What is a cookie?

A cookie is either a small text file that is stored on your hard drive, or some information that is stored in memory until you close your browser. Any given website can store and read only its own cookies; it cannot read a cookie set by another website, nor can it inject information into cookies set by other websites.

What is its purpose?

A cookie helps website operators monitor usage of their website, and also enables them to provide a secure personalized browsing experience for their users. In addition, cookies are often used on eCommerce websites to facilitate the shopping experience.

Rockwell Collins uses cookies to store session information while users are browsing its websites. Rockwell Collins may also use cookies at its discretion to enable more accurate reporting of site usage data, such as new visitors, unique visitors and returning visitors. The data stored in the cookie for usage tracking is a randomly generated identifier and does not identify you personally.

Cookies and your privacy

A cookie cannot read data from elsewhere on your computer; thus, it cannot steal any personally identifiable information about you. A cookie could store your personal information if you had first entered it into a web form and then the operators of the website chose to store it as part of the cookie.

As stated earlier, a given website cannot read cookies set by other websites. However, websites can include content, such as banner images, from third-party sites that set their own cookies. Subsequently, other sites that you visit that include content from the same third-party site may be customized based on your previous browsing history. In this manner, it may appear as though these sites have read your cookies, but it is really because of the third-party cookie.

Example: You visit the website of a particular automaker, and that site includes content from a third-party site that sets its own cookie. Subsequently, you visit a clothing website that incorporates banner ads from the same third-party. The third-party website knows that you have visited the automaker's web site and shows you a banner ad featuring a vehicle from that manufacturer.

Rockwell Collins does not use third-party cookies.

Controlling cookies

Rockwell Collins recognizes its users' privacy concerns and uses cookies only as an enabling tool. You may choose to reject cookies either outright, or on a case-by-case basis. However, please be aware that our applications and websites may require you to accept cookies in order to use some or all of their features.

In the following sections you will find brief instructions for controlling cookies in the most popular browsers used to visit our site. If you do not see your browser listed below, please consult its help documentation.

Internet Explorer

If you're using Internet Explorer 7.x or 6.x

1. Choose Tools > Internet Options.
2. Choose the "Privacy" tab.
3. Move the slider to select your preferred privacy level.
4. Choose the Sites and Advanced buttons to further customize your privacy preferences.

If you're using Internet Explorer 5.x

1. Choose Tools > Internet Options.
2. Choose the "Security" tab.
3. Slide the security level to something other than high or select "Custom level" and adjust cookie settings.

For more information, go to http://www.microsoft.com/.

Mozilla Firefox

If you're using Firefox 2

1. Choose Tools > Options.
2. Choose the "Privacy" icon.
3. Toggle the checkbox next to "Accept cookies from sites" as appropriate to suit your preference.
4. Choose the Exceptions buttons to enter specific websites for which you want to allow or block cookies regardless of your preference in step 3.

If you're using Firefox 1

1. Choose Tools > Options.
2. Choose the "Privacy" icon.
3. Choose the "Cookies" tab.
4. Toggle the checkbox next to "Allow sites to set cookies" as appropriate to suit your preference.
5. Toggle the checkbox next to "for the originating site only" if you want to disallow cookies from any third party sites that may have content on the page.
6. Toggle the checkbox next to "unless I have removed cookies set by the site" if you want to disallow cookies from sites whose cookies you have previously deleted.
7. Choose the Exceptions buttons to enter specific websites for which you want to allow or block cookies regardless of your preference in step 4.

Netscape Navigator 4.0

1. Choose Edit > Preferences.
2. Choose Advanced Settings at the bottom of the dialog box.
3. Choose from the following:
   • Accept all cookies
   • Accept only cookies that get sent back to the originating server
   • Disable cookies

Another option is for Netscape Navigator to warn you before accepting a cookie. Every time there is an incoming cookie, a dialog box will ask if you want to accept it.

For more information, see http://wp.netscape.com/legal_notices/cookies.html.