So that you can better protect your privacy, ThomasNet provides this notice
explaining our online information practices and the choices you can make about the
way your personal information is collected and used. If you do not agree with the
practices explained in this policy, do not complete the Sign Up form or contact us
using the "Contact Thomas" link at
the top of each page of our site.
NOTE: Without Signing Up, you cannot access certain features of ThomasNet
PERSONAL INFORMATION
At times, ThomasNet will ask you to provide us with personal contact information.
We will use this information to help customize your site experience or to facilitate
communication with the companies that list on our site. You will be prompted to supply
us with this information when signing up to use My Thomas or when initiating communication
though the site.
Sign Up -My Thomas
While you do not need to sign up to use ThomasNet, we do need some information
from you to access certain features of the site; you are asked for limited personal
and demographic information and are required to choose a username and password that
will be used to gain access on subsequent visits to My Thomas. This information will
constitute your user profile. While most of the information we collect is used internally
for site analysis and improvement, some of your information is used in compiling reports
(see reporting) for the companies that list on our site. However, it is important to note
that ThomasNet will never disclose or associate with your site
usage, any of your
personal contact information, which consists of the following:
Your First Name
Your Last Name
Your E-mail Address
Your Username
Your Password
You may edit or change your profile at any time by logging into My Thomas. Again, if you
wish to delete your personal information use the "Contact Thomas"
link and ask that your information be deleted.
The only circumstances under which ThomasNet will distribute your information
are spelled out in the subsequent sections of this policy titled Communicating with
Suppliers, Partner Sites, E-mail Communications Policy and Reporting.
- Communicating With Suppliers
When you use the communication features on ThomasNet to contact suppliers listed
on our site, you will be asked to supply the contact information required by these companies
to respond to your request. Depending on how you wish the company to respond to your request,
you may be asked for the following: Telephone Number; Fax Number; Mailing Address and e-mail.
We will only forward the contact information required to respond to your request and will
not disclose your e-mail address unless you request to be contacted by e-mail.
If you have not signed up to use My Thomas, we will not store any of the contact
information you enter unless you choose to sign up with us.
My Thomas users will be able to verify or change the information stored in their profile
prior to sending the request.
Partner Sites
ThomasNet will form partnerships with websites we feel offer valuable services
to our users. Some of these services require Registration. As a time saving tool, and
to save our users unnecessary data entry we offer to pass your information to these
partner sites.
You will always be told when we intend to share your information with another site and
be given the opportunity to decline the transfer.
If you consent to the sharing of your information with another site, the shared information
will be transferred to this site and out of the control of ThomasNet. We are not
responsible for their privacy policies or how they collect or treat information about
their users.
E-MAIL COMMUNICATIONS POLICY
By signing up with ThomasNet and providing us with your e-mail address you agree
to accept essential communication concerning the services and operation of ThomasNet
including, but not limited to: confirmation, additions or deletions to our core services,
notifications of product enhancements, notification of service interruption and changes to
this policy.
By default, users who sign up are "Opted Out" of all other communications from ThomasNet and will not receive any non-essential communications unless you choose to.
As part of the sign up process, and at any time there after, you have the opportunity to
opt in to receive non-essential communication, including newsletters and announcements,
from ThomasNet and third parties via e-mail by checking the appropriate boxes on
the Sign Up /Update Form.
All e-mail communications from ThomasNet, or from third parties wishing to contact
our users, are sent by ThomasNet or a provider under contract to ThomasNet.
At no time will we ever distribute your e-mail address to another company except as stated
in the "Partner Sites" and "Communicating with Suppliers" sections of this notice.
All non-essential communications from ThomasNet or one of our trusted partners will
contain a link or instructions for opting out of future communications. If the message
you receive has been sent on behalf of one of our partners, the message will contain two
separate means of opting out. One Opt out will be from the Thomas NetsourceThomasNet e-mail
list and the other opt out will be to remove you from the partners e-mail list. Please
Note: To comply with the United States CAN-SPAM act, Opting Out from future communications
from a ThomasNet partner will require your e-mail address be given to that partner so that
they may add it to their own do not mail list.
COOKIES
The websites of the Thomas Industrial Network (ThomasNet, ThomasRegister.com and
ThomasRegional.com) may set Cookies on your computer.
A cookie is a text file that is placed on your hard disk by our web server. Cookies are
uniquely generated and assigned to you, and can only be read by a web server in the same
domain that set the cookie on your computer. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or
deliver viruses to your computer.
The primary purposes of cookies used by ThomasNet are to provide convenience and
to save you time. ThomasNet will use cookies to automate login, enable personalization,
facilitate your movement through the site and allow us to measure site usage.
You have the ability to control any websites ability to set cookies on your computer through
your web browsers (i. e. Netscape or Internet Explorer) privacy settings. Consult the
documentation or help files for your web browser for instructions on setting cookie
preferences. However, if you do not accept cookies you will not be able to customize
your experience with ThomasNet.
LOGGING
ThomasNet makes extensive use of web logging to understand the usage of our services,
diagnose problems and identify future enhancements to our site. In addition to logging the
pages viewed, and features used, our logs will also collect referring IP addresses or /domain
names of site visitors. This information is used in the reporting and analysis of our
website some of which will be shared with ThomasNet vendors and clients.
WEB BEACONS
ThomasNet pages may contain Web Beacons, sometimes called single-pixel gifs that
allow ThomasNet to count users who have visited certain pages. ThomasNet
may use web beacons in conjunction with: promotional e-mail messages, online advertising
or newsletters in order determine the effectiveness of these vehicles. Web beacons
collect only a limited set of information including a cookie, which identifies the
referring source, pages viewed and the time of access. Web beacons are not used to access
your personal information on ThomasNet
REPORTING
Thomas Industrial Network, Inc. is able to offer ThomasNet for free on the
Internet as a direct result of the paid support of the suppliers who provide information
and advertise on our site. As a result we provide these suppliers with reports of
non-specific information on the usage of ThomasNet. This reporting can be based
on any of the information collected by ThomasNet and can include demographic
information (Industry, Job Function, and City) and your company name. Again, as stated
in the Information section of this notice, your personal information is never divulged.
DATA SECURITY
ThomasNet uses reasonable precautions to keep user information disclosed to us
secure. To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the appropriate
use of information, we have put in place appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial
procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect.
ThomasNet will disclose such information to third parties, under contract to us,
as required to operate our site. We will only release this information to those firms
that we believe to be responsible. However, we are not responsible for any breach of
security or for any actions of any third parties who receive the information.
Thomas Register also links to a wide variety of other web sites. We are not responsible
for their privacy policies or how they collect or treat information about their users.
CHANGES TO THIS POLICY
ThomasNet reserves the right to change this policy as required. Users who have
signed up to use ThomasNet will be notified of changes using the e-mail of record
in their user profile. Users who have not signed up should review this policy
periodically or prior to any subsequent use.
CONTACTING THOMASNET
If you have any questions regarding this policy please
contact us via e-mail or by mail at:
Privacy
ThomasNet
Thomas Industrial Network, Inc.
5 Penn Plaza
New York, NY 10001
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