CFB Scientific Translations LLC takes your privacy seriously. No unnecessary records are kept, and all records are destroyed safely when they are no longer needed. Here you can see office assistant and data privacy officer Winnie hard at work, closing out 2018.
My office assistant, Winnie, finishes off 2018.

This privacy FAQ sets out how “CFB Scientific Translations LLC”, owned and operated by Dipl.-Ing. Carola F. Berger, PhD, CT, uses and protects any information that you give “CFB Scientific Translations LLC” when you use this website or our services. This policy is effective from January 1st, 2023.

Who are you?

CFB Scientific Translations LLC is owned and operated by Dipl.-Ing. Carola F. Berger, PhD, CT. I can be reached at info @ cfbtranslations dot com, via the contact form on this website, https://www.cfbtranslations.com, via phone at +1 (805) 270-5672, or by mail at
PO Box 865
Buellton, CA 93427
USA

Do you use cookies on the site?

The site uses exactly one cookie for the language switcher to determine whether you want to look at the English or the German version of a page. No personal information is stored. The site also uses one cookie to facilitate the shop functionality and two more to facilitate secure payments, if you use those functionalities. All of these cookies are restricted to this site only and are not connected or readable by any other site. The only other cookies this site uses are of the edible variety to feed the site owner while crafting very long and detailed privacy policies.

Really?

Yep. If you don’t believe me, you can check for yourself. The only cookies you will see is for the language switcher as well as the two aforementioned cookies for the shop. The language switcher value is either “en” or “de.”

What about those evil Google fonts?

All fonts are hosted directly on the server. If you don’t believe me, you can check for yourself.

But you do track IP addresses, don’t you?

My hosting provider tracks IP addresses to prevent spam and DDoS attacks, these addresses are deleted after 30-50 days. IP addresses of commenters are anonymized and not stored anywhere after a check for spam.

Do you use analytics on the site?

Yes, I use a plug-in that tracks only which pages on the site are visited, but doesn’t track personal data of the visitors. I don’t care who you are, I just want to know which of the pages my visitors find interesting.

What happens if I comment on a blog post? Do you store any personal data?

Nope. Your IP address is checked for spam, and comments are moderated, but you can’t subscribe to any emails to notify you of follow-up comments, and I don’t store IP addresses of commenters.

What about those nefarious social media plugins and other links?

I only use share buttons that don’t send any data back to Facebook, LinkedIn, Xing, etc. However, if you click on one of the social media buttons or an external link, you are directed into the wild wild web, away from the secure and safe environment of this site. While I check all pages that I link to for the safety and the appropriateness of their content, I cannot guarantee that these external pages are not changed after the link is added to this site. You are leaving this site at your own peril.

Do you embed any evil code?

This site is a site that deals with translation and words, there are no funny cat videos to see. I am very boring and don’t embed anything other than static images and text which I either created myself or for which I have the appropriate license.

What data do you collect and what do you do with them?

This site represents a translation business, selling translation and related linguistic services, and also contains a blog and various other free resources. The contact forms serve as an easy way for potential clients to get in touch. If you get in touch with me via one of the contact forms or via other means, I collect your name and contact information along with other information that you provide in order to handle your inquiry and keep this information until the business is concluded successfully or as required by law (e.g., financial business transaction records need to be kept a minimum of 7 years per IRS rules). You can contact me anytime to make sure I don’t keep any of your data longer than necessary. The form is SSL encrypted and sent to my encrypted email, so your data is safe.

I want to unsubscribe!

I don’t have a newsletter, you can’t subscribe to blog comments, and I have better things to do than send random unsolicited marketing emails. So there’s nothing to unsubscribe from. If you subscribed to the blog via the site RSS feed, you did this yourself with my consent but without my knowledge using an RSS tool of your choice. In that case, you have to figure out yourself how you added my RSS feed to your tool to remove the feed. If you sent me an email or a request via the contact forms, I’ll answer that email/request (unless you spammed me), but I won’t send you any unsolicited messages.

Do you store anything in the cloud?

Nope, with the exception of emails, I don’t use any cloud servers at all, because the only clouds I like are of the white fluffy variety in an otherwise clear blue sky. My SSL encrypted email runs over a secure server, and all email messages are removed from that server when they are no longer needed for immediate conversation. Emails and other electronic data that need to be kept for legal reasons (financial transactions etc.) according to the relevant jurisdiction are stored in local folders on my encrypted hard drive or on an external encrypted hard drive. Emails and electronic data that are no longer needed are deleted. I don’t have infinite room on those hard drives. All other programs and services that I use are local on my desktop, unless explicitly requested by a client for their specific project (cloud-based CAT tool or the like).

I have this super-secret patent project, what does your security look like?

The website and the contact forms are SSL encrypted. Email is SSL encrypted on my end, PGP encryption is available upon request. All my devices are encrypted and password protected, as are all my external hard drives and backup hard drives. The backup drives are stored in a fire-proof locked box. My internet connection is firewalled, I use antivirus software and (call me paranoid) a VPN on all my devices. Paper printouts that are no longer needed are shredded. I generally don’t outsource or work with subcontractors with extremely few exceptions, and those exceptions only deal with publicly available data after asking you, the client, if that’s OK. And all data in electronic or paper form is stored in a locked office to which only I and occasionally one of my doggie nieces have access to. While the dogs make for a nice backup shredder, they can’t read, so your data is safe.

How long do you store data?

Only as long as required by the respective jurisdictions. Financial data has to be kept a minimum of 7 years according to IRS rules, all other data are kept until they are no longer needed or legally required to be kept. I don’t have infinite storage space on my hard disks (since I don’t use the cloud, see above), and neither do I have infinite storage space for paper documents in my office. I’m not a hoarder. If you want to request and make sure that your data are destroyed, contact me.

Who is your data protection officer?

Data protection officer Winnie
My data protection officer Winnie (portrait on the left) is excellent at shredding documents irretrievably. And you can always contact me if you’re still worried about how I handle your data after reading this page.

What other plugins does this site use?

I don’t use any plugins that report “home.” I use various plugins to ensure that the site is safe and that nobody steals my copyrighted content without my permission, because I don’t like it either if my data is stolen or used inappropriately. Then I tend to get really annoyed.

What about social media?

I have a presence on various social media sites, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Xing, but I only post publicly available content there. I also don’t interact with clients via messaging on those sites. If you sent me a private message on any social media sites, chances are, I didn’t even see it. You can contact me via email, phone, mail, or the contact forms on this website.

I read this far, but I still have a question.

Contact me.

If you read this far, you’re either a fellow translator in search of a reasonable privacy policy to copy and/or can’t sleep. If you are a fellow translator, be advised that I’m not a lawyer. Plus I really don’t like it when my copyright is violated without asking. If you can’t sleep, you might want to check with your doctor instead of reading privacy policies.

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