We do not collect personally identifiable information (e.g.,
name, address, phone number, e-mail address) unless you provide
it to us. Any such information we do receive is used only to respond
to your inquiries, comments and requests, and for aggregated statistical
purposes. In addition, this site does not collect information
through the use of "Cookies."
Information Collected and Stored Automatically
When you visit our site to read or download information we automatically
collect only the following information about you.
- The name of the domain (for example,"xyzfirm.com"
if you use a private Internet access account, or "yourschool.edu"
if you are connecting from a university's domain);
- The IP address from which you access our website;
- The type of browser and operating system used to access our
site
- The date and time you accessed it;
- The Internet address of the website from which you linked
directly to us; and
- The pages you visit.
Our site captures and uses this information so we can provide
better services to our visitors. For example, we use the browser
information to improve the functionality and format our Web pages.
E-Mail: If you send us an email, we will use your return
email address to respond to your questions and requests for assistance.
Users are reminded that email is not necessarily secure against
interception. If your communication is very sensitive or includes
personal information, you may want to send it to us by postal
mail instead.
Forms: If you use our Web site forms to contact us, we
capture the information you provide and use it to respond to your
comments, requests and inquiries. We also capture the address
of the server from which you sent the form.
Retention: We retain the information we get from you for
one month or a period of up to 30 days after we have responded,
whichever is less.
Sharing: We do not share any of the information you provide
with agencies outside of the Department of Commerce.
Protection of Information: To the maximum extent of the
law we do not make the information we collect from this website
available to the public.
Other Sites: Links from our site or from other sites to
us, do not constitute an endorsement by our agency. These links
are for convenience only. The responsibility for evaluation of
the content and usefulness of information obtained from other
sites is left up to the user. In any case where you are linked
off of our site, users are encouraged to determine the information
collection policies of the new site.
Security, Intrusion, and Detection
For site security purposes, and to ensure that this service remains
available to all users, all traffic is monitored in order to identify
unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise
cause damage or conduct criminal activity. To protect this website
from unauthorized use and to ensure that it is functioning properly,
all users are subject to having all of their activities monitored
and recorded by authorized personnel. Anyone using this website
expressly consents to such monitoring and is advised that if there
is evidence of possible abuse or criminal activity, the results
of this monitoring shall be made available to appropriate officials
for possible prosecution. Unauthorized attempts to upload or change
information, or otherwise cause damage to this website, are strictly
prohibited and may be punishable under applicable federal law.