The 1-Minute Guide
Interested in this issue but short of time? Here’s what we think you need to know:
- We use cookies to make our website easier for you to use
- We use cookies to help stop our online forms from being used to send spam-email
- We use cookies to monitor usage so we can spot trends and make improvements
- We DO NOT use cookies to identify individuals (and never will)
- We DO NOT store personal information in cookies
- Information about what cookies are set
We believe that our use of cookies is necessary for the smooth functioning of the website. We do not believe that they pose any threat to your personal privacy or online security and we recommend that you “allow” cookies. If you “disable” cookies the interactive functions of the website will not operate (data submission via forms, as well as user registration, user login, and many other features of the website can not work fully without using cookies).
More Detailed Information
Is this GDPR or PECR?
The original EU legislation that became known as the “E-Privacy Directive“ was published in 2003 and implemented as European Directive – 2002/58/EC then amended by Directive 2009/136/EC that included a requirement to seek consent for cookies and similar technologies. The EU Directive entered UK law on 26th May 2011 as “The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) (Amendment) Regulations 2011” often referred to as PECR – and this is still in force today. PECR sits alongside the more widely known legistration GDPR – both are regulated by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) www.ico.gov.uk .
What Are Cookies?
A cookie is used by a website to send ‘state information’ to a users’ browser and for the browser to return the state information to the website. The state information can be used for authentication, identification of a user session, user preferences, shopping cart contents, or anything else that can be accomplished through storing text data on the user’s computer.
Cookies cannot be programmed, cannot carry viruses, and cannot install malware on the host computer. However, they can be used to track users browsing activities which was a major privacy concern that prompted European and US law makers to take action.
Cookies are used by most websites for a variety of reasons – often very practical reasons to do with the operation of the website. However, they are also used to monitor how people are using the website (which pages are visited and how long is spent on each page). Each “visitor session” is tracked even though no effort is made to try to identify the user in person.
The new legislation now states that you must be able to opt-out from having cookies stored on their computer.
What Happens If You Opt-Out
If you decide to disable cookies we record this so you don’t get asked the question again. You will find that most of the website works as expected although functions that rely on cookies are obviously disabled. These functions include using online forms (e.g. our enquiry form) or any feature that requires login. We use a cookie to remember your cookie preferences, which has a couple of consequences:
- If you delete all your cookies you will have to tell us your preference again
- If you use a different device, computer profile or browser you will have to tell us your preference again
Further Information About Our Use of Cookies
| Cookies That Are Strictly Necessary
“Strictly Necessary” cookies let you move around the website and use essential features like secure areas and online billing. These cookies don’t gather any information about you that could be used for marketing or remembering where you’ve been on the internet. |
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| Conscious Solutions | Apache | This cookie is set to provide a unique identification of the User and is passed back to the server with each subsequent request. The cookie allows us to distinguish between requests from multiple Users vs. multiple requests from the same User. The information is used by many features of the Content Management System as well as the systems responsible for protecting the website from abuse (e.g. a Denial of Service attack). |
| Conscious Solutions | cookie_option_shown | This cookie controls whether the “privacy options” tab has been shown to the use. The tab appears only once per session on the first page that the User lands on. |
| Performance Cookies
“Performance” cookies collect information about how you use our website e.g. which pages you visit, and if you experience any errors. These cookies don’t collect any information that could identify you – all the information collected is anonymous and is only used to help us improve how our website works.. |
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| Google Analytics | _gid
_ga |
These cookies are used to collect data about how visitors use our site. We use the data to compile reports and to help us improve the site. The cookies mostly collect anonymous data although Google do use the IP address but this is not shared with the MDU. Example data we collect includes the number of visitors to the site, where visitors have come to the site from and the pages they visited. More information from Google . |
| Other Cookies (Rarely Used)
These are cookies only occasionally used by Conscious Solutions (the technical team behind the site you are now on). The cookies are included here in case you find one and want more information. |
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| Bing | _uetsid | Bing is a search engine and advertising platform owned by Microsoft. This cookie is used by Bing Ads to assist with event tracking. More information from Bing |
| Conscious ChatBot | sid | The Conscious ChatBox is built using the IBM Watson platform – it sets a cookie from conscious-chatbot.eu-gb.mybluemix.net which is used to manage the communication. |
| Ruler Analytics | __rac* (several like this) |
Ruler Analytics is a system for tracking the source of website enquiries by phone or form submission. More information from Ruler Analytics |
| HubSpot | __hssc
__hssrc __hstc hubspotutk |
HubSpot is a widely used platform for marketing and CRM. More information from HubSpot. |
| Cloudflare | __cfduid | Cloudflare is a service that can be used to provide additional security and distributed processing to large website. More information from Cloudflare |
| CrazyEgg | _ceg.s
_ceg.u _ceir |
CrazyEgg is product that provides detailed information about how a particular page is being used – it can monitor mouse movements and construct heatmaps to help us understand how better to structure our content. The product is a diagnostic tool so is usually only used for a few weeks at a time. More information from CrazzyEgg |
| Comm100 | comm100_guid2* (several like this) |
Comm100 is a product that can be used on a website to provide real-time chat. More information from Comm100 |
| Apex | apexchat_agent_alias_id
apexchat_invitation_shown apexchat_operator_id apexchat_profile_id apexchat_visitor_id |
ApexChat is a product that can be used on a website to provide real-time chat. More information from ApexChat |
| Tawk | __tawkuuid
Tawk_* TawkConnectionTime |
Tawk is a product that can be used on a website to provide real-time chat. More information from Tawk |
| Ngage | ngageId | Ngage is service that provides outsourced phone handling and callbacks to qualify website enquiries. More information about Ngage |
| Google Analytics | __utma __utmb __utmc __utmz |
These cookies appear on older sites which use an old method to incorporating Google Analytics.
These cookies are used to collect data about how visitors use our site. The data is used to compile reports and to help improve the site. The cookies mostly collect anonymous data although Google do record the IP address but this is not shared with us. Example data we collect includes the number of visitors to the site, where visitors have come to the site from and the pages they visited. |
| Moneypenny | MoneypennyHistory
MoneypennyRef MoneypennyVisit |
Moneypenny is a provider of outsourced reception. More information about Moneypenny |
Review Solicitors
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| JSESSIONID, __insp_nv, __insp_wid | Set by Inspectlet for reviewsolicitors to keep track of session information and help accurately understand how visitors navigate their website. More information from reviewsolicitors. |
| __insp_norec_sess | Set by Inspectlet for reviewsolicitors to track website and server performance. More information from reviewsolicitors. |
| __insp_slim, __insp_targlpu, __insp_targlpts | Set by Inspectlet for reviewsolicitors to store information regarding mouse position, clicks, scrolls, and highlighted elements. More information from reviewsolicitors. |