voluntary Information
We offer the following free services, which require some type
of voluntary submission of personal information by users:
Electronic newsletters (Dispatches)
We will offer a free electronic newsletter to users. Toad Software gathers the
email addresses of users who voluntarily subscribe. Users may remove themselves
from this mailing list by following the link provided in every newsletter that points
users to the subscription management page. Users can also subscribe to the newsletters
at the time of registration.
Message boards/forums
Users of the site's Message Boards and Forums must register separately for these
services (both are free of charge) in order to post messages, although they needn't
register to visit the site. During registration the user is required to supply a
username, password, and email address.
"E-mail this to a friend" Service
Our site users can choose to electronically forward a link, page, or documents
to someone else by clicking "e-mail this to a friend". The user must provide their
email address, as well as that of the recipient. This information is used only in
the case of transmission errors and, of course, to let the recipient know who sent
the email. The information is not used for any other purpose.
Polling
We may offer interactive polls to users so they can easily share
their opinions with other users and see what our audience thinks about important
issues. Opinions or other responses to polls are aggregated and are not identifiable
to any particular user. Toad Software may use a system to "tag" users after they have
voted, so they can vote only once on a particular question. This tag is not correlated
with information about individual users.
-
Surveys
Toad Software may occasionally conduct user surveys to better target our content
to our audience. We sometimes share the aggregated demographic information in these
surveys with our sponsors, advertisers and partners. We never share any of this
information about specific individuals with any third party.
Children
Consistent with the Federal Children's Online Privacy Protection
Act of 1998 (COPPA), we will never knowingly request personally identifiable information
from anyone under the age of 13 without requesting parental consent.
Usage tracking
Toad Software tracks user traffic patterns throughout all of our sites.
However, we do not correlate this information with data about individual users.
Toad Software does break down overall usage statistics according to a user's domain name,
browser type, and MIME type by reading this information from the browser string
(information contained in every user's browser).
Toad Software sometimes tracks and catalogs the search terms that
users enter in our Search function, but this tracking is never associated with individual
users. We use tracking information to determine which areas of our sites users like
and don't like based on traffic to those areas. We do not track what individual
users read, but rather how well each page performs overall. This helps us continue
to build a better service for you.
Cookies
We may place a text file called a "cookie" in the browser files
of your computer. The cookie itself does not contain Personal Information although
it will enable us to relate your use of this site to information that you have specifically
and knowingly provided. But the only personal information a cookie can contain is
information you supply yourself. A cookie can't read data off your hard disk or
read cookie files created by other sites. Toad Software uses cookies to track user traffic
patterns (as described above). Our advertising system delivers a one-time cookie
to better track ad impressions and click rates.
You can refuse cookies by turning them off in your browser. If
you've set your browser to warn you before accepting cookies, you will receive the
warning message with each cookie. You do not need to have cookies turned on to use
this site. However, you do need cookies to participate actively in message boards,
forums, polling and surveys.
USE OF INFORMATION
Toad Software uses any information voluntarily given by our users
to enhance their experience in our network of sites, whether to provide interactive
or personalized elements on the sites or to better prepare future content based
on the interests of our users.
As stated above, we use information that users voluntarily provide
in order to send out electronic newsletters and to enable users to participate in
polls, surveys, message boards, and forums. We send out newsletters to subscribers
on a regular schedule (depending on the newsletter), and occasionally send out special
editions when we think subscribers might be particularly interested in something
we are doing. Toad Software never shares newsletter mailing lists with any third parties,
including advertisers, sponsors or partners.
When we use tracking information to determine which areas of
our sites users like and don't like based on traffic to those areas. We do not track
what individual users read, but rather how well each page performs overall. This
helps us continue to build a better service for you. We track search terms entered
in Search function as one of many measures of what interests our users. But we don't
track which terms a particular user enters.
Toad Software creates aggregate reports on user demographics and
traffic patterns for advertisers, sponsors and partners. This allows our advertisers
to advertise more effectively, and allows our users to receive advertisements that
are pertinent to their needs. Because we don't track the usage patterns of individual
users, an advertiser or sponsor will never know that a specific user clicked their
ad. We will not disclose any information about any individual user except to comply
with applicable law or valid legal process or to protect the personal safety of
our users or the public.
SHARING OF THE INFORMATION
Toad Software uses the above-described information to tailor our
content to suit your needs and help our advertisers better understand our audience's
demographics. This is essential to keeping our service free. We will not share information
about individual users with any third party, except to comply with applicable law
or valid legal process or to protect the personal safety of our users or the public.
SECURITY
Toad Software operates secure data networks protected by industry
standard firewall and password protection systems. Our security and privacy policies
are periodically reviewed and enhanced as necessary and only authorized individuals
have access to the information provided by our customers.
OPT-OUT POLICY
We give users options wherever necessary and practical. Such
choices include:
-
Opting not to register to receive our electronic newsletters.
-
Opting not to participate in certain interactive areas, which completely alleviates
the need to gather any personally identifiable information from our users
YOUR CONSENT
By using this site, you consent to the collection and use of this information by
Toad Software. If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on
this page so that you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use
it, and under what circumstances we disclose it.