Northwest Performance Software, Inc.

Privacy Policy

Introduction

Your privacy is important to Northwest Performance Software, Inc (NWPSW). We developed this Privacy Policy to provide you with information on how we process your personal data when you purchase our software, register software, create a newsletter account, interact with our customer support specialists, visit nwpsw.com, netscantools.com, switchportmapper.com or lineagemanager.com or use NWPS apps that include a link to this Privacy Policy.

“Personal data” is information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.

When do we collect your information?


We may collect your information: (1) when you license and use our software; (2) when you register your software license; and (3) when you communicate with us by email or otherwise.

    In plain language - We collect your information when you purchase and use our software, website or otherwise communicate with us.

What information do we collect?


We may collect both personal information and non-personal information. personal information is information that is either expressly provided by you, such as your name, or information that can be used either alone or in combination with other information to personally identify you, such as your email address and phone number.

We may collect the following personal information from you: Contact Information (such as name, email address, mailing address, or phone number); Unique Identifiers (such as username and password); Information about your business (such as company name, business address) and; Information related to your usage of our products as described in the next section, below. When you place an order directly with us, we may collect credit card billing information such as credit card number, billing address and name on card.

Our third party service providers may collect billing information (credit card number and billing address) on our behalf to process orders.

Non-personal information is all information that is not personal information or is information that was personal information but which we modify and/or aggregate with other data in order to make it Non-personal information. As is true of most websites, we gather certain information automatically. This information may include Internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, Internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, the files viewed on our site (e.g., HTML pages, graphics, etc.), operating system, date/time stamp, and/or clickstream data to analyze trends in the aggregate, and anonymously generated device identifiers and administer the site.

    In plain language - There are two types of information we collect: personal and non-personal.

Software Collection - information collected when using our software


Unless noted below, our software does not collect any data, personal or otherwise, and transmit it to NWPS.

NetScanTools Pro - (1) When you register NetScanTools Pro Full Version we ask you to provide your name, email address, software serial number, current software version and operating system. We may also obtain your company name or comments you make during registration. Your newsletter or mailing list preferences are also obtained during registration. (2) NetScanTools Pro also may be configured to periodically update the maintenance plan expiration date from our secure server by sending your registration number and receiving the date. (3) NetScanTools Pro also may be configured to check for a new software version at startup. Points (2) and (3) may be enabled or disabled by going to Help/Preferences and reviewing the appropriate checkboxes. Point (1) is mandatory in order to assure that our software is being used in accordance with the license agreement and not being 'shared' to others. Point (1) is also used to allow access to updates during the maintenance plan period.

    Why? - So we can remind you by email when your NetScanTools Pro maintenance plan is about to expire and provide access to updates during an active maintenance plan period.


NetScanTools LE - (1) When you optionally register NetScanTools LE we ask you to provide your name, email address, software serial number, current software version and operating system. We may also obtain your company name or comments you make during registration. Your newsletter or mailing list preferences are also obtained during registration. Registration is required to obtain technical support. (2) NetScanTools LE is configured by default to check for a new software version at startup. This action may be enabled or disabled by going to left control panel Program Info/Preferences and reviewing the appropriate checkbox.

    Why? - So we can assist you during technical support requests and assure that you are the authorized user of the software.


The following software only do version checks using a request to our web server by sending a request for a version file. Unique license information is not sent to us during this check.

NetScanTools Basic - this software is configured by default to check for a new software version at startup. This action may be enabled or disabled by going to Help/About NetScanTools Basic and reviewing the appropriate checkbox.

Managed Switch Port Mapping Tool - this software is configured by default to check for a new software version at startup. This action may be enabled or disabled by going to Global Settings and changing the Enable Software Version Check via Internet checkbox.

ipPulse - this software is configured by default to check for a new software version at startup. This action may be enabled or disabled by going to Settings and changing the Enable Version Check checkbox on the Program Control tab.

    In plain language - We do not receive the data you collect or create while using our software.

