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Transaction SecurityWhen you are performing credit card transactions on the Cuesta College Web Site, you are utilizing our secure server, which encrypts all of your personal information, including name, address, and credit card number. Encryption ensures that no one can access or use your personal information. With encryption the information cannot be read as it travels over the Internet. Additionally, credit card numbers are used only for payment processing and are not retained for other purposes. We collect only the information required to process orders. When your credit card information is transmitted to our Merchant Service for validation, it is encrypted and only our Merchant Service has the key that will unencrypt that data. Please keep in mind that e-mail does not use SSL encryption technology and we advise against sending credit card information to us via e-mail. We will not be responsible for the confidentiality of any personal or credit card information transmitted via e-mail. Our 128-bit encryption is implemented on SSL 3.0 with a certificate from Thawte, the same used by banks and brokerage houses. SSL encryption is active in all areas where credit card transaction information is requested. You can check to see that you have entered an SSL-active area by looking on the bottom of your screen. If you see an unbroken key or a closed lock (depending on your browser), you will know that SSL technology is in place and ready to encrypt your information. How to check if you are on a secure page? Look up at your address line at the top of your browser page for the (http://).Ê You will notice in the address line, that there is an (https://) rather than an (http://).Ê The (s) indicates that you are on a secure page. Also, you'll see a key (Netscape) or a closed lock (AOL & Internet Explorer). These symbols tell you that any information you send to us will be "scrambled" using SSL technology. SSL uses "Public-Key Encryption" to exchange a session key between you and our server. This session key is used to encrypt (or scramble) your transaction twice - when it is sent and when it is received. If you are using a security-enabled browser (such as Microsoft Internet Explorer version 2.1 or greater, or Netscape Navigator version 2.0 or greater), your information is secure. How we collect informationWhen you visit our Web pages or utilize transaction features on our site, Cuesta College's web servers automatically collect information about you. Some information is detected electronically, and is collected without your direct input. Other information may be voluntarily provide by you as you place an order, fill out forms (personal information, meeting or course registration, guest book, parking registration, etc.), send us e-mail, or use our online forums. Information you involuntarily provideWhen you visit Cuesta's web site, our server automatically logs information about your visit:
We use this information to learn about our visitors as a group--not about you as an individual. This information helps us identify overall usage patterns and trends on the site. Additionally, we may use this information for any of the following purposes:
The above information is used by software programs on our Web Site to create summary statistics which allow us to assess the number of visitors to the different sections of our site, identify what information is of most and least interest, determine technical design specifications, monitor system performance, and help us make our site more useful to visitors. Information you voluntarily provide via interactive web based formsThere are several transaction sites on the Cuesta College web site that allow users to send money to the college. These transactions involve submission of some kind of electronic form. When you use online (or traditional printed) forms, you voluntarily provide Cuesta College with the following information:
Additional information may be gathered, depending on the nature of the form. This information may include, but not be limited to, the following:
Information you provide when you send us e-mailWhen you send us e-mail and request a response, we use the e-mail address you have provided to respond to your inquiry. We may periodically log the nature of these e-mail requests to help us analyze visitor interests overall and identify areas for improvement on the site. You also may decide to send us personally identifying information, (for example your mailing address) in an electronic mail message requesting that information be mailed to you. Information collected in this manner is used solely for responding to requests for information or records. We may forward your E-mail to other Cuesta employees who are better able to respond to you. Information you provide when you participate on other formsIf you post messages in our Cuesta College Message Board or other online discussion forums, Cuesta College forum leaders or course instructors may have access to your e-mail addresses and other personal information that you provide on a voluntary basis. Cuesta College does not regularly collect and store e-mail addresses from its online forums, though current e-mail addresses may be collected to further the work of the committee or group involved in the discussion, or for the purposes of communication in an online course. Use of "cookies"Cookies are small text files placed in your computer system to track certain pieces of information about your browser and your interaction with a web site. Cuesta College does not currently use cookies anywhere on its site other than the message forums. Third-party use of informationCuesta College will not sell, trade, rent or disclose any personal information that you provide to us on-line to third parties unless specifically requested. All information will be kept private and confidential. External SitesThis site contains links to other external sites. Cuesta College is not responsible for the privacy practices, content or availability of any linked, external Web sites. Thank you for taking the time to educate yourself about the ways in which Cuesta College collects, uses, and stores the information that you provide. Please revisit this site on occasion to make sure that you have viewed the most recent version of the privacy policy and security statement. Cuesta College reserves the right to change any of the information listed on this document and will notify users of any changes by posting the new version of this document to the site at the Security Statement & Privacy Policy link.
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