PLUguide and PLUTO Privacy Policy

Updated: 11/06/2008

We respect and are committed to protecting your privacy. That is why we have adopted this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy lets you know how your personal information is processed and used. We promise that we will take steps to use your personal information only in ways that are compatible with this Privacy Policy. The following policies are only in effect for the Web pages, newsletters, discussion forums and lists and opt-in announcement lists owned and operated by PLUTO Magazine and PLUguide and its wholly-owned subsidiaries including, without limitation, PLUTO Magazine (collectively hereafter "PLUG"). (The PLUG includes PLUTO Asia and PLUguide Singapore, PLUguide Malaysia, PLUguide Thailand, PLUguide Hong Kong, PLUguide Philippines, PLUguide Taiwan, PLUguide China, PLUguide South Korea, PLUguide Japan, PLUguide Indonesia, PLUguide Philippines and other Internet sites affiliated with PLUTO Magazine (each a "PLUG Site") and certain other Internet media properties linked directly or indirectly from the PLUTO.asia and PLUguide.com home page.) The following discloses our Privacy Policy.

What information are you collecting and how are you collecting it?

Every computer connected to the Internet is given a domain name and a set of numbers, that serve as that computer's "Internet Protocol" IP address. When a visitor requests a page from any Web site within the PLUG, our Web servers automatically recognize that visitor's domain name and IP address. The domain name and IP address reveal nothing personal about you other than the IP address from which you have accessed our site. We use this information to examine our traffic in aggregate, and to investigate misuse of the PLUG, its users, or to cooperate with law enforcement. See also Will you disclose the information you collect to outside third parties? We do not collect and evaluate this information for specific individuals. Our Web servers do not automatically record e-mail addresses of the visitors.

What are cookies?

From time to time, PLUG or its advertisers may send a "cookie" to your computer. A cookie is a small piece of data that is sent to your Internet browser from a Web server and stored on your computer's hard drive. A cookie can't read data off of your computer hard disk or read cookie files created by other Web sites. Cookies do not damage your system. We use cookies to identify which areas of PLUG you have visited or customized and your login username and password, so the next time you visit, those pages may be readily accessible. Our advertisers may also use cookies to ascertain how many times you've seen an advertisement. Our advertisers and we may use this information to better personalize the content, banners, and promotions that you see on our site. You can choose whether to accept cookies by changing the settings of your Internet browser. You can reset your browser to refuse all cookies, or allow your browser to show you when a cookie is being sent. If you choose not to accept these cookies, your experience at our Site and other Web sites may be diminished and some features may not work as intended.

How do you use single-pixel gifs?

PLUG and its advertisers may use single-pixel gif images, sometimes referred to as web bugs or web beacons, to count Web page accesses and gather some general statistical information. PLUG does not gather personal information through the use of these images. Our advertisers may use single-pixel gifs that can track personal information from cookies that may have been previously placed on a user's computer by an advertiser.

What information do you collect when I register for something?

PLUG offers access to some services that require registration. We may use your registration contact information to send notification to you of PLUG products and services by e-mail and/or postal mail. We also may share that information with our clients. Our clients may send you promotional material that is related to the topic of the service for which you registered. We may also use your IP address internally and share it with third parties. See Will you disclose the information that you collect to outside third parties?

What other information do you request?

We may also request your e-mail address or mailing address for the purposes of conducting a survey or to provide additional services (for example, subscriptions to e-mail newsletters, announcement lists or information about conferences and trade shows). Whenever we request the identity of a visitor, we will clearly indicate the purpose of the inquiry before the information is requested. We maintain a strict "No-Spam" policy that means that we do not sell, rent, or otherwise give your e-mail address to a third-party, without your consent or as permitted by this Privacy Policy.

We may from time to time send e-mail announcing new PLUG products and services. Except as stated above, PLUG will not send you e-mail that you have not agreed to receive. If you choose to supply your postal address in an online form, you may receive postal mailings from other third party companies.

