The Royal Veterinary College
Cookies
What are cookies?
A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer's hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.
How we use cookies
- We use site cookies to track your path through the website and help the website perform to the best of its ability.
- We use shopping cart cookies for the essential tracking of what you wish to purchase.
- We use Google Analytics cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about web page traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to visitors' needs. The data collected is anonymous and used for statistical analysis purposes only.
Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website, by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.
You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.
You can find out more about cookies and how to view or remove them at allaboutcookies.org.
The table below shows the cookies that we use on our site and the reasons for using them.
| Type | Name | Expiry | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Site cookies | CFID CFTOKEN |
At end of session | Set by the server to maintain a visitor's session whilst they are on the site. They do not hold any personally identifiable information about the visitor or their computer. They are required for the site to operate correctly |
| CFBB_USERNAME CFBB_PASSWORD |
At end of session | Set by the server when visitors log in to password-protected areas of the website. They do not hold any personally identifiable information. |
|
| Shopping Cart | ACTINIC_REFERRER |
End of session | Returns visitors to the last page visited after checkout is complete |
| ACTINIC_CART | After 3 hours | Remember the reference to visitors shopping basket prior to, during and after making a purchase through the web site | |
| CART_CONTENT | After 3 hours | Stores the cart value and item count so it can be displayed in the shopping cart summary | |
| ACTINIC_BUSINESS | At end of session | Records the authentication status for logged in customers | |
| ACTINIC_CONTACT | After 1 day | Stores contact information to avoid the need for re-entering these details for subsequent orders (set by selecting 'remember me' at checkout). | |
| Google Analytics | _utma | After 2 years | Keeps track of the number of times a visitor has been to the site, when their first visit was, and when their last visit occurred. |
| _utmb | After 30 minutes | Takes a timestamp of when a visitor enters the site. | |
| _utmc | At end of session | Takes a timestamp of when a visitor leaves the site. | |
| _utmz | After 6 months | Keeps track of where the visitor came from, the search engine they used, the link they clicked on, the keyword they used, and where they were in the world when they accessed the website |
How to delete cookies
Browser specific instructions to block and remove cookies
- Internet Explorer
- http://support.microsoft.com/kb/196955
- Firefox
- http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/Cookies
- Google Chrome
- http://support.google.com/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=95647
- Opera
- http://www.opera.com/browser/tutorials/security/privacy/
- Safari
- http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=32467
- Safari iOS
- http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1677
- Android
- http://support.google.com/mobile/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=169022
- Blackberry
- http://docs.blackberry.com/.../Turn_off_cookies_in_the_browser...jsp
- Windows Phone
- http://www.microsoft.com/.../changing-privacy...aspx
Phone, Fax and Email Contacts
The following lists provide guidance for first point of contact and should be used for general enquiries.
To find contact details for individual members of staff see the People page or for information about specific members of academic staff see Staff Pages.
Travel Directions
Local maps and travel directions to the RVC’s London and Hertfordshire campuses