Privacy Policy
Privacy Statement
Last updated: 01.20.2010
Strategic Networks Training LLC and Proteus.net know that you care how information about you is used and shared. This notice describes our privacy policy. By visiting Proteus.net, you are accepting the practices described in this Privacy Notice.
What Personal Information Does Proteus.net Gather?
The information we learn from visitors, customers, and subscribers helps us customize and improve your experience at Proteus.net. Here are the types of information we gather.
Information You Give Us: We receive and store any information you enter on our site or give to us in any other way. We use the information that you provide for such purposes as selling or otherwise providing you with a product or service; ensuring proper billing and delivery of such product or service; responding to your requests; communicating with you; processing your site registration; checking your account status, invoices, statements and related information; measuring interest in our various services; informing you about products and services; or generating an online survey for you to complete. You provide most such information when you search, buy, post, participate in a questionnaire, or communicate with us. For example, you provide information when you search for a product; place an order through Proteus.net; communicate with us by phone, e-mail, or otherwise; complete a questionnaire; provide employer information when opening a corporate account; and participate in Message Boards or other community features. As a result of those actions, you might supply us with such information as your name, address, and phone numbers; credit card information; people to whom purchases have been shipped, including addresses and phone numbers; your e-mail address and/or customer identification number; content of e-mails to us; and financial information, including Social Security and driver’s license numbers.
Automatic Information: We receive and store certain types of information whenever you interact with us. For example, like many Web sites, we use “cookies,” and we obtain certain types of information when your Web browser accesses Proteus.net or advertisements and other content served by or on behalf of Proteus.net on other Web sites. We use such information to, among other things as described in this Notice, measure response rates to banner ads and email offers. Examples of the automatic information we collect and analyze include the Internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer to the Internet; login; e-mail address; password; computer and connection information such as browser type, version, and time zone setting, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system, and platform; purchase history; the full Uniform Resource Locator (URL) clickstream to, through, and from our Web site, including date and time; cookie number; products or services you viewed or searched for; and the phone number you used to call us. We may also use browser data such as cookies, Flash cookies (also known as Flash Local Shared Objects), or similar data on certain parts of our Web site for fraud prevention and other purposes. During some visits we may use software tools such as JavaScript to measure and collect session information, including page response times, download errors, length of visits to certain pages, page interaction information (such as scrolling, clicks, and mouse-overs), and methods used to browse away from the page.
Email Information. [Do you use any mechanism to confirm opening of emails sent by you?]
We compare our customer list to lists received from other companies, in an effort to avoid sending unnecessary messages to our customers. In addition, when we send emails to you, we collect certain information, such as whether you can read graphic-rich HTML emails. If your email address is HTML-enabled, we may choose to send you graphic-rich HTML emails.
Information from Other Sources: We might receive information about you from other sources and add it to our account information. Examples of information we receive from other sources may include updated address information from third parties, which we use to correct our records and deliver your next purchase or communication more easily; account information; purchase or redemption information; and credit history information from credit bureaus, which we use to help prevent and detect fraud.
What About Cookies?
Cookies are alphanumeric identifiers that we transfer to your computer’s hard drive through your Web browser to enable our systems to recognize your browser and to provide certain features on Proteus.net.
The Help portion of the toolbar on most browsers will tell you how to prevent your browser from accepting new cookies, how to have the browser notify you when you receive a new cookie or how to disable cookies altogether. Additionally, you can disable or delete similar data used by browser add-ons, such as Flash cookies, by changing the add-on’s settings or visiting the Web site of its manufacturer. However, we recommend that you leave them turned on.
Does Proteus.net Share the Information It Receives?
Information about our customers is an important part of our business, and we are not in the business of selling it to others. We share customer information only as described below and with affiliates of Strategic Network Training, LLC that either are subject to this Privacy Notice or follow practices at least as protective as those described in this Privacy Notice.
Third-Party Service Providers: We employ other companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf. Examples include fulfilling orders, delivering packages, sending postal mail and e-mail, removing repetitive information from customer lists, analyzing data, providing marketing assistance, providing search results and links (including paid listings and links), processing credit card payments, and providing customer service. They have access to personal information needed to perform their functions, but may not use it for other purposes.
Promotional Offers: Sometimes we send offers to selected groups of Proteus.net customers on behalf of other businesses. When we do this, we do not give that business your name and address. We may also send you promotional email offers if you have provided your email address to a third party and have “opted-in” to receive email offers from other parties.
