document: title: privacy policy [updated 7 aug 09]
text: Privacy Statement for IDG Communications Pty Ltd

This website is owned and operated by IDG Communications Pty Ltd. (“IDG Australia”).

IDG Australia is the owner and operator of: Australian Reseller News, Australian Life Scientist, CIO Australia, Computerworld Australia, Australian GamePro, Australian PC World, CSO Australia, GoodGearGuide, Techworld, CXO, Taste for Life and Information Age, and the associated websites and the subdomains of these websites. IDG Australia is a subsidiary of International Data Group, Inc.

The International Data Group, Inc. (IDG) family of on-line and print publications consists of hundreds of award-winning titles from around the world including, Computerworld, CIO, CSO, Game Pro, Network World, Macworld and PC World. The IDG Publishing Network is a growing collection of IDG web sites that presently includes computerworld.com, cio.com, csoonline.com, infoworld.com, idgconnect.com, idgconnect.co.uk networkworld.com, macworld.com, pcworld.com and gamepro.com. A complete listing is available at www.idg.com. The IDG Publishing Network is operated by our ultimate holding company International Data Group, Inc. together with its subsidiaries (“our Group”).

IDG Australia has created this privacy statement to demonstrate our firm commitment to the confidentiality of user data that identifies a natural person or from which such a person’s identity may reasonably be ascertained (“personal data”) in accordance with the National Privacy Principles set forth in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). The following discloses the information gathering and dissemination practices for IDG Australia on-line products.

We are committed to notify you of the following:

  * What personal data IDG Australia collects from you and how the information is used;
  * With whom this site shares the information it collects;
  * How you can correct or make changes to this information;
  * What choices are available to you regarding the collection, use, and distribution of information;
  * What security procedures are in place to protect the loss, misuse, or alteration of information under IDG Australia's control.



By using this Website and/ or submitting your personal data, you agree to the transfer, storing and processing activities described in this Policy. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your personal data is treated securely and in accordance with this Policy.

If you have questions or concerns regarding this statement, please contact:

> privacy@idg.com.au
> 
> Or by post to
> 
> The Privacy Officer  
>  IDG Communications Pty Ltd  
>  PO Box 1753  
>  North Sydney NSW 2060  
>  ABN 14 001 592 650 

What information does IDG Australia collect?

There are two main ways we collect information from you:

  * Non-use of an IDG Australia log-in password: Whenever you visit an IDG Australia site, our servers automatically record information about your usage of the network such as the time of the visit, its duration and the page which you visit. This is intended to help us understand what parts of the site users enjoy. The information we collect remains anonymous. If you do not register through the IDG Australia member information site, you remain anonymous and we will not link your usage to you personally.
  * Using an IDG Australia site after registering: If you register to receive IDG Australia e-mail newsletters or other offerings, personal data about your interests are collected and stored. This helps us to build a profile of what information would be of interest and relevant to you. By using this information we can tailor our content to user interests and help our advertisers better understand the audience they are reaching.



How is our registration data used?

IDG Australia and its suppliers may collect, process and use your personal data (including your name, postal address, email address, telephone, mobile and fax numbers). We will do so to contact you regarding the services you have requested and/or to offer services to you, and/or to provide the services you have requested. This includes re-registration/renewal notifications, payment processing, surveys on improving our service to you and/or invitations to exhibitions, seminars and shows. IDG Australia may employ trusted third party specialists to process your data on our behalf in order to deliver the products and services to you in a more efficient manner.

This personal data is stored on IDG Australia computers in Australia, and, because IDG Australia is part of the IDG Publishing Network, may be transferred to, stored and processed, inside Australia and/or outside of Australia by other members of our Group. In addition, if you consent to receive offerings from third party organisations, this personal data remains with IDG Australia who will send the third party offerings to you. Except as set forth below with regard to the provision of free resources, at no time will your personal data be transferred to such third party organisations. Finally, as stated above, your personal data may be transferred to and stored by third party specialists engaged by IDG to assist in the provision of the content and services you request. Such vendors may be located inside or outside of Australia. In all cases, we will only transfer your personal data outside Australia when IDG Australia can ensure that the recipient of the information is subject to a law, binding scheme or contract which effectively upholds principles for fair handling of the information that are substantially similar to the National Privacy Principles.

From time to time IDG Australia and/or the IDG Publishing Network may invite you to register in order to receive such offerings as magazines, email newsletters, enter competitions, and receive goods or services from IDG Australia and/or the IDG Publishing Network websites. This may require you to confirm personal data such as your name, email address, and mailing address postcodes. This information is required by IDG Australia for security purposes, and enables IDG Australia to supply a reasonable level of services to users and our advertisers. We may also ask for information such as job function, job title, industry sector, company/ name and country. During registration, you will also be asked to choose a user name and password for future access to the relevant Website(s).

