A cookie is text file that a browser sends to a web server when a user visits a website. This is stored on the user’s computer the first time he or she accesses the site. It is also known as a web cookie, browser cookie, or HTTP cookie. Once stored, the browser uses this file to navigate the website more easily. Some of its uses are for logins, themes, language settings, shopping cart contents and more features that use text data.
Some cookies have dates of expiry. These may be stored by the browser and deleted as the expiration date passes. Other cookies do not have expiry dates. They are automatically deleted as the browser is terminated. Cookies help a website to deliver better services, although cookies in themselves do not hold information.
Cookie files contain the name of the server, its duration, and the cookie value. The value that makes a cookie unique is a randomly generated number. This helps the server that created the cookie to remember the user when he or she comes back to the site or to navigate through pages. These cookie files are stored in the browser’s “cookie file”.
A cookie is not an executable file, meaning that it cannot replicate itself. It is different from a virus, but it can be a threat to privacy in some situations. Because a browser has a mechanism that sets and reads cookies, a cookie can be used as spyware. The most common cookie that can function like this is the “zombie cookie”. A cookie that is used as spyware can track computer activity. That is why it is up to the user if he or she will or will not accept cookies.
A cookie merely helps the website to identify the user and keeps a record of his or her information. It cannot do harm to the computer by itself because it cannot access the user’s hard drive. For example, a user does not need to input his name every time he or she visits the same site. The website may ask the user to input his or her name the first time he or she visits the site and the next time he or she visits the site, the cookie tells the server who he or she is. Automatically, as the website opens, it already contains his or her name.
Privacy issues to users are the most common threat among cookies. The cookie stores any personal information that a user provides to a website. This can make the user vulnerable to computer hacking or identity theft. This is the reason why some users would not accept cookies or would want to delete cookies stored in their computers.
There are various ways of deleting cookies, depending on the user’s browser, however, the process can generally be done in three steps for Internet Explorer.
First, on the browser, go to “Tools”.
Second, select “Internet Options” or “Options”.
Third, under the “General” tab, choose “Delete Cookies”. The rest may be a combination with other functions. The user may opt to delete all cookies or just select which ones to delete.
More information about how to delete cookies for other versions and browsers is available at http://www.aboutcookies.org/default.aspx
Image courtesy of:
No comments:
Post a Comment