We welcome you to the Altera® Web Site. At Altera, your privacy and the protection of your personal information is handled with great regard. The following text will inform you on how we use and manage the information collected at our site.

Web Site Visits

Each time you visit Altera's Web Site, our server automatically recognizes and logs your IP address. An IP address is basically the address of the computer making a request to our web server. No personal information or detail is obtained in this data interchange—a visitor's browser is not designed to provide this information.

At Altera, logged IP addresses are periodically reviewed and analyzed in an effort to monitor, maintain, and effectively improve our Web site. This information is retained for no other purpose and is not shared outside of Altera.

During a Web site visit, we may ask a customer for contact information (email address, telephone number, fax number and addresses for shipping/billing). This information is collected on a voluntary basis—and only with customer approval.

The Altera Web site contains links to other web sites. Altera does not control or take responsibility for personal information collected on these sites nor is Altera responsible for the accuracy or the content of these sites.

Customer Information

Once you make a purchase from Altera, your name, shipping/mailing address, telephone number, email address and fax number are included in our customer file.

This information is used to ensure a quick, efficient flow of products and services to you.

This information may also be used for other purposes as outlined below.

Email Addresses

Email addresses may be used to communicate information of interest to you about Altera. This includes Order Shipment/Tracking Information."

Emails may be sent by Altera or an authorized agent working for Altera. All authorized agents operate with a confidentiality agreement.

Email addresses are never rented, sold or traded to third parties.

Other Uses of Customer Information

Altera is under contract to provide point of sale information to many of its product suppliers for market research and payment of commission to the supplier's agents.

Customer information is also used for marketing and market research for Altera Corporation. Altera or an authorized agent working for Altera may complete these activities. All customer information is kept confidential.

Altera will share customer information with government agencies if required by law.

Web Site Security

Altera's site is equipped with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology. SSL protocol was developed by Netscape Communications Corporation to enable encrypted, authenticated communications across the Internet. SSL uses public key encryption mechanisms, one of the strongest encryption methods available to protect data sent over the Internet. SSL provides 3 important services, all using public key techniques: Privacy, Authentication, and Message Integrity. Customer information sent is not discernible to anyone except the recipient.

Browsers that support the SSL encryption technology are called secure browsers. Online orders to Altera must be placed from a secure browser. Most Netscape Navigator (version 1.2 and later) and Microsoft Internet Explorer browsers (version 3.0 and later) are secure. Your browser will automatically enter the secure mode when you make purchases.

If you do not have a secure browser and would like to place orders, please review How To Order for alternative ordering methods. Altera is not liable or responsible for any loss or damage resulting from the use of a browser that is not secure.

When accessing our online order entry system using a secure browser, one can feel secure transmitting credit card or other confidential information sent over the Internet.

"Cookies"

A "cookie" is a very tiny piece of text we're asking permission to place on your computer's hard drive. If you agree, then your browser adds the text in a small file. Each "cookie" has a unique identifier and structure assigned by the sending Web site. Only the originating Web site can access a cookie left behind in a prior session (when you return to that site). Your identity will not become public information on the Internet because you visited our site.

Altera uses "cookies" to:

• Allow you to build an order over time, adding components throughout the day or over an extended period of time.
• Uncommitted orders will remain available for 30 days. An order that has not been visited within that 30 day period will be removed. Each visit will reset your order's expiration date with an additional 30 days.
• Allow you to easily return to the site to retrieve information on previous orders.
• Maintain a client/server connection or user "state" as you move between pages building an order.
• Allow you to store your user ID's.

"Cookies" are assigned an expiration date and time. Altera's "cookies," used for online order processing, remain on your hard drive for two months. However, no more than 300 "cookies" can be stored by your browser at any one time and no more than 20 can be stored from any one site. If the "cookie" jar is filled, your browser will automatically begin deleting the oldest "cookies."

"Cookies" cannot enable the web server to read from your hard drive, get your email address against your will, destroy files on your computer, create executable programs, or obtain sensitive information about you. "Cookies" from one site cannot be read by another site; your information cannot be passed from site to site.

If you feel that your privacy is being violated by the use of "cookies," they can be erased from your hard drive. However, any links developed with the Web site that sent the "cookies" are lost. In the case of an online order with Altera, the ability to create an order over time, or retrieve an order, would be lost.

With respect to customer privacy concerns, Altera has tried using alternative technologies to "cookies" to maintain stable connections. We returned to "cookies" after experiencing reduced performance and an unacceptable number of customer service problems. "Cookies" have, thus far, proven to be the best method of making the online ordering experience as efficient as possible.

Contact Information

Please contact us if you have any questions, concerns or comments.

U.S. or Canada only:	(888) 671-1721
Outside of the U.S. or Canada:	(218) 681-7833
E-mail:	orders@buyaltera.com
Address:	BuyAltera.com c/o Digi-Key Corporation 701 Brooks Avenue South Thief River Falls, MN, 56701 U.S.A. www.digikey.com

Note: We reserve the right to make changes to our privacy policy at any time without prior notification.