Website and Dialogue Collection

As part of our Website Collection and Dialogue Collection we collect and we ask you to provide information about yourself including but not limited to:

   Why? Providing your data is optional, but it may be necessary for certain services, accessing content, such as NetScanTools Pro full installation software, or to receive customer support services. In such cases, if you do not provide your information, we may not be able to provide you with the requested services.

How do we collect your information?

Directly - Some information you provide to us directly. For example, when you make a purchase, post comments or ask questions in our blog, or voluntarily decide to grant us remote access to provide you with technical support. Also, we may collect and store all posted blog information and make them available for public viewing.

    In plain language - we collect your information when you give it to us or post on our blog.

Cookies (2021 note: we are discontinuing the use of cookies on this site)- NWPS collects information through "cookies" to analyze trends, administer the website, track users' movements around the website, and to gather demographic information about our user base as a whole. Cookies are text files saved by your browser when you log into our software or services. We may use both session cookies and persistent cookies to identify that you have logged in, to tell us how and when you interact with our software or services, and to check aggregate usage and web traffic. Unlike persistent cookies, session cookies are deleted when you log off and close your browser. If you prefer, you can always change your browser options to stop accepting cookies or to prompt you before accepting cookies. However, if you do not accept cookies you may not be able to access the entirety of our software and services. Our detailed cookie policy is here.

    In plain language - we also collect your information using "cookies" when you visit our website. You can prevent this method of information collection if you like.



Resellers - Information Supplied To Us By The Reseller: for example FastSpring (www.fastspring.com) who provides our online ordering function - depending on the type of reseller transaction, we may be supplied with contact information (name, address, telephone number) and an email address for software delivery. This information given to us by the reseller never includes your payment information such as credit card numbers. The information supplied to us by the reseller is used internally by us to complete the order and is not sold or distributed outside our company.

How do we use personal information?

Other than with respect to the exceptions below, we do not share personal information with third parties. We use personal information to during the course of a business transaction, technical support, improve and market our products and for shaping our messaging efforts.

    In plain language - With few exceptions listed here, we don't share your personal information with a third party.

Exceptions

Website Analytics - our servers automatically record information in log files about how a user interacts with our software and services on our websites. Log files may include a user's Internet Protocol (IP) address, browser type, operating system, web page that the user was visiting before accessing our server, search terms, and the pages or features of our software or services accessed by the user and the time spent there. We use Google Analytics to assist us with the analysis of such data. Note that Google Analytics are only activated if you consent to use the associated cookies, otherwise they are not activated. Google Analytics is set for IP address anonymization. Google's privacy policy is available at https://www.google.com/policies/privacy

    In plain language - Exception: we share your website interaction information with Google for analytical purposes with your explicit consent.

Third-Party Service Providers - We may engage third-party service providers to administer and provide our services. We may provide personal information to such third parties only for the purpose of performing services on our behalf, such as credit card payment processing. We require such third parties to agree not to disclose your personal information or use your personal information for any other purpose.

    In plain language - Exception: If we give your information to a partner company, they won't use your information outside of our business relationship.

Business Transactions - Information that we collect from users, including personal information, is considered a business asset. Accordingly, if we go out of business or enter bankruptcy, or if we are acquired, e.g., as a result of a transaction such as a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, your personal information may be disclosed or transferred to the third-party acquirer in connection with the transaction. You will be notified via email and/or a prominent notice on our website, of any change in ownership, uses of your personal information, and choice you may have regarding your personal information.

    In plain language - Exception: If someone buys us or we go bankrupt, your information may be transferred to someone else.

Government, Law Enforcement - We may disclose personal information to government agencies, law enforcement officials, and private parties as we, in our sole discretion, believe necessary: (1) to satisfy or comply with any applicable law, regulation or legal process; (2) to respond to lawful requests, including subpoenas, warrants or court orders; (3) to protect our property, rights and safety and the rights, property and safety of third parties or the public in general; and (4) to prevent or stop activity we consider to be illegal or unethical. In certain situations, NWPS may be required to disclose personal data in response to lawful requests by public authorities, including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements.

    In plain language - Exception: If the government asks for your information, we may comply.

