Privacy Policy
Effective Date: June 30, 2008
This website (the "Site") is hosted by HiWired, Inc. ("HiWired").
HiWired has implemented generally accepted standards of technology and operational
security in order to protect your personally identifiable information ("PII"
as defined more specifically below) from loss, misuse, alteration, or destruction. Only
authorized HiWired personnel are provided access to your PII, and these employees and
representatives are required to treat this information as confidential. Despite these
precautions, however, HiWired cannot guarantee that unauthorized persons will not obtain
access to your PII. While HiWired is able to protect personal information that is
provided during the course of business, HiWired cannot take responsibility for data loss
on your products or systems that we service. You will need to ensure your data has been
removed or backed-up in order to safeguard this information.
Summary
Your privacy and security is important to us. While we encourage you to read and
understand this entire policy, we are providing this summary of some of the key aspects
of our privacy and security practices:
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HiWired’s services are delivered remotely, via your broadband connection.
By taking advantage of our services, you are giving permission to a HiWired technician
to log into your computer which may contain a wide range of PII. A HiWired technician
will only search your computer to determine the cause of the problem and will attempt
to limit to a minimum their interaction with your files. It is your responsibility to
ensure all of your files, especially those containing PII, are secure to prevent any
type of data loss or corruption.
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We may ask you to provide us with certain PII when you choose to register with our
Site or to obtain our services. HiWired uses the information you provide in order to
provide you services, fulfill requests for services or information, provide customer
service, administer promotions or surveys, offer new products or services, improve
effectiveness of HiWired’s offerings, conduct research and analysis, send marketing
communications and/or perform other business activities. HiWired does not sell
or rent your contact information to unrelated third parties.
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Information on general usage and personal details that we collect or that you provide
to HiWired may be used to provide you with enhanced Site features such as customized
content, access to special site sections, and so on. Because we would like to keep your
personal information accurate, you may correct or change PII by email (see “
Contact Us”)
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Our site is intended for use by general audiences that are 13 years of age or older.
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Because HiWired will continue to implement new technologies and improve the services
and features provided, this policy is subject to change. If there are changes or additions
to this privacy policy, we will post those changes here or in other formats for you to review.
Remote Access and Collection of Information
HiWired offers remote access services to assist in diagnosing and resolving issues (the "Services").
This process allows a HiWired technician to remotely access your computer to determine the problem and either
repair it or provide advice on what options are available to remedy the issue. By taking advantage of the
Services, you are giving permission to a HiWired technician to log into your computer which may contain a wide
range of PII. A HiWired technician will only search your computer to determine the cause of the problem and will
attempt to limit to a minimum their interaction with your files. It is your responsibility to ensure all of your
files, especially those containing PII, are secure to prevent any type of data loss or corruption. By downloading
HiWireds PC Check & Connect ("PC3") software in connection with the Services, you agree that HiWired
may collect and use technical and related information, including but not limited to technical information about
your computer, operating system and application software, and peripherals, that is gathered periodically by the
PC Check & Connect Client to facilitate the provision of software updates, product support and other services
to you related to our software and services. HiWired may use this information in accordance with the terms of this
privacy policy, as long as it is in a form that does not personally identify you. We may share aggregated
demographic and technical information and/or customer profile data with our business partners, advertisers and
others. This is not linked to any personal information that can identify any individual person and we do not sell
any such data.
Information Gathering & Updating
Information on general usage and personal details that we collect or that you provide to HiWired may be used
to provide you with enhanced Site features such as customized content, access to special Site sections, and so on.
Because we would like to keep your personal information accurate, you may correct or change PII by email (see
“Contact Us”)
Anonymous Information
When you visit the Site, our web servers automatically collect Site usage information, which is information
that describes how our visitors use and navigate the Site. It includes the number and frequency of visitors to
each web page and the length of their stays. We collect the information automatically sent to us by your web
browser, such as browser type, referrer data that identifies the web page visited prior and subsequent to
visiting our Site, and IP address. We also may determine what technology is available through your browser
in order to serve you the most appropriate version of a web page. For example, we may determine that you have
installed a version of Flash, and we will then send you the appropriate Flash version of the web page rather
than an HTML page.
Personally Identifiable Information
PII is information that could reasonably be used to identify you personally (such as your name, address,
birth date, credit card numbers, other billing information and e-mail address). Generally, you may browse
the Site without providing any PII. However, we may ask you to provide us with certain PII when you choose
to register with our Site or to obtain our services and provide your PII in order to receive support services,
receive copies of publications and newsletters, choose to participate in an online forum or survey, engage
in Site-sponsored training, seek information about employment opportunities, or register for other
HiWired-sponsored events. We may also ask you to provide us with demographic information or information
regarding your interests, background, or similar information. We reserve the right, at any time, to add
features to our Site that require you to register or otherwise to provide PII to access our Site. You can
choose not to provide certain information, but then you may not be able to take advantage of or participate
in certain Site features and receive certain services. We may combine anonymous information, scanned
information and PII that we collect with information available from other sources, including information
received from third parties.
