What is a Cookie?

The word "cookie" has a wholesome, benign connotation, but there are rumors that imply computer cookies are invasive and dangerous. So let's take a look at what a cookie is and investigate both the advantages and disadvantages of cookies.

Cookies are employed when you use your browser to visit websites on the Internet. The two main browsers—Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox—both allow the use of cookies. Cookie files allow a web server to store information about you on your computer, and to retrieve that information to identify you in the future.

A cookie is a tiny piece of text that is placed on your hard drive. Its job is to record bits of information such as the pages you've visited, items you've put into an online shopping cart, and your username and password.

Practical Uses for Cookies

Cookies were created to maintain user information and to customize websites. In many cases, they make it easier to navigate and use the Internet. For instance, upon your first visit to a site, you are often asked to register by giving your name and password for access to that site.

The site will then place a cookie on your hard drive, which contains that information. When you return to that site, the cookie is retrieved and read and the website "recognizes" you as an authorized guest. This means that you only have to register once, instead of having to enter information every time you access the site.

Because cookies allow a site to know who you are, they can customize information for you. It's like having a door attendant recognize you, greet you by name, and ask about your family. Or like going into a store where the salesperson knows you personally and knows your preferences so he or she is able to present you with customized merchandise in order to make your shopping easier.

What Information can a Cookie Extract?

Cookies cannot be used to get data or view data off your hard drive. Cookies do not give anyone access to your computer or any personal information about you unless you have given that information to the website by answering questions or filling in a form.

For example, the site cannot determine your email account or your address unless you gave it to them. Cookies cannot give your computer a virus. Allowing a website to create a cookie does not give that or any other site access to the rest of your computer. Only the site that created the cookie can read it. And yet, cookies have a very bad reputation.

Loss of Privacy

The reason that cookies have gotten so much bad press recently is that they represent a potential loss of privacy. By design, they are meant to work invisibly. They are used to track people and their activities, so that makes many people uncomfortable.

Cookies can potentially be used to build detailed profiles of your interests, spending habits, and lifestyle. An innocent use of this information might be to target advertising campaigns to specific groups or individuals.

However, it is scary to contemplate the fact that some individual or group might be able to accumulate information about our private activities and personal preferences. There is a possibility that some unscrupulous group could potentially accumulate such information and sell it to companies to be used for their own purposes.

Cookies are like a personal tag or tracer. Some people see this as very invasive to their privacy. However, you must realize that every time you log on to a website, you give away a lot of information. Any website that you visit can determine your:

Service provider

Operating System

Browser type

CPU type

IP address

Cookie Use is Something to Ponder About

The main concern about cookies is that they work without anyone's knowledge or permission. Some people consider the use of this information harmless, but some find the gathering of information in this manner invasive to their privacy. I personally do not mind the use of cookies, but I fear that this loss of privacy, however small, may lead to more loss of privacy as technology continues its onward march into our lives.

Risk

If you are concerned about accepting cookies, you can change the settings in your browser regarding them. Look through the menus and find the "Preference" or "Options" choice to change the setting. Most versions of Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer have different settings for cookie acceptance. You can disable all cookies, accept all cookies, or have the browser warn you before accepting a cookie.

Newer versions of Internet Explorer go one step further. They allow you to specify different settings for different security zones. For example, you might want to allow websites to create cookies if they are in your trusted sites, but prompt you before creating cookies if they are in your Internet zone, and never allow cookies if they are in your restricted sites zone.

While this approach is more complicated for the end user, it does give you more control over the use of cookies. So if you are concerned about cookies, using one of these newer browser versions may be helpful to you.

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