Privacy

StopBadware Privacy Statement

Summary

Welcome to StopBadware. StopBadware.org, BadwareBusters.org, and AdsIntegrityAlliance.org (the “Sites”) are operated by StopBadware, Inc. (“StopBadware”), an organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

We are committed to respecting and protecting your personal privacy. This Privacy Statement describes what information the Sites collect, how this information is used, and with whom we may share the information. Because this statement may change, please check back for updates to this Privacy Statement.

YOUR USE OF THE SITES, OR YOUR PROVISION TO US OF ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION CONSTITUTES YOUR AGREEMENT TO THESE TERMS AND ANY SUBSEQUENT CHANGES TO THESE TERMS; DO NOT USE THE SITES OR PROVIDE INFORMATION IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH ALL OF THE TERMS.

Here is a summary of key information you can read in more detail below:

Where applicable,

Information you post to public areas of the Sites is public. Please keep this in mind when choosing how much personally identifying information to share.
Personally identifying information you share with the Sites privately, such as your email address, will never be shared with any outside entity without your explicit consent.
We may share aggregated information about users of our site with researchers or the public, but this will never include any personally identifying information.
Some information about your computer and network connection is collected automatically by the website and the tools we use to help us understand our website traffic. We will not use this information to track your individual use of the site or share personally identifying information that has been collected automatically, except in cases of violations of our Terms of Service or if required by law enforcement.
You will only receive emails that you opted to receive and occasional emails relating to your account, the information that you posted, or your donation.
We will do our best to protect your information, within the requirements of complying with requests from law enforcement.

If you have any questions or concerns about this policy, please contact us at [email protected].

Information the Sites Automatically Collect

As with many websites, StopBadware collects certain information when you browse, read, or download information from the Sites, whether or not you submit information to the Sites. This data includes, but is not limited to the IP address of the computer you are using when you visit the site, URL request, the browser version that you are using to access the Sites, the operating system installed and running on the computer that you are using, and the date and time of your request.

Google Analytics

We make some of the information the site automatically collects available to Google Inc. for the purpose of using Google Analytics, a service that helps us to better understand how our visitors use the Sites and how they can be improved. This information may include IP addresses, browser versions used by visitors, the pages visited on the site, and other information. This data is analyzed in the aggregate, and individuals are not tracked. No personally identifying information will be submitted to Google for the purposes of the Google Analytics service, and Google Analytics is governed by Google, Inc.’s privacy policy. We also reserve the right to use additional website analytics services provided by vendors in addition to Google, Inc. in the future, so please check back for updates to this section.

Other Uses

We also may use these logs to compile aggregate data for research purposes. We may share data from these logs with third parties who are engaged in research that we believe in good faith is legitimate and who agree to use the information for research purposes only. This information will be studied and/or shared only in aggregate, and never in connection with your personally identifying information.

While it is our standard policy not to use IP address logs to track the sessions of individual users, there are some important exceptions. These exceptions are in cases of reported violations of our Terms of Service, and in cases where we are required to do so by law enforcement (see “Disclosure of Information to Law Enforcement” below).

Publicly Submitted Information

If you elect to sign up for and participate in the StopBadware community via the Sites, any content you contribute or other information you submit to public areas of the Sites may be publicly displayed, including personally identifying information. This includes information you include in your public user profile, and information you include in messages posted to the community forums. Information about your user reputation may also be publicly displayed. Your user name may be displayed to viewers of the Sites along with messages or other information that you publicly submit. Much of the content available on the Sites is created by other users, and not by StopBadware, the Sites, or their staff and affiliates.

Should you include additional personally identifying information in messages you post to the Sites, your user profile, or other parts of the site, please note that this information will be publicly viewable. We will not ask you for personally identifying information and we strongly encourage you not to include such information in your posts to the Sites, except for the minimum amount necessary to make use of the help available from the StopBadware community. For example, if your website has been hacked, you may want to share your website’s URL, but should not need to share additional personal information such as your phone number or email address.

As a user of the Sites, you may report potentially compromised URLs to the Sites. These user-submitted URL reports will be posted into our searchable Badware Website Clearinghouse. The information that you submit may be sold, shared, or distributed to other providers.

The information that you submit may also be used by us for research purposes. We may share information other than your email address with third parties who are engaged in research or analysis that we believe in good faith is legitimate. For instance, we intend to make some version of the aggregate data we gather available generally to individuals and organizations who are also working to put an end to badware, which may include other academic researchers, policy-makers, and companies. We also may make aggregate data that does not include personally identifying information available generally to the public.

Your Email Address

If you choose to sign up for a BadwareBusters.org account, you will need to provide an email address as part of the registration process. That email address will be used for the purposes of account registration verification, as well as occasional communications related to the logistics of your account or information you have posted to BadwareBusters.org. If you elect to sign up for additional opt-in emails from StopBadware, such as newsletters or emailed alerts about activity on the site, we will use your email address only for the purpose of sending you those additional messages for which you have opted in. If you donate money to StopBadware, we may use your email address to contact you about your donation or to request your continued support. We will not share your email address with any other parties without your consent.

Commercial Use of Personal Information

We will never rent or sell your personal information to anyone. We will not share your name or email address with third parties except with your consent, and only on the condition that the third parties agree not to use your name or email for commercial purposes.

Disclosure of Information to Law Enforcement

If we receive a warrant or subpoena for user information, we may disclose requested records to law enforcement authorities or outside parties seeking information through the legal process. In the event that we are required by law (including a court order) to disclose the information you submit and we have your contact information, we will provide you with notice (unless we are prohibited) that a request for your information has been made so that you may object to the disclosure. We will send this notice by email to the address you have given us. We prefer to independently object to over-broad requests for access to information about users of the site, but we cannot assure you that we will be able to do this in all cases. If you do not challenge the disclosure request yourself, we may be legally required to turn over your information.

Jurisdiction

StopBadware is based in the United States, and the servers and data processors used to maintain this site are located in the U.S. Please note that any personally identifiable information we obtain about you will be stored under U.S. privacy standards and regulations.

Cookies

When you visit or log in to the Sites, they may send cookies (small text files) to your browser. This helps the Sites remember certain information, like whether you are logged in. We do not use cookies to track your behavior on the Sites or on third-party websites.

Links to Independent Websites

Pages hosted by the Sites may link to independently-run websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of such websites.

Children’s Privacy

You must be at least 13 years of age to submit information to StopBadware. The site is intended for adults and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 years old. If you are a parent or legal guardian of a child under age 13 who you believe has submitted personal information to the site, please contact us immediately at [email protected].

Changes to the Privacy Statement

We retain the right to make changes, in our sole discretion, to this Privacy Statement. Any changes will be reflected in the Privacy Statement when the changes take effect. The privacy policies that apply to any information you submit will be those contained in the Privacy Statement that is in effect and posted on the site at the time that you submit the information. Please review the Privacy Statement each time you use the site.