Privacy and Security Policy

Overview

MacVector, inc. takes a proactive approach to user privacy. We take the privacy and security of your personal information very seriously. This document outlines what information is gathered by MacVector and how that information is used. If you don’t have a lot of time to read this, be assured we essentially keep only your basic details (name, e-mail, institutional address), license details (if any) and certain communications. We NEVER retain credit card information and we NEVER share your data with third parties.

We may update this policy from time to time, so please check it regularly. If there are significant updates, we will inform those people with whom we are in regular contact, such as email subscribers.

If you have any questions about our privacy policy, we invite you to contact us by email or via the postal address at the bottom of this page.

Definitions

For the purpose of this Privacy Policy:
– “Personal Information” or “Personal Data” means any information relating to an identified or identifiable individual.
– “Application” or “The MacVector Application” refers to MacVector or MacVector with Assembler.

Why we collect information

We collect information to allow us:
– to provide you with the software service you have requested from us.
– to provide you with information on using that application that think may be of interest to you.
– to understand how people use our software and improve our software.
– to allow people to evaluate our software and make an informed decision whether to purchase or not.
– so we can improve how we communicate with you and how we operate more generally.

How we collect information

When you contact us via the following methods we may collect and use this information:

  • When you contact us via email/phone to purchase our software.
  • When you visit our website to download a trial version of our software
  • When you visit our website or contact us via email to request a quote.
  • When you visit our website to make a purchase via our webstore.

What information do we hold about you and your institution.

We will typically hold the following information about you:

  • Your full name and your title

  • Institution email address

  • Institutional postal address

  • Institutional telephone number

  • Records of your correspondence with us.

  • Following a purchase we will also store the serial number of your Macintosh computer in order to generate your license.

  • If you have subscribed to our mailing list the only information held is your name, email address, institution with the time and date of joining.

We do NOT process any data that comes under the “sensitive personal data” category as defined by the GDPR.

We will use your data to

Provide you with the information, products or services that you request from us.

Provide you with other information, products or services which we feel may interest you, when we have your consent to do so. This may include newsletters, tips, updates, information in relation to specific campaigns, voluntary surveys or questionnaires for you to complete, details of relevant volunteering opportunities, and details of any promotions and competitions we are running. We may also send you details of events we think you may be interested in attending;

Notify you about changes to our service.

The legal basis that we rely on for processing your data is either where:

  • You have provided your consent to us using your data in a certain way.
  • It is within our legitimate interests.
  • It is necessary in connection with the performance of a contract with you.
  • It is necessary to for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject.

MacVector application

Application usage data

The MacVector application will, from time to time, (or when you click CHECK NOW in the application) contact the MacVector server by doing a HTTP GET request to the URL: (like submitting a form on a web page).

It will compare your running version with the current version information.

https://www.macvector.net/macvector16appcast.xml

No other information is transmitted from your computer during that process unless Send system profile is also checked. if Send system profile is also checked then information about your Mac is included in the HTTP GET request. No personal identifiable information is included.

None of this data is associated with personally identifiable information including IP address. If you wish you may disable the periodic checking in the dialog.

MacVector will collect the user’s name, MV serial number, Macintosh hardware serial number, E-Utilities API Key and email address for various licensing purposes and for contacting third party services (such as BLAST and INTERPROSCAN).

The user’s name and serial numbers are stored locally on your computer and are never transmitted by the MV application.

Application connectivity

The MacVector application will need an external connection to the internet for three tools.

  • Online Search for Similar sequences (BLAST)
  • Online Keyword Search for sequences (Entrez)
  • Online Functional Domain Analysis (InterProScan)

The first two will access the NCBI’s servers. The second tool will access the EBI’s InterProScan server.

NCBI BLAST

EBI InterProScan

The optional E-Utilities API Key is sent to the NCBI for all E-Utilities requests provided the user supplied MV with a key otherwise MV uses a key registered to MacVector, Inc.

The email address is currently only sent to the EBI and per the EBI’s user agreement.

None of these data are ever transmitted back to the company.

Without external internet access these tools will not work. All other functionality will not be affected.

The macOS/OS X help system (not the MacVector application) will make sporadic connections (HTTP GET request) to the MacVector.com website to see if an updated version of the MacVector help pages exist.

Application security

MacVector, Inc. is a registered developer with Apple, and the MacVector application is signed using the standard Apple certification system. It cannot be installed if it has been modified by a third party. Neither will it run post installation if it has been modified.

developer.apple.com

Only named authorized employees can access the MacVector code base.

Communications and marketing

We may contact you by post and telephone, and where you have provided consent or we have a legitimate reason to do so, by email. We provide the opportunity for you to opt-out from receiving our marketing communications every time we contact you. You can also visit our website at anytime to update your communication preferences.

We only contact individuals in institutions (academic and commercial). We do not contact private individuals.

How we keep your data safe

We treat the security of storing your personal information seriously. We are committed to ensuring that there are appropriate technical controls in place to protect your personal details including from misuse and unauthorised access.

Who has access to your data

Your details will never be shared without good reason and will remain under our control and management always. 

We will never sell your data to a third party.

We work with service providers and other third parties who help us to operate and to provide and improve our information, products and services, and we may share information with them for this purpose.

We only permit third parties to have access to your data if they apply equivalent levels of protection that we do.

MacVector, inc. currently allows the following companies to have access to some of your data.

  • E3 Software (Owners of “Direct Mail”)
  • Authorize.net
  • Dropbox

We may need to disclose your personal information upon request to regulatory and government bodies, law enforcement agencies and suppliers we engage to process data on our behalf.

Access to your information and other rights

In certain circumstances you have a right to require us to stop processing your personal data in a particular way, or for your data to be erased from our database. If it is not necessary for the purpose you provided it to us for or we do not otherwise require the data to be archived for future reference, we will do so.

Except in limited circumstances, you have the right to obtain details of the information that we hold about you.

We also want to make sure that your personal information is accurate and up to date. Please let us know if your details change. You may also ask us to correct or remove information which is inaccurate.

You can also opt-out of receiving all or some of our marketing communications or request that we stop processing data about you for certain purposes at any time by contacting us.

If you are unhappy with the way in which we have handled your personal data please contact us.

You have a right to ask for a copy of the information we hold about you.

For all the above requests please email support@macvector.com or contact us at the postal address at the bottom of the page.

We will acknowledge your request and fulfil it within 30 days of the initial request. We do not charge a fee for the processing of these requests.

Please also et us know if you have any queries or concerns about the way that your data is being processed by contacting us on the details below.

Data retention

We keep data for as long as there is a need to keep it in connection with the purposes for which it was collected.

If you have purchased software from us it is necessary to keep your information for the following reasons:
– Up to 3–5 years to satisfy US Government tax regulations. 
– To store your licensing information. All MacVector licenses are perpetual and may be upgraded at any time in the future as long as we have a record of your license details.

If you download a trial version of our software:
– We will contact you with the required information and store your trial license information.

If you subscribe to a mailing list, the information is kept until you unsubscribe, unless there is a different reason (for example you have downloaded a trial or own a license) to keep your data.

We may keep your personal data after a particular matter or exchange has concluded but purely for record keeping purposes and to be able to respond to queries (for example upgrading existing licenses).

In some cases, we are also obliged to retain your personal data to comply with legal or statutory obligations (for example, to keep records of contractual or financial matters).

Contact Details

MacVector, Inc.
PO Box 1147
Apex
North Carolina 27502
USA
phone: +1-919-303-7450
toll free: +1-866-338-0222
fax: +1-919-303-7449

support@macvector.com

sales@macvector.com