In order to provide you with free resources such as technology white papers and expert analysis, we may share your personal data and/or business information with third party organisations we partner with and whose content and/or other offerings you choose to view via an email offer we may send to you via Connect.com and/or connect.co.uk, and/or download from IDG Australia Website(s) or other IDG Publishing Network sites. We will request such partners to include an opt out notice in all such offerings and to give effect to any opt out decision.

Because IDG Australia is part of the IDG Publishing Network, you may receive offers that IDG Australia believes will be of interest to you from any of the IDG Publishing Network sites. However, IDG Australia offers you the chance to opt out of receiving additional information from the IDG Publishing Network and our Group. You have the absolute right to ask us not to process your personal data for marketing purposes. Whilst we give details in this Policy in relation to opting out, we want to make clear that you can at any time exercise this right by contacting us by post or email at the address set out at the foot of this Policy.

How do I access my personal information?

You may update the information stored in your profile at any time while online by visiting http://www.idg.com.au/user. You will be prompted for your username and password in order to access your profile. If you have questions, you may also contact IDG Australia customer service by sending an email to privacy@idg.com.au

How do I control my personal information?

You may review and update all of your information at any time while online by logging in to your personal profile. You control what information IDG Australia has access to and the types of information that IDG Australia can send to you. For example, you have the opportunity to receive special offers/updates on behalf of selected third party companies OR from IDG OR you can choose to opt out of these mailings at any time. See section below on Opt Out.

Who else may receive my personal information?

Except as otherwise set forth in this policy, IDG does not share any of your personal data with any third party person or entity. Except for the provision of free resources as described above, all third party messages that are sent to you will be sent by IDG. You can unsubscribe from this service at anytime.

Ad Serving Technology

IDG Australia has contracted with DoubleClick, Google and other advertising serving technlology providers to serve all advertising on the IDG Network comprised of Web sites and email newsletters. When one of these providers serves ads to the user, it uses cookies to track certain types of non-personally identifiable information: for example, a user's IP address, browser version or type, operating system, service provider, and local time. In addition, IDG uses clear GIFs, or pixel tags, provided by DoubleClick to allow the browser's cookie to be recognised when the browser visits an IDG site. Information collected and shared through this technology is not personally identifiable (i.e., it does not include your name, address, telephone number, or email address). DoubleClick does share non-personally identifiable information, such as user profiles based on clickstream profile data, with IDG, but strictly in aggregate form.

For more details about the information DoubleClick collects and the opportunity to opt out of such data collection, please visit: http://www.doubleclick.net/privacy_policy.

IP Addresses

Our Web server automatically records a visitor's domain and IP address. We use the IP address to identify server problems and administer our Web site, and to analyse click-stream data to better understand user behaviour.

Security

IDG Australia has security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information we control. Our security systems include authenticated access to internal databases, audits of procedures, and regular reviews of overall Web security. Access to personal user data is also limited to the database administrator(s).

Opt-Out

IDG Australia provides the following statement at registration:

"IDG occasionally likes to inform our subscribers about special offers, new products, as well as information from relevant, qualified businesses and organisations. Tick the boxes below if you would like to receive these notices."

By default, this box is checked. Users who opt NOT to receive such third party communication from IDG Australia should uncheck this box. Users can also remove their personal information from IDG Australia's database in three ways:

  * Updating your personal profile and service selections by visiting http://www.idg.com.au/user
  * Sending a request via email to privacy@idg.com.au
  * Or phoning +61 2 9902 2700



Disclosure of Information

If the business of operating this Website is sold, the relevant customer lists and other personal data of our subscribers and users will be transferred to the new owner. This will be done in accordance with current legislation.

We may disclose your personal data if we are under a duty to disclose your personal data as a result of a court order or any other legal obligation, any subpoena or legal process or as otherwise required by law, or if we believe it necessary to prevent or take action regarding illegal activities or violations of our policies.

Future Enhancements

We are committed to maintaining IDG Australia as the foremost IT industry publisher. From time to time we will add new features to our e-mail services and web sites. Because of this, our Privacy Policy will be reviewed and revised. IDG Australia reserves the right to change its Privacy Policy at any time and notify you by posting an updated version of the policy on its web site.

Further Information

For more information about privacy issues in Australia and protecting your privacy, visit http://www.privacy.gov.au.

LAST UPDATED: August 7, 2009