not the kind u eat the computer kind
2006-08-10 02:01:47 · 9 answers · asked by *~*MaryAnn*~* 3 in Computers & Internet ➔ Security
a cookie is a small text file which stores basic and primitive information about a website... like the last time you logged in, your user name, stuff like that.
basically, it is nothing evil and designed to make your life easier, like remembering when you come back or something. your browser of choice can delete them if you want to.
2006-08-10 02:06:37 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cookies are just bits of data that a website can store on your computer. Normally, they store information like your login info (to automatically log you into a website when you return the next time, like the "remember me" function for Yahoo!).
A cookie, or a HTTP cookie, is a parcel of text sent by a server to a web browser and then sent back unchanged by the browser each time it accesses that server. HTTP cookies are used for authenticating, tracking, and maintaining specific information about users, such as site preferences and the contents of their electronic shopping carts. The term "cookie" is derived from "magic cookie," a well-known concept in computing which inspired both the idea and the name of HTTP cookies.
Cookies have been of concern for Internet privacy, since they can be used for tracking browsing behavior. As a result, they have been subject to legislation in various countries such as the United States and in the European Union. Cookies have also been criticised because the identification of users they provide is not always accurate and because they could potentially be used for network attacks. Some alternatives to cookies exist, but each has its own drawbacks.
Cookies are also subject to a number of misconceptions, mostly based on the erroneous notion that they are computer programs. In fact, cookies are simple pieces of data unable to perform any operation by themselves. In particular, they are neither spyware nor viruses, despite the detection of cookies from certain sites by many anti-spyware products.
2006-08-10 09:08:50 · answer #2 · answered by bryanchen 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well cookies are fairley simple to understand... I will tell you the easy way to understand it.
when you go to a website (i.e. Yahoo.com) and then say you exit out of the Internet browser and go back on. Then you want to go back to yahoo.com without typing it in... well cookies play a good part in this. When you drop down the address browser (the part to type in the website you want) the cookie has already saved it to the address broswer so it can save you the typing! Cookies are very handy... But if put into the wrong hands (hackers and so on...) it can turn a simple website browser into a virus... But cookies are great!
2006-08-10 09:09:16 · answer #3 · answered by Tubby_tubkin 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is a file placed on your computer when you visit certain web sites that store information specific to those sites. For example, when you visit Yahoo, it may leave a cookie that remembers your user ID and password so you don't need to enter it the next time you visit. May God bless and keep you.
2006-08-10 09:06:51 · answer #4 · answered by blowry007 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's a text file stored in your computer when send by web server. This types of file stored various information, later which are used to recogize user and their activity during surfing.
2006-08-10 09:09:04 · answer #5 · answered by Hidden_eYe 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A cookie is a flour baked biscuit with delecious aroma and it gives the body carbohydrate.
2006-08-10 09:10:18 · answer #6 · answered by BASKIE 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is a file used to save 'your' settings for a particular web site. See above.
2006-08-10 09:07:36 · answer #7 · answered by Special Ed 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
uhhhh whats the question again?
2006-08-10 10:57:05 · answer #8 · answered by blackavaritia 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
google "What are cookies"
2006-08-10 09:08:45 · answer #9 · answered by RodneyOZ 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