If you use a chat room or post to the HiWired blog, you should be aware that any information you share
is visible to other users. Personally identifiable information you submit to one of these forums can be
read, collected, or used by other individuals to send you unsolicited messages. HiWired is not responsible
for the personally identifiable information you choose to submit in these forums.
Disclosure of Personal Information
HiWired uses the information you provide in order to provide you services, fulfill requests for services
or information, provide customer service, administer promotions or surveys, offer new products or services,
improve effectiveness of HiWired’s offerings, conduct research and analysis, send marketing
communications and/or perform other business activities. HiWired does not sell or rent your contact
information to unrelated third parties. We may employ third party contractors or service providers
that help us with providing services and information to you, including, without limitation, data storage
providers, payment processors and communications providers. HiWired may need to share your information,
including PII, with certain of these contractors and service providers, as well as with our business partners
and other representatives. These third parties are only permitted to use such information (including
PII) for the purposes of providing services to you and/or to HiWired and are obligated to use reasonable
security measures to protect your personal information and to keep your personal information confidential.
From time to time, HiWired may also disclose your PII if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief
that such action is necessary to: (1) comply with law or comply with legal process served upon us or our
agents, representatives and affiliates or to cooperate with an investigation of activities claimed to be
unlawful, (2) protect and defend our rights or property or those of our users and/or to enforce our Terms
of Service or End User License Agreement, (3) protect the personal safety of our users or the public, or
(4) respond to inquiries by bona fide owners of intellectual property rights in connection with allegations
of copyright or other proprietary or intellectual property rights infringement(s) arising from data or other
information posted by users on the Site or otherwise provided to HiWired. HiWired may also transfer personal
information in the event of a corporate sale, merger, acquisition, dissolution or similar event.
PII from Children Under Thirteen (13) Years of Age
This Site and our services are not directed to children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly
collect any information from children under 13 years of age. If you are under 13 years of age, do not
submit any information about yourself to us or this Site. If we discover that a child under the age of
13 has provided us with PII, we will delete that child’s PII from all HiWired systems.
IP Addresses
An IP address is a number that is assigned to your computer or network when you are on the Internet.
When visitors request pages from our Site, our servers log the visitor’s IP address. We may collect IP
addresses for a variety of internal purposes, such as system administration, to report aggregate
information to our business partners or to audit the number of visits to different pages on our Site.
Please note that some services within our Site, such as certain message boards, may display IP addresses
along with the message poster’s name and message.
Cookies
Cookies are information files that our Site may place on your computer to provide extended
functionality and to personalize your Site experience. We may use cookies for a number of purposes.
For example, we may use cookies to track usage patterns on the Site or to limit multiple responses
to and registrations for a survey. We may also use cookies to record registration and personalization
information, enabling you to save your user name. We do not store any PII in cookies, but we may link
the cookie to any information we collect. You can disable cookies on your computer by indicating this
in the preferences or options menus in your browser. However, it is possible that some parts of the
Site will not operate correctly if you disable cookies. You should consult with your browser’s
provider/manufacturer if you have any questions regarding disabling cookies.
Services
Our Site offers various services to our customers and registered users. Such services are fulfilled
using provided PII information such as your name, email address and credit card information. Your use
of our services may be terminated in accordance with HiWired’s
Terms of Service.
Contact Us - Correction/Updating Personal Information
If your personally identifiable information changes (such as your email address), or if you no longer
utilize our services, we will allow you to correct, update or remove your personal information provided
to us. This can be done by emailing HiWired Customer Support at info@hiwired.com or by calling us at
1-888-My-HiWired.
Changes to Privacy Policy
Because HiWired will continue to implement new technologies and improve the services and features
provided, this policy is subject to change. If there are changes or additions to this privacy policy,
we will post those changes here or in other formats for you to review. Except as set forth below, the
revised terms will take effect when they are posted and your continued use of this Site and/or our
services after such posting will signify your acceptance of the new terms. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, if we change our information practices or this privacy policy in such a way that your
personal information may be used or shared in a different manner, HiWired will give you the opportunity
to opt-out of having your information used or shared in that new manner. Some aspects of our services
may not be available to you if you do opt-out.
Your California Privacy Rights
HiWired collects various types of personal information about you, both online and offline, during
the course of our business relationship. Under California law, if you are a resident of California,
you may make a written request to HiWired about how we have shared your personal information during
the prior calendar year with third parties for their direct marketing purposes. In response to your
written request, HiWired is allowed to, instead, provide you with a cost-free means to opt-out of
such sharing.
HiWired has chosen to provide you with a cost-free means to opt-out of such sharing. If you would
like to exercise your rights under California law, please send your written request to the email
address or postal address below, or call us at the toll-free number below. Within 30 days of receiving
your request, HiWired will provide you a Customer Choice Notice.
info@hiwired.com
or
HiWired
117 Kendrick Street
Suite 300
Needham, MA 02494
1-888-My-HiWired