SquirrelNet: Privacy Policy

Mike Reynolds is the sole owner of the information collected on SquirrelNet.com. SquirrelNet.com does not automatically collect information from users without their permission. This collection of information is currently limited to the email addresses collected when members opt-in to the SquirrelNet Email Newsletter.

SquirrelNet.com has two types of areas where information may be collected by third party providers. SquirrelNet uses the HitBox tracking service from Web Side Story. Please see the Web Side Story Privacy Policy for more information. SquirrelNet also uses at least one third party source to serve advertising. The current list includes: BeFree (see Privacy Policy). The third party providers use cookies to collect information. For more information on cookies, please see the Cookies section below.

No registration is required to use SquirrelNet.com.

Users may opt-in to our free email newsletter by providing their email address. No other information is collected. The email engine for electronically distributing this newsletter is Yahoo Groups under the group SquirrelNet. Members may opt-out of their membership at any time. Please see the Opt-out section below.

SquirrelNet has a Yahoo Group in the 'Searching the Net' category called SquirrelNet. See the Yahoo! Privacy Policy for specific information. SquirrelNet.com is not the host for this Yahoo Group but itself is a user of the Yahoo Groups service. Members may opt-out of their membership at any time. Please see the Opt-out section below.

While it is necessary to be a member of Yahoo Groups in order to receive the SquirrelNet Email Newsletter, it is not necessary to complete a full registration at Yahoo Groups. To do so, signup for the newsletter at SquirrelNet.com but do not proceed with the instructions for signing up with Yahoo Groups. SquirrelNet.com will manually directly add you to the Yahoo Group. You will still receive the newsletter but will not be able to access other features on the Yahoo Group without first completing a full registration there. Members may opt-out of their membership at any time. Please see the Opt-out section below.

Members may opt-out of their Newsletter and/or SquirrelNet Yahoo Group membership at any time. To do so, send a blank email to SquirrelNet-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com (mailto: SquirrelNet-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com. Alternatively, members can send an email to mike@squirrelnet.com mailto:mike@squirrelnet.com asking to be removed from membership.

Third party providers may place cookies on your computer as a result of using SquirrelNet.com (please refer to the individual privacy policies mentioned above in the section Information Collected at SquirrelNet.com by Third Party Providers). A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user's computer tied to information about the user. SquirrelNet.com benefits from the use of cookies by third party providers. The allow the webmaster to understand overall usage levels, the most popular pages, diagnose problems with SquirrelNet.com and to understand what percent of SquirrelNet.com users are repeat users. Usage of a cookie is in no way linked to any personally identifiable information while on our site. The cookies by third party providers may include both session ID cookies and persistent cookies. For the session ID cookie, once users close the browser, the cookie simply terminates. A persistent cookie is a small text file stored on the user's hard drive for an extended period of time. Persistent cookies can be removed by following Internet browser help file directions. For more information on cookies, a good resource is CookieCentral.com, especially their cookie FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions).

Like most standard Web site servers we use log files. This includes internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, platform type, date/time stamp, and number of clicks to analyze trends, administer the site, track user's movement in the aggregate, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. IP addresses, etc. are not linked to personally identifiable information.

We send all new members a welcoming email to verify password and username. Established and registered members will occasionally receive emails about new content on SquirrelNet.com.

Though we make every effort to preserve user privacy, we may need to disclose personal information when required by law wherein we have a good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a current judicial proceeding, a court order or legal process served on our Web site.

If a user elects to use our referral service for informing a friend about our site, we ask them for the friend's email address. SquirrelNet.com will automatically send the friend an email inviting them to visit the site. SquirrelNet.com stores this information for tracking the success of our referral program. The friend may contact mike@squirrelnet.com mailto:mike@squirrelnet.com to request the removal of this information from our database. SquirrelNet reserves the right to use these email addresses collected to send up one additional invitation to SquirrelNet.com in the future. This invitation would be addressed as coming from SquirrelNet.com. SquirrelNet.com will not send more than one additional invitation. This information will be stated on the additional invitation.

This Web site takes every precaution to protect our users' information. When users submit sensitive information via the Web site, their information is protected both online and off-line.

If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes to this privacy statement, the homepage, and other places we deem appropriate so our users are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it. We will use information in accordance with the privacy policy under which the information was collected. If, however, we are going to use users' personally identifiable information in a manner different from that stated at the time of collection we will notify users via email. Users will have a choice as to whether or not we use their information in this different manner. However, if users have opted out of all communication with the site, or deleted/deactivated their account, then they will not be contacted, nor will their personal information be used in this new manner. In addition, if we make any material changes in our privacy practices that do not affect user information already stored in our database, we will post a prominent notice on our Web site notifying users of the change. In some cases where we post a notice we will also email users, who have opted to receive communications from us, notifying them of the changes in our privacy practices.

If users have any questions or suggestions regarding our privacy policy, please contact mike@squirrelnet.com mailto:mike@squirrelnet.com.