What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files which are sent to and then stored on your computer when you visit different web pages. We do not store detailed personal information in our cookies, but we use information gathered. ADS does not store personally-identifiable information in its cookies, but uses encrypted information gathered from cookies to help make your experience on the site better, e.g. by making navigation within the site easier or remembering your preferences. Please note that cookies can't harm your computer or your files.

Cookies are either “session cookies”, which are only stored for the duration of your visit to the site and deleted when you close your browser, or “persistent cookies”, which are stored for a period of time and activated when you return to the site. The cookies that ADS uses are mostly session cookies used for authentication purposes.

Cookies on this site

In order for this site to work properly your computer needs to accept a number of cookies; without them some fundamental parts of the website won't work as intended.

The cookies used on this site include:

Name Type (session or persistent) Purpose
.ASPXFORMSAUTH session Authentication
cookiesDirective persistent Remembering whether the cookie
message has been dismissed
TimeZoneInfo Session Remembering TimeZone and Navigator Language(User/Browser Language)
antiForgeryCookie Session Used to prevent CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery) attacks
ASP.NET_SessionId Session Stores the session identifier
_ga persistent Used to distinguish users using google analytics.
_ga_{container-id} persistent Used to persist session state using google analytics.
nmstat persistent Used to help record the visitor’s use of the website using google analytics.

How to manage cookies

Most browsers allow you to manage your cookie settings, such as blocking cookies from certain websites or only accepting cookies from trusted sources. You can usually access these settings by searching for "cookie settings" or "privacy settings" in the browser settings or preferences.

It's important to note that the specific steps for managing cookies may vary slightly depending on the version and platform of the browser you are using. However, most browsers provide some form of cookie management tools that allow you to view, delete, and manage cookies.

Additionally, it's important to note that managing cookies can impact website functionality and may require you to log back in or re-enter certain information, so be sure to consider the potential impact before deleting any cookies.

To check if cookies are enabled on some of the popular browsers:

Google Chrome:

  1. Open Chrome and click on the three dots in the top-right corner.
  2. Click on "Settings" and scroll down to "Privacy and security".
  3. Click on "Cookies and other site data".
  4. Turn on the "Allow all cookies" option to enable cookies.

Safari:

  1. Open Safari and click on "Safari" in the top-left corner.
  2. Click on "Preferences" and then "Privacy".
  3. Make sure the "Block all cookies" option is not selected. If it is, unselect it to enable cookies.
For all other browsers please see the individual browser's documentation or online help files.