If you do not want to receive such offers, please follow the instructions on “Declining Email Offers:” at any time, you may request to discontinue receiving these offers from us clicking on the unsubscribe button located at the bottom of each Proteus Networks newsletter [email?] you are currently subscribed too. All email offers that you received from Proteus Networks will inform you of how to decline receiving further email offers.
Business Transfers: As we continue to develop our business, we might sell or buy affiliates or business units. In such transactions, customer information generally is one of the transferred business assets but remains subject to the promises made in any pre-existing Privacy Notice (unless, of course, the customer consents otherwise). In the event that Strategic Network Training, LLC, or substantially all of its assets are acquired, customer information will of course be one of the transferred assets.
Protection of Proteus.net and Others: We release account and other personal information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law; enforce or apply our Conditions of Use [link] and other agreements; or protect the rights, property, or safety of Proteus.net, our users or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for fraud protection and credit risk reduction. Obviously, however, this does not include selling, renting, sharing or otherwise disclosing personally identifiable information from customers for commercial purposes in violation of the commitments set forth in this Privacy Notice.
With Your Consent: Other than as set out above, you will receive notice when information about you might go to third parties, and you will have an opportunity to choose not to share the information.
How Secure Is Information About Me?
We work to protect the security of your information during transmission by using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software, which encrypts information you input. We reveal only the last four digits of your credit card numbers when confirming an order. Of course, we transmit the entire credit card number to the appropriate credit card company during order processing. It is important for you to protect against unauthorized access to your password and to your computer. Be sure to sign off when finished using a shared computer.
However, the Internet is not a completely secure medium. We do not assume responsibility for any harm, loss, or damage you may experience or incur by the sending of personal or confidential information over the Internet by or to us.
What About Third-Party Advertisers and Links to Other Websites?
Our site includes third-party advertising and links to other Web sites. We do not provide any personally identifiable customer information to these advertisers or third-party Web sites. These third-party Web sites and advertisers, or Internet advertising companies working on their behalf, sometimes use technology to send (or “serve”) the advertisements that appear on our Web site directly to your browser. They automatically receive your IP address when this happens. They may also use cookies, JavaScript, web beacons (also known as action tags or single-pixel gifs), and other technologies to measure the effectiveness of their ads and to personalize advertising content. We do not have access to or control over cookies or other features that they may use, and the information practices of these advertisers and third-party Web sites are not covered by this Privacy Notice. Please contact them directly for more information about their privacy practices.
Which Information Can I Access?
Proteus.net gives you access to a range of information about your account and your interactions with Proteus.net for the limited purpose of viewing and, in certain cases, updating that information. Examples of information you can access easily at Proteus.net include up-to-date information regarding recent orders and personally identifiable information (including name, e-mail, and password).
What Choices Do I Have?
As discussed above, you can always choose not to provide information, even though it might be needed to make a purchase products and services on this site or to take advantage of certain features on Proteus.net. You can add or update certain information on pages such as those referenced in the “Which Information Can I Access?” section. When you update information, we usually keep a copy of the prior version for our records. If you do not want to receive e-mail or other mail from us, please contact us. The Help portion of the toolbar on most browsers will tell you how to prevent your browser from accepting new cookies, how to have the browser notify you when you receive a new cookie, or how to disable cookies altogether. Additionally, you can disable or delete similar data used by browser add-ons, such as Flash cookies, by changing the add-on’s settings or visiting the Web site of its manufacturer.
Are Children Allowed to Use Proteus.net?
Proteus.net does not sell products or services for purchase by children. If you are under 18, you may use Proteus.net only with the involvement of a parent or guardian.
Conditions of Use, Notices, and Revisions
If you choose to visit Proteus.net, your visit and any dispute over privacy is subject to this Notice and our Conditions of Use, including limitations on damages, resolution of disputes, and application of the law of the State of Maryland. If you have any concern about privacy at Proteus.net, please contact us with a thorough description, and we will try to resolve it. Our business changes constantly, and our Privacy Notice and the Conditions of Use will change also. We may e-mail periodic reminders of our notices and conditions, unless you have instructed us not to, but you should check our Web site frequently to see recent changes. Unless stated otherwise, our current Privacy Notice applies to all information that we have about you and your account. We stand behind the promises we make, however, and will never materially change our policies and practices to make them less protective of customer information collected in the past without the consent of affected customers.