Privacy Policy
Carolina Biological Supply Company works hard to provide a positive experience for all teachers, students, parents and others (collectively known as "guests") who visit our websites, use our software or web applications or purchase products from us online (collectively known as "Online Services”) and is committed to protecting the privacy of our guests. This Privacy Policy applies to Carolina Biological Supply Company, including any and all entities that control, or are controlled by, or are affiliated or under common control with, Carolina Biological Supply Company (collectively referred to throughout this Privacy Policy as "we," "us" or "our"). This Privacy Policy applies to all of our websites on which it is posted, as well any Online Service in which we collect information. Although this Privacy Policy applies to all information that we collect through our Online Services, not everything in this Privacy Policy will necessarily apply to every product or service. If you are under the age of 13, or the legal guardian of a child under the age of 13 who uses our Online Services, please read our Children's Information Privacy Policy. What types of information do we collect? We collect several kinds of information to allow us to provide you with products or services in which you may be interested, but we never sell information about you to third parties. Information Provided to Us by Guests We may ask for personal information that would allow us to identify or contact individual guests specifically, such as first or last name, home address, telephone number or email address. We may also ask for a password, secret answers to certain security questions or other information that will allow us to identify a guest's account or provide a guest with access to their account or certain Online Services. Because many of our products and services are designed for use by parents, legal guardians, and educators, some of the personal or contact information that we request may be about children or schools instead of, or in addition to, information about the guests themselves. When we use or associate other information with information that could be used to identify or contact a guest specifically, this other information is considered personal information for purposes of this Privacy Policy. In order to ensure that guests are provided with accurate information about their accounts, and content geared to the interest of that guest, we may ask for personal information when a guest registers for, logs on to, or visits our websites or other Online Services, or participates in activities on our websites, such as contests or promotional offers. While using some of our products or services, guests may have the opportunity to provide photographs, videos or other materials that may contain information that would enable identification of the guest. Bearing this in mind, all guests should review any material sent to ensure that it is appropriate for sharing. Similarly, some of our Online Services may offer online social, community or other communication features that allow guests to post, or share with others, messages, stories, pictures, artwork, videos, testimonials, lesson plans, or other content. Along with such content, guests also may be given the opportunity to post certain personal information about themselves, their school and other miscellaneous information related to the content. Please note that although we may take various steps to protect our guests, we cannot guarantee that content posted by a guest will not be seen by someone other than the audience intended by the guest. By choosing to post items or use any of our social or communication features guests acknowledge that they do so at their own risk, and will only share information and images which they have a legal right to share. If we choose to make online social or other communication features or similar services available to children, we will be sure to abide by the applicable United States laws including the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. For more on our policy regarding information collected from children under the age of 13, please also see our Children’s Information Privacy Policy. Information Collected Using Technology Our Online Services may automatically collect information concerning a guest’s computer hardware and software, including for example, the computer's Internet Protocol (IP) address, computer operating system and web browser type, or the type of Online Service being used (including the product ID or serial number and product license information). We also may collect general information about how, and how often, guests use, browse, or view content on our websites, which products they buy and how guests use and interact with our Online Services. This information, as well as information regarding access times and referring website addresses helps us maintain the quality of our services and gather general statistics about our website guests. In most cases, the usage information described above does not identify guests personally, but in some cases may be linked to personal information such as an email address. Depending on which of our websites or the type of Online Service being used, and the specific type of usage information being collected, some or all of such information may be linked to the guest's account. Additionally, if a guest receives our emails in HTML format, we may use technological methods to improve our services and communications to the guest by, for example, determining whether that guest has opened or forwarded our emails and/or clicked on links in those emails or to determine whether the guest has made an inquiry or purchase in response to a particular email. These technological methods may enable us to collect and use information in a form that is personally identifiable. Guests who do not want such information collected from HTML emails can request a change in the format of future emails using the link at the bottom of an existing email, or by contacting us directly. When and how much personal information do we collect? The timing and amount of information that we collect from guests will depend on which websites and Online Services the guest utilizes and how much the guest interacts with our systems. Please be assured that we try to collect only the information needed to provide guests with the quality products and services they have come to expect from Carolina Biological. We may request a guest's personal information when they:
As noted above, our websites and Online Services also collect some usage information automatically. Please see "Information Collected Using Technology" above for more information. We sometimes supplement the information that we collect as outlined in this Privacy Policy with information that we receive from other sources and companies. Such outside information includes, but is not limited to, updated delivery and address information from carrier services or other third parties; account purchase or redemption information from some merchants for which we provide technical, fulfillment, advertising, or other services; and credit history information from credit bureaus, which we use to offer certain credit or financial services to some customers. How do we use the information that we collect? Carolina Biological primarily collects and uses personal information of our guests in order to operate our websites and to provide our Online Services. For example, we collect a guest’s email address, name and address during account registration to enable us to process any orders placed, send any requested newsletter(s) or any requested mailings or offers. When a guest voluntarily enters a promotion or contest, we may request the guest’s email address and other contact information in order to be able to contact that guest in the event that guest is a winner. If a guest provides us with credit card information, we will use it to fulfill and process online orders for that guest. We also may provide guests with the option to store payment information for future purchases, as a convenience, on certain occasions. If a guest chooses to take advantage of this convenience, we would store their payment information. In addition to processing a guest’s orders for products or services, we also may use personal information to:
