Current MAP applications do not use cookies. However in the future this option may be added without notification. The following explains how MAP may uses cookies. A cookie is a piece of text asking permission to be placed on your computer's hard drive. If you agree, then your browser adds the text in a small file. The purpose of a cookie is to help us analyze web traffic or let us know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow a web application to respond to you as an individual. By gathering and remembering information about your preferences, the web application can tailor its operation to your needs, likes and dislikes. For example, when you visit an electronic store, a cookie makes it easy to shop by allowing you to drop things into a shopping cart; the cart itself is not the cookie, the cookie is places on your hard drive and keeps track of your cart versus others' in use at the same time.
MAP uses traffic log cookies to identify what pages are being used and which ones aren't. These helps us aggregate and analyze data about web page traffic and make improvements to MAP web sites to better meet customer needs. In this case, MAP uses this information only for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system. That is the case of many of our support and information-sharing pages and forums. Denial of a traffic log cookie should not prevent you from using one of these sites.
A few MAP web sites use temporary cookies as part of the customer web navigation experience, tracking unique IDs for that particular web site session only. The MAP News subscription services site requires enabling cookies to subscribe to the free newsletters offered through this service. MAP subscription services use cookie technology to assign and place an identifier unique only to you, may be placed on your computer. When you register for the News subscription service, it ensures that you are accurately identified and linked with your registration data. The News subscription service may also uses a temporary "authentication" cookie to assure secure access to your personal information by you alone (completed with user name and password).
Overall, cookies help us give you a better web site to use, by letting us monitor what's working and what isn't through site traffic analysis. MAP wants to be sure you understand that accepting a cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any personal information about you, other than the data you chose to share with us. This practice is strictly enforced. We know that a lot of people have concerns about cookies, but in talking with many of our customers, we believe that the benefit we both gain from their proper use is worthwhile. We value the relationships we have with our customers, so we respect these concerns. MAP works to continuously improve the MAP web experience and personal data privacy policy and practices. You may set your web browser (Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator) to notify you of cookie placement requests or decline cookies completely. You can delete the files that contains cookies; those files are stored as part of your Internet browser.