Privacy Statement

Smart Online is committed to maintaining the highest standards of confidentiality and honoring the privacy of every registered user and visitor to Smart Online.

This statement was last updated on February 28, 2005.

What information does Smart Online ask for and how is it used?

When you register at Smart Online, you will be asked to provide certain information, such as your name and e-mail address. Smart Online and the partner sites with which we work (and through which you may have accessed this page) may use this information to tailor their presentations to you, provide personalized services, and communicate separately with you via e-mail or postal mail. We request additional optional information during registration, such as your company type, to assess the scope our customers' business needs as we determine future application development and site improvement. Once you provide us with your personal information, you are not anonymous to us.

Upon registration, you may opt not to receive future notification by e-mail from Smart Online regarding events and new products for entrepreneurs and small businesses. If at any time you decide that you no longer wish to receive such notices, you may indicate this preference on your personal profile.

If you decide to purchase any services or products from Smart Online, we will need to collect your credit card number, credit card expiration date, credit card type (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express), and billing name and address, in order to qualify and bill you for these services or products. In summary, we process personal information collected through our Web site for the purposes of:

• Administering orders and accounts relating to customers or subscribers.
• Identifying potential customers or subscribers.
• Planning and managing our workload or business activity.
• Administering orders and accounts relating to suppliers of goods or services.
• Conducting market research surveys.
• Providing you with information about our products or services or the products and services we offer jointly with or on behalf of other organizations.

In order to process credit card transactions, the purchase amount and the credit card information listed immediately above will be securely transmitted to Signio Inc., a provider of transaction processing services. This information is transmitted to Signio Inc. SOLELY for the purpose of processing credit card transactions, and is not divulged to any other party.

Note that any personal information which you post to a public message board or chat area becomes public information. You may always opt not to divulge your e-mail address to the public when posting to a message board or chat area.

Given that the Internet is a global environment, using the Internet to collect and process personal data necessarily involves the transmission of data on an international basis.

Do I get to choose what information I disclose?

Yes, you can always choose whether or not to disclose information at Smart Online. However, if you choose not to disclose certain information, such as your name, e-mail address, and preferred user ID, you will not be able to register, limiting your access to certain portions of the site. Further, your use of some of the applications and services may also be restricted if you choose not to disclose information necessary for billing purposes.

What information does Smart Online monitor and collect?

Smart Online examines your browser type when you access Smart Online to ensure compatibility between our applications and the various Web browsers used to access our site. We also collect aggregate information automatically about your visit to our Web site.

A 'cookie' is a small piece of information sent by a Web server to a Web browser, which enables the server to collect information from the browser. Find out more about the use of cookies on www.cookiecentral.com. Smart Online may use 'cookies' on certain pages in order, for example, to eliminate the need for you to re-enter your password during a session. This makes our applications easier to use. Cookies are stored on your hard drive, not on our site, so you can examine the data files and see exactly what information is being recorded. Most cookies are 'session cookies', meaning that they are automatically deleted at the end of a session. We use cookies to identify you when you visit this Web site and to keep track of your browsing patterns and build up a demographic profile. You are free to decline cookies if your browser permits, but if you do so you may be required to re-enter your previously submitted information.

A Special Note About Children

Children are not eligible to use our services and we ask that minors (under the age of 13) do not submit any personal information to us. If you are a minor, you can use this service only in conjunction with your parents or guardians.

External Links

This website provides links to various websites that Smart Online does not control. When you click on one of these links, you will no longer be transacting business through the Smart Online website. Third party websites maintain their own privacy policies and Smart Online does not exercise any control over any of the third party web sites that may be linked to the Smart Online site. If you visit a website that is linked to our site, you should consult that site's privacy policy before providing any personal information.

Will Smart Online sell my personally identifiable information?

No, we will never divulge your personally identifiable information to any third party without your express prior permission, except to other companies within our group of companies and partner sites, purchasers of our business and as necessary for processing your credit card transactions (as noted above), or for complying with possible legal or governmental disclosure requirements (for example, in the case of a court order requiring disclosure of alleged criminal activity related to use of the site, in order to protect the public interest). See our Terms and Conditions for more information.

Companies that provide content to portions of our site may be given limited access to your information, both personally identifiable and aggregate data, if you visit their site via Smart Online, visit Smart Online's site via their site, and choose to sign up for one of their related services, purchase their products, or give your consent for information to be sent to you. Smart Online is not responsible for the privacy policies or content of these partner Web sites.

Smart Online is committed to protecting and maintaining the integrity and privacy of your information. Smart Online is operated from a secure environment with integrated security measures that protect against the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information under our control. Smart Online uses Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology to protect your data and provide security during transmissions of sensitive financial data.

Within the Smart Online organization, access to user information is limited to senior technical, accounting, and administrative employees, who use a secure ID and passcode to obtain access to user data on an as-needed basis for technical maintenance or exception handling purposes.

Please note that Smart Online customer support representatives are prevented from viewing credit card account numbers used in purchases made through the Smart Online site. Further, Smart Online customer support representatives do not have access to the passwords of Smart Online users. Smart Online employees are required to read and abide by the security and privacy policies stated in this document. Web security and privacy issues are regularly monitored as part of Smart Online's management of its technical operations and business practices.

Misuse of, or unauthorized access to, your personal information will result in strict and urgent action on the part of Smart Online.

What if I need to change the personal information I previously disclosed?

You may change your information at any time. We encourage Smart Online registered users to keep their personal information current. You can update your personal information by selecting the 'My Account Information' option on the 'My Office' page then select 'Edit Your Profile'. Changes to your personal information may be made only through the Smart Online Web site.

What will happen to my information if there is a change in your security and privacy policies?

Smart Online will never use the information you provide in a manner different from that stated at the time of its collection, unless we receive your prior consent via e-mail.

Whom can I contact if I have any questions regarding my privacy?

If you have any questions or comments regarding your privacy at Smart Online you should first submit a request for information. We may file your comments or use them to improve the site.

By browsing this Web site and communicating electronically with us, you acknowledge and agree to our processing of personal data in this way.