Cookies

Somewhere along the line cookies have gotten a bad rap. Some people lump them into the same category with viruses and spyware, but the story really is different.

Most cookies on your computer are not causing any problems and actually make your use of the web more efficient and easier.

Many people who fear cookies don't actually know what they are. They are small text files which are placed on your computer's hard drive by the web sites you visit. The cookies make it possible for web sites to know who you are when you go to the site, and they also play a key role in any website which sells items. Cookies are used to accumulate your "shopping cart" as you go through the store so when you checkout at the end the web site can assemble your purchases into your final order.

If you delete your cookies you will find that many sites suddenly start asking you questions you haven't seen before, including the country you live in.

Many cookies are set to expire automatically - such as the shopping cart ones - after a certain length of time. And, when cookies work as designed, they can only be accessed by the web site which originally put them there.

Because cookies are on your computer, once you disconnect from the web server it no longer has access to the information stored there. That wouldn't be the case if the information was stored on the web server. So when used correctly, cookies actually increase your privacy when using the Internet.

Cookies can't be used to launch a virus on your computer or to do other damage.

Some cookies will be identified by spyware programs like Ad-Aware as "tracking cookies". These cookies do cause some concern. They generally are placed on your computer by advertisements on web sites. Rather than being used by the web site, they are used by the company which placed the ad (Double-Click may be the best known in the business) to track you as you go from site to site. These can be used by the advertising companies to try and send you specific ads picked out for you.

Tracking cookies should not be able to determine who you are, just the web sites you visit. Since they are serving the advertiser and not the computer user, deleting them seems like a good choice. Ad-Aware will find and delete them for you.

Cookies are plain text files and can be opened with a word processor like Notepad and examined. Don't make any changes to the files or they won't work the next time your browser accesses them. Most cookies consist of numbers and codes that can't be easily deciphered. If you do see some that you'd like to delete, you can do so safely.

Cookies are stored in various places on your hard drive depending on the browser you use and the version of Windows you are using. If you do a search for "cookies" you will find the folders where they are stored.

If you want to delete all the cookies on your hard drive, it's best to do it from inside the browser as that will clear the browser's listing of the cookies you have available.

The procedure depends on the browser you use:

Internet Explorer: Select Internet Options on the Tools menu and then the General tab. There's a button on that screen to delete the cookies. If you click on the Privacy tab and you'll see options regarding the use of cookies, including the ability to block all cookies.

Mozilla: Pull down the Edit menu and select Preferences; click on the Privacy and Security category to open the listing and then on Cookies. The controls for cookies are available there; an option to delete them can be accessed by clicking on the Manage Stored Cookies button.

Firefox: Pull down the Tools menu and select Options. Click Privacy in the window that opens, and then Cookies. The controls to delete cookies or change the way your browser deals with them are listed there.

Opera: Pull down the Tools menu and select Delete Private Data. Click on the Details button where you can select which items you want to delete, including cookies.

Other browsers will give you similar options. If you can't find the commands in your browser, go into the browser's help system and search for the information.