Consent - We may share your personal information with third-party sites or platforms, such as social networking sites, but only if you have expressly requested that we do so. Similarly, by posting profile, content, or other information, including personal information to a blog or a platform like Facebook, you indicate your consent to its public use. You should be aware that any information you provide in these areas may be read, collected, and used by others who access them. We also display testimonials of satisfied customers on our websites in addition to other endorsements. With your consent, we may post your testimonial along with your name. If you wish to update or delete your testimonial, you can contact us at privacy@netscantools.com.

    In plain language - Exception: If you post your information on the blog or Facebook page, that's public.

Other Privacy Considerations

The Legal Bases for Using Personal Information

 In certain countries, there are different legal bases that we rely on to use your personal information, namely:

    Performance of a contract - The use of your personal information may be necessary to perform the agreement you have with us. For example, to complete your purchase of your product, to register and maintain your account and to make sure that your product performs its functions in a secure way or to respond to your requests.

    Legitmate interests - We may use your personal information for our legitimate interests. For example, we rely on our legitimate interest to analyze and improve our products and the content on our websites, to send you notifications about software updates or information about products or to use your personal information for administrative, fraud detection or legal purposes.

    Legal Obligation - We may use your personal information to comply with legal requirements, as further described in Government/Law Enforcement Exception above.

    Consent - We may at times, request your consent to conduct certain actions with your personal information. When requesting your consent, we are transparent in ensuring you know what you are consenting to.

    In plain language - above are the legal bases for processing data.

Choice - we partner with a third party to manage our advertising on other sites. Our third party partner may use cookies or similar technologies in order to provide you advertising based upon your browsing activities and interests.

You may sign-up to receive email newsletters, new version notifications or other communications from us. You may withdraw your consent at any time by changing your preferences through the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails or by contacting us at privacy@netscantools.com

Security - we take commercially reasonable measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use, and disclosure. However, no method of transmitting information over the Internet or storing information is completely secure. Accordingly, we can't guarantee the absolute security of your personal information.

    In plain language - we do what we reasonably can to protect your information

Retention - We will retain your personal information as needed to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected. We will retain and use your personal information as necessary to comply with our business requirements, legal obligations, resolve disputes, protect our assets, and enforce our agreements. Because these needs can vary for different data types in the context of different products or services, actual retention periods can vary significantly.

    In plain language - our retention periods differ for each type of personal information, but we only retain such information to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected.

Links - our website may contain links to other websites and services. Any information that you provide on or to a third-party website or service is provided directly to the owner of the website or service and is subject to that party's privacy policy. Our Privacy Policy does not apply to such websites or services and we are not responsible for the content, privacy, or security practices and policies of those websites or services.

    In plain language - our privacy policy doesn't apply when you visit sites we link to.

Update or Delete your Personal Information - Upon request, NWPS will provide you with information about whether we hold any of your personal information. Please contact us at privacy@netscantools.com. If you want us to delete your personal information, your NetScanTools Pro Maintenance Plan or Product Registration information, or your support communications, please contact us at privacy@netscantools.com with your request. We will respond to your requests within a reasonable timeframe. We will delete your information as soon as possible; however, some information may remain in archived/backup copies for our records or as otherwise required by law. We may retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you services, comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes and enforce our agreements. Please note that if you ask to have your personal information pertaining to Product Registration or NetScanTools Pro Maintenance Plan information, you will not be able to access your maintenance plan benefits (if currently active) and you will not be eligible for upgrade pricing.

    In plain language - subject to applicable laws, we'll delete or modify your information if you ask.

Children - our services are not directed to children under eighteen, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under thirteen. If we learn that we have collected personal information of a child under thirteen we will delete such information from our files as soon as possible, provided, however, that some information may remain in archived/backup copies for our records or as otherwise required by law.

    In plain language - we don't knowingly collect information on children, and delete it if we inadvertently do collect it.

Revisions

The foregoing policies are effective as of May 24, 2018. Northwest Performance Software, Inc. reserves the right to change this policy at any time by notifying users of the existence of a new privacy statement on our website.