The following information explains the Internet Privacy Policy which the Virginia Department of Veterans Services (DVS) has adopted for its website. The following is intended to explain our current Internet privacy practices but shall not be interpreted as a contract of any nature, either stated or implied. We reserve the right to amend our Internet Privacy Policy Statement at any time without notice.

Note that the following policy only applies to Web pages on the Virginia Department of Veterans Services website. Pages that appear after you click on a link may be controlled by a different agency or entity, whose practices are not under Virginia Department of Veteran Services control.

Unauthorized attempts to modify any information stored on this system, to defeat or circumvent security features or to utilize this system for other than its intended purposes are prohibited and may result in criminal prosecution.

We endeavor to collect only the minimum amount of information needed to provide services.

If you do nothing during your visit to the Virginia Department of Veterans Services website but browse or download information, we automatically collect and store the following information about your visit:

1. the Internet domain and IP address from which you accessed our site;
2. the type of browser and operating system you used;
3. the date and time you visited this site;
4. the pages visited; and
5. if you linked from another website, the address of that website.

See also this policy's Cookies section below.

The information collected is used to improve the content of our Web services and to help us understand how people are using our pages. We analyze our website logs to continually improve the value of the materials available on our site. The information in our Web logs is not personally viewable and no attempt is made to link it with the individuals that browse our website.

If, during your visit to the Virginia Department of Veteran Services website, you send us an e-mail message, we will collect the e-mail address and contents of the message, including audio, video and graphic information formats you send us. This may be to respond to you, to address issues you identify, to further improve our website or to forward your message to another agency for appropriate action.

We do collect personal information directly from individuals who volunteer to subscribe to our services, complete forms or participate in surveys. Collecting personal information is necessary in order for Virginia Department of Veteran Services to deliver the services requested. We only collect, retain and use personal information where we believe it is essential to administer our business and to provide products, services and other opportunities requested by our customers.

Routing information is used to route the requested Web page to your computer for viewing. We send the requested Web page and the routing information to our Internet service provider or other entities involved in transmitting the requested page to you. We do not control the privacy practices of those entities. Essential and nonessential technical information helps us respond to your request in an appropriate format or in a personalized manner and helps us plan website improvements.

Optional information enables us to provide services or information tailored more specifically to your needs or to forward your message or inquiry to another entity that is better able to do so and also allow us to plan website improvements.

We may keep your information indefinitely, but we ordinarily delete the transaction routing information regularly after the Web page is transmitted and do not try to obtain any information to link it to the individuals who browse our website. However, on rare occasions when a "hacker" attempts to breach computer security, logs of routing information are retained to permit a security investigation and, in such cases, may be forwarded together with any other relevant information in our possession to law enforcement agencies. We use this transaction routing information primarily in a statistical summary type format to assess site content and server performance. We may share this summary information with our business partners when needed.

We do not sell or rent our subscribers' information to any outside company or organization. We do not reveal specific information about subscribers or other personally identifiable data to unaffiliated third parties for their independent use, except if required to do so by the Virginia Freedom of Information Act or other law.

We maintain security standards and procedures regarding unauthorized access to customer information to prevent unauthorized removal or alteration of data.

We maintain security standards and procedures regarding unauthorized access to ensure that this service remains available to all users, and to prevent unauthorized attempts to upload or change information or otherwise cause damage. Information on individuals causing damage to the Web page will be traced and released to the appropriate legal bodies (such as the Virginia State Police) to investigate suspected or alleged criminal activity.