COOKIES ON THE INTERNET
By Dave Wallace
RIVER BENDER -September 1998
There are lots of cookie recipes on the World Wide Web but we're not going to discuss them. We're going to talk about little snippets of data called "cookies" that persistently get downloaded into your PC as you browse the Web. These cookies have become an increasing topic of discussion and some people are becoming paranoid by questioning whether their privacy is being invaded. Some go so far as to say that cookies could cause viruses. Let's try and get the record straight.
The US Department of Energy recently issued a report on cookies (another wonder of our taxes) that approved their general use but stressed concern over persistent cookies that target users and track their browsing habits. The report said that cookies couldn't harm your PC or pass on private information such as an e-mail address without the user's intervention in the first place. Despite this, hoaxes continue to state that cookies are bad and can even be used to obtain information from a user's hard drive.
How does a cookie work? The owner of a Web site has no way of knowing your name or address unless you give it to him, but he can identify you the next time you arrive if he assigns you an I.D. number and puts it along with his I.D. on your hard-drive. When you return, the Web site retrieves its cookie and says, "ah ha, he's back again." By adding a bit more data to the cookie the Web site can begin to know what your interests are from recording your browsing habits. If it sees that you are interested in cycling, you can be assured that you'll begin to receive advertisements from bicycle companies on the Web page. One company called "DoubleClick" makes a business by tracking users' preferences on it's many sites. Another use is to make it easier for users to access their favorite Web sites without having to identify themselves. After identifying yourself on the first visit, the cookie file tells the Web site to bypass the check-in on subsequent visits. Some Web sites won't even allow access unless you accept their cookie.
What happens to all those cookies in your PC? Do they just pile up until you run out of hard-drive space? Cookies are perishable. Some only last during your connection to a Web site while others last a few days, months or even years. Cookies are very small, comprising no more that 255 characters. A search for "cookies" on your hard-drive will let you see just how many cookies are currently stored in your cookie file. If you don't like them you can delete them. But be careful, as one may be your ticket to a favorite Web site.
Do you have to accept cookies? No. In both the MS Explorer and Netscape Navigator browser there is a way to set preferences to either accept or reject cookies or be warned before accepting. I suggest you try the warning for awhile if only to see what's happening cookie-wise and how persistent some Web sites are. At one site I rejected 30 cookies before being permitted to continue. You'll soon find, however, that manually rejecting cookies gets annoying very quickly and you'll want to reset your browser preferences to either accepting or rejecting cookies automatically.
To read more about cookies I suggest going to Cookie Central at the following:
To not disappoint those who really thought this article would be about cookie recipes, here's a nice URL:
Next month we'll talk about the joys of e-mail on the Internet.