Cookies Description
What is a "Cookie"?
An HTTP cookie - commonly referred to as just "cookie" - is a
parcel of text sent back and forth between a web browser and the
server it accesses. Its original purpose was to provide a state
management mechanism between a web browser and a web server.
Without a cookie (or a similar solution), a web server cannot
distinguish between different users, or determine any relationship
between sequential page visits made by the same user. For this
reason, cookies are used to differentiate one user from another and
to pass information from page to page during a single user's
website session. A web server uses cookies to collect data about a
given browser, along with the information requested and sent by the
browser's operator (the visitor). Cookies do not identify people,
but rather they are defined themselves by a combination of a
computer, a user account, and a browser.
Google Analytics Cookies
Google Analytics tracking (along with most web tracking
software) uses cookies in order to provide meaningful reports about
your visit to our site. However, Google Analytics cookies do not
collect personal data about you.
Google Analytics uses cookies to define user sessions, as well
as to provide a number of key features in the Google Analytics
reports. Google Analytics sets or updates cookies only to collect
data required for the reports. Additionally, Google Analytics uses
only first-party cookies. This means that all cookies set by Google
Analytics for the domain send data only to the servers for that
domain. This effectively means that the data cannot be altered or
retrieved by any service on another domain.
The four Google analytics cookies deployed on the website are
as follows:
|
Name
|
Description
|
Expiration
|
|
__utma
|
This cookie is typically written to the browser upon your first
visit to our sitefrom that web browser. If the cookie has been
deleted by the browser operator, and the browser subsequently
visits our site, a new __utma cookie is written with a
different unique ID. This cookie is used to determine unique
visitors to our site and it is updated with each page view.
Additionally, this cookie is provided with a unique ID that Google
Analytics uses to ensure both the validity and accessibility of the
cookie as an extra security measure.
|
2 years from set/update.
|
|
__utmb
|
This cookie is used to establish and continue a user session
with our site. When a user views a page on our site, the Google
Analytics code attempts to update this cookie. If it does not find
the cookie, a new one is written and a new session is established.
Each time a user visits a different page on the site, this cookie
is updated to expire in 30 minutes, thus continuing a single
session for as long as user activity continues within 30-minute
intervals. This cookie expires when a user pauses on a page on the
site for longer than 30 minutes.
|
30 minutes from set/update.
|
|
__utmc
|
This cookie is occasionally used to determine session
status.
Historically, this cookie operated in conjunction with
the __utmb cookie to determine whether or not to
establish a new session for the user. For backwards compatibility
purposes with sites still using the urchin.js tracking
code, this cookie will continue to be written and will expire when
the user exits the browser.
|
Not set.
|
|
__utmz
|
This cookie stores the type of referral used by you to reach our
site, whether via a direct method, a referring link, a website
search, or a campaign such as an ad or an email link. The cookie is
updated with each page view.
|
6 months from set/update
|
This website is written in Microsoft ASP.NET and uses
Set-Cookie: ASP.NET_SessionId=; path=/; secure; HttpOnly