This
privacy statement explains the procedures followed by VSA in collecting
and using information regarding visitors to this Web site and advises you
what information might be shared with third parties. The type of
information collected will vary depending upon the portions of the site
which you visit and, in certain instances, which you voluntarily disclose.
COLLECTION
OF INFORMATION
Basic
Viewing
If
you read or download any pages on a VSA site, we automatically collect
and store:
-
the
requested Web page,
-
the
status of the request (whether it was successful or not),
-
the
date and time you access our site,
-
the
Internet address of the Web site or the domain name of the computer from
which you accessed our site,
-
the
type and version of the Web browser, and
-
the
operating system of the computer running the Web browser.
In
addition to using this information to send the requested site pages to
your computer, we use this information (i) to monitor the performance of
our Web server and diagnose system problems and to otherwise administer
our system and (ii) to provide collective demographic and user profile
data on visitors to our site.
Any
usage of any on-line chat or newsgroup sessions is considered a public
usage and you assume responsibility for any information or content which
you submit.
Users
Who Register
Users
who desire to access more than a demo or other public portions of The Virtual Assistant must register and supply certain information. Even if you
do not register, unless you have opted-out, we may contact you for marketing
purposes.
E-Mail
Users
If
you send us an e-mail or respond to the Contact Us section, in addition
to the general visitor information, we also will record your e-mail address
and any other personal information included with your message. We
will use this information to respond to your message and may add your address
to an e-mail distribution list used to announce new products or to update
the status of other products or otherwise contact you for marketing purposes.
Subscribers/Demo
Users
If
you subscribe or access product demo or trial subscription, in addition
to the general visitor information, we will collect and store your name
and e-mail address and other information on the registration form.
This information will be incorporated into one or more VSA database(s).
We may use this information to send you solicitations for VSA products
and make other marketing contacts.
If
you order a subscription, in addition to the general visitor information,
we will require certain personal information, including (i) financial information
necessary to process the order (such as a credit card number or account
information), (ii) location information (including address and business
affiliation) necessary to process the order (which may include mailing
and delivery addresses and telephone numbers) and to otherwise support
our customer database and (iii) unique identifiers (such as a user password).
We use this information to authorize and process your subscription and
also to track usage and billing. Payment information may be disclosed to
credit reporting bureaus or used for collection purposes. The customer
specific information will be incorporated into one or more of our subscriber
database(s). Information other than your financial information will
be shared with certain third parties providing content to the The Virtual Assistant. That information is subject to the privacy policies of such
third party providers. We periodically send our subscribers, either by
regular mail or e-mail, information and solicitations for VSA products
and make other marketing contacts. We also use composite demographic
or profile data for our own internal research.
Certain
tools available through the The Virtual Assistant allow users to enter
personal financial information of their prospects, clients and customers
for planning and financial product evaluation purposes. Such customer data
is not stored by VSA.
Continuing
Education Participants
Individuals
taking continuing education exams online will have been given a unique
password. This password will be connected to personal information
required for identification of the test taker as required by the course
administrator and the continuing education authorities of the specific
jurisdiction. In addition to the general visitor information (which,
for the visit to the site when you either order or take the test, may be
linked to your personal identifying test information), such order data
will be recorded as provided above and will be linked to the test administration
data. We may use composite demographic or profile data for our own
internal research, including test development, and when dealing with continuing
education providers and certification authorities.
USE
OF INFORMATION
Basic
Viewing
Except
for subscribers who access continuing education functions, no individual
identifying data is shared outside of VSA or its providers. We may
disclose collective demographic and user profile data with third parties.
Continuing
Education Participants
Data
gathered as a general visitor to a VSA site or as a subscriber may be shared
as previously described above under those headings. In addition,
if you enroll in any continuing education course, you can expect that personal
identifying information, including test results, as required by the continuing
education authority or course provider, will be sent to those parties.
Users who have questions as to the specific data to be provided in any
given case, should contact VSA at
before registering for a continuing education program or test.
COOKIES
A
"cookie" is a small data file that is sent to your browser when you access
a web site. The Virtual Assistant cookies will contain a unique
user ID that tracks the pages you have visited. This user ID is used
only for the operation of the cookie and is not provided to any third party.
A cookie file cannot read other data from your hard disk or read cookie
data created by other sites. VSA uses cookies primarily to facilitate
your visit through our sites and to help us improve our sites. We
also will use cookie data in operating our on-line subscription, continuing
education and product demo functions as well as in granting access to secure
pages.
If
you set your browser to not accept cookies, you will not be able to view
product samples or demos or to use various other subscriber functions.
LINKS
This
site contains links to third party sites. (This includes links through
site resources.) These sites are not under the control of The Virtual Assistant and are not covered by our privacy policy. VSA is not responsible
for the privacy policy or content of such other Web sites. Once you link
to another site, you are subject to the privacy policy of that new site.
(Check the URL in the location bar on your Web browser.)
SECURITY
The Virtual Assistant is committed to taking commercially reasonable steps to
protect any individual identifying information that you provide to us.
We use industry standard security tools. However, we are not responsible
for any breach of security or for any actions of any permitted third parties
who receive information.
CONTACTING
US
If
you have any questions about this statement, the practices of this site
or your dealings with this Web site, you can contact us at:
VSA
Webmaster
Financial
Services Online
P.O. Box 913
Wimberley, TX 78676
GENERAL
The Virtual Assistant reserves the right to revise these terms at any time by
updating this posting. Even though you may have visited this site
before, any access is subject to the then current terms and you are responsible
for checking for any updates. However, the prior terms will continue
to apply to any information submitted under such policy.
Last
Updated: September 1, 2002
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