When you sign up for an PLUG discussion forum, your name or alias is recorded solely for purposes of maintaining your own account within the forums. This information is not used to monitor your activity within a forum, nor is it used to identify you outside the PLUG.

When you register for a contest or other promotion, we may ask for your name, address, and e-mail address so we can administer the contest and notify winners.

When you use co-branded services, or those provided by a third party, within the PLUG, your information may be passed to the co-brand or third party provider and their use of your information is subject to their applicable privacy policies.

What information do you collect when I purchase something?

If you are purchasing something from PLUG, we and any third party provider, need to know your name, e-mail address, mailing address, credit card number and expiration date. This allows us, or third party providers, to process and fulfill your order and to notify you of your order status. This information may also be used by us to notify you of related products and services. Credit card and e-mail information will not be shared or sold to third parties for any purpose except as provided in this Privacy Policy without your express permission.

Certain PLUG use a shopping cart feature that safeguards this information by using industry standard SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encrypted servers. SSL codes the information transferred between you and the server, rendering it unreadable to anyone trying to intercept the information. Other PLUG do not use SSL and thereby do not offer a secure coded way to transfer information.

Wherever PLUG collects personal information we make an effort to include a link to this Privacy Policy on that page.

Will you disclose the information you collect to outside third parties?

PLUG will disclose personal information and/or an IP address, when required by law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to:
1) Cooperate with the investigations of purported unlawful activities and conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on PLUG,

2) Protect and defend the rights or property of the PLUG of sites and related properties, or visitors to the PLUG of sites and related properties,

3) Identify persons who may be violating the law, the PLUG Terms of Use Agreement, the rights of third parties, or otherwise misusing the PLUG or its related properties,

4) Fulfill a user's order or request.

PLUG uses reasonable precautions to keep the information disclosed to us secure. PLUG reserves the right to transfer all such information in connection with the sale of all or part of PLUG's capital stock or assets. Furthermore, we are not responsible for any breach of security or for any actions of any third parties that receive the information. We are not responsible for such third party privacy policies or how they treat information about their users
See below, What else should I know about my privacy when online? See What information do you collect when I register for something.

Opt-in announcement List Privacy Policy

When you sign up for an PLUG e-mail newsletter, you are given the opportunity to sign up for targeted third-party mailings. Whether you want to receive these announcement is your choice; you should only receive mailings pertaining to distribution lists you select. If you choose to receive an announcement from a specific distribution list, you will receive commercial messages that are related to the topic of the list from independent third parties that have contracted with PLUG to send messages to the list. Personally identifiable information will not be used by PLUG for any purposes other than to deliver the e-mail announcements. You may stop the arrival of these announcement lists at any time by removing your e-mail address from the list by forwarding the announcement list to [email protected] or by following the instructions on the e-mails you receive.

What else should I know about my privacy when online?

The PLUG contains many hyperlinks to third party Web sites. The PLUG also contains advertisements of third parties. PLUG is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such third party Web sites or advertisers. PLUG does not share any of the individual personal information you provide PLUG with the third parties to which PLUG links, except as stated elsewhere within this Privacy Policy, although PLUG may share general, aggregate data with such third parties (such as how many people use our site). Please check with those Web sites to determine their privacy policy.

Please keep in mind that whenever you voluntarily disclose personal information online - for example through e-mail, discussion lists, or elsewhere - that information can be collected and used by others. In short, if you post personal information online that is accessible to the public, you may receive unsolicited messages from other parties in return.

Ultimately, you are solely responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your personal information. Please be careful and responsible whenever you're online.

Your Consent To This Agreement

By using the PLUG, you consent to the collection and use of information by PLUG as specified above. We reserve the right to modify this policy. If we decide to change our Privacy Policy, we will post those changes on this page so that you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances we disclose it.

Please send any questions about PLUG's Privacy Policy to: [email protected]

Please note that your use of the PLUG of Web sites is governed by our Terms of Use Agreement.