Do we share personal information with other parties? Carolina Biological is committed to preserving privacy and does not sell information about its customers or Online Services guests to other companies. Except as otherwise stated below, we also do not share any information that would individually identify our guests or individual customers to third-parties. Please note however, that we sometimes hire other companies to provide limited services on our behalf, such as sending newsletters, fulfilling and shipping orders that guests have placed and completing transactions requested by guests. We will only provide those companies with the information that they need to provide us with the specific task they have been hired to do, and we prohibit them from using that information for any other purpose, and we require them to abide by strict information privacy standards. Additionally, we reserve the right to disclose the personal information of our guests, without notice, only if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) comply with the law; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of Carolina Biological and, (c) protect the personal safety of users of Carolina Biological websites and Online Services, or the public. How do we protect personal information? Carolina Biological takes various technological, administrative and physical measures to protect the personal information of our guests. Some of these measures include, but are not limited to, requiring that users be registered to access the portions of our website that request or enable them to submit personal information; using encryption technology to protect credit card numbers when they are transmitted to us via any of our websites or Online Services. We routinely review our security measures and consider new technology and methods as appropriate. Please be aware that despite our efforts, no security measures are perfect and we assume no responsibility for any breaches. Carolina.com is PCI Compliant Carolina is proud to note that our Carolina.com website has attained Payment Card Industry-Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) compliance. This means that a guest who shops at Carolina.com can rest assured that payment information is being handled in accord with the highest of industry standards for safety and security. The PCI-DSS standard was developed by the PCI Security Standards Council to establish consistent data security measures around the globe and guard credit card data, account and transaction information from hackers or malicious system intrusion. VeriSign™ Payment Security Sales at our Carolina.com website are protected by VeriSign™ Secure Server ID technology, which assigns our server a unique digital ID. This indicates that our site is registered and authentic. To verify that private information is protected through SSL technology, guests can look for the "s" (for "secure") after "http" in the address bar and for the padlock icon. On pages where no private information is exchanged, the "s" and padlock icon may not be displayed. VeriSign’s SGC-enabled SSL Certificates provide 128 or 256-bit encryption to over 99.9% of website visitors, including the tens of millions who use certain older versions of Windows® and Internet Explorer®. Many of the world's largest banks, Fortune 500 companies, governments, and public institutions trust VeriSign™ to secure their websites and protect their brands. What can guests do to protect their personal information? Any guest who chooses to register with any Carolina Biological website or on Online Service will be required to select a password. This password can be changed by the guest at any time by first logging into the service by using the current password and then setting a new one. It is the guest’s responsibility to keep the password confidential. A guest who has logged in from a computer that is shared with others should always log out of the website before leaving it to prevent subsequent users of that computer from accessing information under their log in. A guest who believes that someone has used their password or account without their permission, or has a reason to believe there might have been a breach of security, should notify us immediately. How is personal information handled in our communities and forums? While we do not automatically share any guest's personal information based simply on their decision to log onto one of our communities or forums, please bear in mind that a guest's user name or log-on may be visible to other users. Additionally, please note that although we may take various steps to protect our guests, we cannot guarantee that content posted by a guest will not be seen by someone other than the audience intended by the guest. Bearing this in mind, all guests should review any material sent to ensure that any and all such information and images are appropriate for sharing. All guests choosing to post items or use any of our social or communication features acknowledge that they do so at their own risk, and will only share information and images that they have a legal right to share. Carolina Biological cannot take any responsibility for such information collected or disclosed in such postings. Guests also are encouraged to review the privacy statements of any other websites visited via hyperlinks posted on our websites to understand how those websites collect, use and share information. Carolina Biological is not responsible for the privacy policies or other content of third-party websites accessed through any Carolina Biological website. How can guests change their contact information and preferences? All guests registered with one of our websites can log into their account and access or update the contact information currently associated with that account, including for example a mailing address or email address. Guests also may be able to use our websites to view and update information regarding recent orders, payment settings (such as credit card information, credit balances and gift certificates), email notification settings and prior order history. If a password has been forgotten, a guest also can find instructions for resetting it on the account information page. With respect to communications preferences, a guest can unsubscribe from newsletters by following the instructions included in any newsletter received. A guest whose email address has changed and would like to continue to receive newsletters, will need to access the account and update the email address information and might need to sign-up again for the newsletter. Occasionally we will send out emails concerning website disruptions, new products and other news about our products and services. These emails are sent to all account holders and are not subscription-based. Such emails are considered a part of our service to the guests of our websites. Do we have special privacy protections for children under the age of 13? Yes. Carolina Biological is committed to protecting the privacy of all of our users, and we abide by the applicable United States laws including the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. For more on our policy regarding information collected from children under the age of 13, please also see our Children’s Information Privacy Policy. What if we change our Privacy Policy or Children’s Information Privacy Policy? We periodically review our online practices and policies and may choose to revise our Privacy Policy or Children’s Information Privacy Policy at any time. We recommend that guests review our Privacy Policy and Children’s Information Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed on how we are protecting private information. What if guests have questions or comments about this Privacy Policy? Carolina Biological welcomes questions or feedback regarding our Privacy Policy and Children’s Information Privacy Policy. Please call us, send an email or write to us with questions or comments at: Carolina Biological Supply Company Attention: Privacy PO Box 6010 Burlington, NC 27216-6010 We will not send promotional or marketing materials in response to contacts regarding a question or comment, unless requested. |
Reminder notice for Free Content Creator access point
Notice
Before posting any material, please insure that you have thoroughly reviewed the Terms of Use, Privacy Policy and Children’s Information Privacy Policy and are completely familiar with the rules and obligations for submissions to Carolina Biological’s Online Services. For ease of reference, links to each of these documents is provided below.
Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Children’s Information Privacy Policy