Heartland Computers, INC. Privacy Policy
Thank you for visiting Heartland Computers, Inc. This document is our privacy policy, which we have created in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to the protection of the privacy of our customers and visitors. The following discloses our information gathering and dissemination practices for Heartland Computers, Inc. and its affiliated companies.
SALES TRANSACTION SECURITY
Protecting your Order. Heartland Computers, Inc. pledges a safe and worry-free shopping experience. We use the industry standard for Internet security, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL 128-bit) encryption to scramble your personal and credit card information as it travels over the Internet during the checkout process, ensuring the privacy of your information. We protect all of your personal information, including your name, address, password, AND credit card information.
Secure Browser: All orders are performed within a secure browser window using the https Internet protocol. When you click "Check Out" from the Heartland Computers, Inc. shopping cart, the "http" portion of Heartland Computers, Inc.'s web site address changes to "https." The "s" stands for secure. In addition, both Internet Explorer and Netscape use special symbols to indicate that you're in a web site's secure area. Some browsers also let you know that you're moving in or out of a secure area by notifying you with a special pop-up window that requires you to click "OK" before continuing.
PERSONAL INFORMATION WE GATHER OR TRACK
Registration. When you register with Heartland Computers, Inc., you create a user profile. In the profile, Heartland Computers, Inc. asks for your name, e-mail address, a user-selected password, and other information. Once you are a registered user, you can update your profile and may be able to provide other preferential information, such as address and other user preferences.
Order Forms. When you place an order, Heartland Computers, Inc. asks you to provide us with contact information, such as name, billing address, shipping address, e-mail address, telephone number, and a valid credit card number. We require this information to process your order. Other non-required information we might request includes demographic information and/or purchasing habits, so that we can provide a more personalized experience.
IP Addresses. Heartland Computers, Inc. uses the IP addresses of our visitors to help diagnose problems with our server, administer our web site, and analyze traffic patterns on our web site (for instance, the number of unique visitors to our web site). Although IP information must be logged for these purposes, we do not link your IP address to your other personal identifying information, except when cooperating with investigations involving fraudulent or other illegal activity.
Cookies. Heartland Computers, Inc. uses software tags called "cookies" to identify customers when they visit our site. Cookies are stored on your computer, not on our site. Most cookies are "session cookies," which means that they are automatically deleted at the end of each visit to our web site. Some cookies remain across sessions. In addition to our cookies, some advertisers or web sites that maintain links on our site may also use their own cookies.
A cookie itself does not have the ability to automatically collect personal information about you. A cookie can store certain information that identifies your computer to us, so that you don't have to re-enter information as frequently when you use our site and so we can personalize your visit to our site. Your browser can be set up to accept or reject cookies. It is important to note that if you choose to reject cookies, you will not be able to take advantage of certain features on our site.
Surveys. From time to time we may invite visitors to participate in a survey so that we can better understand our customers. Participation in a survey is voluntary, and therefore you have a choice whether or not to disclose this information.
Communications If you send us personal correspondence, such as e-mails and letters, or if other users or third parties send us correspondence about your activities or postings on our site, we may collect such information into a file specific to you. We use the information in the file that we maintain about you, and other information we obtain from your use of the services, to provide better service, resolve disputes, troubleshoot problems, and enforce our agreement for Terms of Use.
HOW PERSONAL INFORMATION IS USED
Personalization. We sometimes use collected information to provide you with a more personalized shopping experience while visiting Heartland Computers, Inc. For instance, past items purchased or browsed may result in you seeing a special screen or advertisement of a product in which we believe you may be interested.
E-mail. If you provide us with your e-mail address, register as a customer, or make a purchase from us, we will occasionally send you e-mail or standard mail with recommendations or notices of new products and/or special offers. These offers may include information about selected paid advertisers. However, at no time will your e-mail address or other personal information be revealed to these paid advertisers unless you provide consent or choose to conduct business with them of your own accord. If you do not wish to receive such mailings from us, please let us know by sending an e-mail to remove@heartland-usa.com. Be sure to provide the e-mail address and/or physical address that you wish to be opted-out from.
Referral Programs. We sometimes request that our customers give us the e-mail address of someone else that they think might be interested in our web site, a particular offer, or article. We treat the privacy of these referrals with the same respect we treat our registered users.
HOW PERSONAL INFORMATION IS SHARED
Heartland Computers, Inc. does not sell, rent or trade your personal information with unaffiliated third parties. We do sometimes share information with appropriate third parties, as outlined below:
Service Providers. Service providers are third parties who perform services on our behalf, such as processing and fulfilling orders. In such cases, we provide only the information required to complete the transaction. By contract, the third party is not permitted to sell, rent, or share this information.
Business Partners. When one or more of our business partners co-sponsors a service, product, promotion and/or contest, we may share some or all of the information collected in connection with such service, product, promotion, or contest with the co-sponsors. If you do not want your information to be shared, you can refuse the transfer by not using or not signing up for that particular service, product, promotion, or contest.
Other Exceptions. We reserve the right to disclose your personal information to comply with legal process; to protect the company's rights; to protect against misuse or unauthorized use of Heartland Computers, Inc.; to investigate fraud, intellectual property infringements, or other activity that is illegal or may expose us to legal liability.
UPDATING PERSONAL INFORMATION
Changing Account Profile. If you are a registered user, you can change your account profile, including your address, e-mail address, password, or e-mail preferences by visiting Contact Us.
Choosing to Opt-Out. Heartland Computers, Inc. is committed to respecting your privacy and preferences regarding e-mail communications you receive from us. If you wish to change your e-mail options or no longer wish to receive communications from us, please let us know by visiting Contact Us, calling 800-708-7226, or sending an e-mail message to remove@heartland-usa.com.
OTHER MATTERS
Children's Privacy. Heartland Computers, Inc. does not sell products for purchase by children. We sell products which may be appropriate for children that may be purchased by adults. If you are under 18, you may use Heartland Computers, Inc. only with involvement of a parent or guardian.
Heartland Computers, Inc. believes strongly in protecting the privacy and rights of children online. In accordance with new COPPA laws regarding children’s privacy, web sites are restricted from collecting personally identifiable information about children under the age of 13. Heartland Computers, Inc. does not knowingly collect any personal information from children under the age of 13 on our web site. If a parent believes that his or her child has submitted personal information to Heartland Computers, Inc., he or she can contact us via e-mail or postal mail as listed below. Heartland Computers, Inc. will promptly delete the information upon learning that it relates to a child under the age of 13.
Protecting your password. You can do your part to protect your personal information by keeping your password a secret and making sure you log off completely if you share a computer. If you forget your password, you can request to have it e-mailed to you by contacting us.
Linked Sites For your convenience, this site contains links to other sites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such sites.
Privacy Policy Changes. This Privacy Policy was last changed on August 1, 2006. If Heartland Computers, Inc. makes changes to any terms or conditions of the Privacy Policy, the changes will be posted in this document so that you will always know what information we gather, how we might use that information and to whom we will disclose it. We may change, modify, add, or remove portions of this Policy at any time, and any changes will become effective immediately upon being posted unless we tell you otherwise.
