Internet Cookies, use or don't use?

Question

Do you turn them off? Do you know what they are? When in your opinion is acceptable use? Opinions and comments please...

Great answers peoeple! I was just programming something specific and wanted an overall usage guide on cookies...

OK, extra question, if you clear your cookies, how often do you do it?

Answer 1

Use with moderation.

If you use Internet Explorer, I suggest going to "Tools", then "Internet Options" on the "Privacy" tab click on the "Advanced" button. In there, set First Party cookies to always, Third Party cookies to block and check the "Always allow session cookies."

This will prevent cookies from being set on your computer unless you actually visit the site. Meaning malicious cookies from advertisers can't be set if they're coming from an outside domain.

If you use FireFox, you can follow a similar procedure to manage cookie handling effectively.

Answer 2

DO NOT ALLOW COOKIES TO REMAIN IN YOUR PC.

Even the seemingly innocent ones are uninvited guests that (1) take up some of your memory, (2) use up some of your broadband connection thus slowing down your communications in and out, and (3) slow down your virus-scan programs since they are just another file to be examined.

Worse are the spyware ones that report on where you go on the Web, what your secret numbers and passwords are, you identity and other matters.

Worse still are the sleepers who wait for days or weeks and then send out a messag for a trojan or a worm to come visiting in your PC.

And--here's the clincher--just which are which? How can you tell? (You can't by just looking at their names.) Is Ying.com a Yahoo cookie, or not? I don't know. And I've thought systemsswitching.com was a Yahoo cookie but it isn't. I now know it comes from Microsoft. I still don't know what it does--so out it goes!

ALWAYS delete ALL cookies from your pc, both during use and before shutting down or logging off.

You can remove them from your cookie folder AND you can get CCleaner (a free security program) and run it to get rid of the hidden ones as well. --Yes, there are hidden ones.

Well--you reply--why should I delete Yahoo's cookies? Why not--I reply in turn. Yahoo has plenty of replacement ones, I add. And it's no bother to them to issue a new set to your PC.

Lees_Sword

Answer 3

Use. Some web sites require them and will ask you to change your settings anyway. Cookies are text files and don't contain viruses - what's more, they can only be read/modified by the site that created them. You can always remove cookies manually:

Internet Explorer: select Tools > Internet Options. click the "Delete Cookies" button.

Firefox: Select Tools > Clear Private Data. Or press CTRL+Shift+Del

Cheers, Andy

Answer 4

I leave mine on, for use on websites such as Yahoo! and Myspace. They are little bits of information that websites can save onto your machine. If you visit an area of a site that requires a password, a cookie will save the password information for you and you won't have to log in repeatedly. Of course, I clear my cookies every once and a while (almost every two days) to make sure I don't build up unwanted data. If you don't recognize a site (or trust a site) but must go there, and it asks if you want to save a cookie on the site, DON'T.

Answer 5

Cookies, are slightly different then temporary Internet files. What they are mostly for is a record, say you save your password and user name for a forum, you go onto. Unless you clean out the cookies, you wont have to sign in all the time.

However, it is good to clean out your cookies, every couple of weeks, just to clean up some space. So in a way think of them as temporary Internet files.

Answer 6

USE THEN ONLY FOR SITES YOU DIRECTLY NAVIGATE TO.

almost all Internet site use or need cookies to be enabled for you to log on but those often link to pop-ups which you don't want your cookies.

the biggest danger are sites such as www.orange.co.uk who both use cookies and sneak into your system registry to get information about you that you don't really want to give away.

these sites will not be accessible if you use Linux or the Mac OS as these don't have registries. these sites can download all your site passwords secretly without you knowing it. get a pop-up blocker installed and spy-ware prevention to stop this access and if it stops you accessing a site such as orange then that's saving you from a huge risk!!

Answer 7

Cookies are ways for the servers you visit to remember where on their web site you are. They place little pieces of information (accessible ONLY to that server) on your hard drive so they can tell what you've already told them and not have to ask you again.

Cookie technology CANNOT read files on your hard drive, expose any private information, or anything else. It's perfectly safe.

Check out the link below for more info.

Answer 8

I use them. Run a program like adaware every once in a while to clean off the tracking cookies, but they are necessary to use some sites.

Answer 9

You are going to find it pretty hard to browse the web without them enabled. You will not be able to do things like web shopping or web based email. They are not programs and can not execute code on your computer. Cookies are simple pieces of data unable to perform any operation by themselves. They are neither spy ware nor viruses.

Answer 10

They should be harmless. I accept them, then delete them at the end of the day.

To delete on Internet Explorer, click "tools", "internet options" and "delete cookies".

Good luck!