Cookie policy

Cookies are small text files that websites place on web browsers to gather and store data

Once a cookie is installed on your computer the website can recognise you as a returning visitor. Cookies can be used for many purposes, including auto-filling forms, analysis of site performance, remembering items in a shopping basket, personalising content, providing member only access and targeting advertising. First party cookies contain the domain name of the website you are visiting. Third party cookies contain the domain name of a different website. The domain name indicates who owns the cookie. Session cookies are deleted from the browser when the browser is closed. Persistent cookies are only deleted by the browser once they reach their expiration date.

Recent changes to the law require all websites to obtain users’ consent to the use of cookies

The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) (Amendment) Regulations became effective in UK law on 26 May 2012. This law was introduced to ensure website owners obtain consent before collecting data about users’ online behaviour.

The legislation can be viewed at:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/1208/contents/made

Listing of the cookies used on this website

The website uses cookies for users’ log-in; this is a default session cookie used by Umbraco.

When you log into a Umbraco site, like this website, two cookies are stored and both will expire in 2 weeks after logging in:

  • umbraco_[hash] cookie to store your authentication details. Its use is limited to the admin console area, /wp-admin
  • after login, umbraco sets the umbraco_logged_in_[hash] cookie, which indicates when you’re logged in, and who you are, for most interface use.

Umbraco also sets a few wp-settings-{time}-[UID] cookies. The number on the end is your individual user ID from the users database table. This is used to customise your view of admin interface, and possibly also the main site interface.

The cookies contain hashed data, so you don’t have to worry about someone gleaning your username and password by reading the cookie data. A hash is the result of a specific mathematical formula applied to some input data (in this case your user name and password, respectively). It’s quite hard to reverse a hash (bordering on practical infeasibility with today’s computers). This means it is very difficult to take a hash and “unhash” it to find the original input data.

We also use Google Analytics on our site. Details of the analytics cookies can be found in the following link:

https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/analyticsjs/cookie-usage

Additional resources to help you manage your cookies

You can set your browser to accept, reject or prompt you to decide to accept or reject a cookie every time a website attempts to place one on your browser. Cookies can also be deleted from your browser.

Visit www.aboutcookies.org for more information about controlling cookies

Find out more about controlling cookies

Find out more about deleting cookies

Visit Google for more information about Google Analytics cookies

Download the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on (BETA) 

You can also use Chrome browser’s cookie control function to monitor the cookies set by the websites you visit. In Chrome browser click on the icon beside the website domain name to access the cookie drop down.