what are cookies?

Answer 1

Yum, cookies. I like cookies, especially with milk... ;)

HTTP cookies, sometimes known as web cookies or just cookies, are parcels 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 Unix 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.
Most modern browsers allow users to decide whether to accept cookies, but rejection makes some websites unusable. For example, shopping baskets implemented using cookies do not work if cookies are rejected.
HTTP cookies are used by Web servers to differentiate users and to maintain data related to the user during navigation, possibly across multiple visits. HTTP cookies were introduced to provide a way for realizing a "shopping cart" (or "shopping basket"), a virtual device into which the user can "place" items to purchase, so that users can navigate a site where items are shown, adding or removing items from the shopping basket at any time.
Allowing users to log in to a website is another use of cookies. Users typically log in by inserting their credentials into a login page; cookies allow the server to know that the user is already authenticated, and therefore is allowed to access services or perform operations that are restricted to logged-in users.
Several websites also use cookies for personalization based on users' preferences. Sites that require authentication often use this feature, although it is also present on sites not requiring authentication. Personalization includes presentation and functionality. For example, the Wikipedia Web site allows authenticated users to choose the webpage skin they like best; the Google search engine allows users (even non-registered ones) to decide how many search results per page they want to see.
Cookies are also used to track users across a website. Third-party cookies and Web bugs, explained below, also allow for tracking across multiple sites. Tracking within a site is typically done with the aim of producing usage statistics, while tracking across sites is typically used by advertising companies to produce anonymous user profiles, which are then used to target advertising (deciding which advertising image to show) based on the user profile.
Since their introduction on the Internet, misconceptions about cookies have circulated on the Internet and in the media. In 2005, Jupiter Research published the results of a survey, according to which a consistent percentage of respondents believed some of the following claims:
· Myth: Cookies are like worms and viruses in that they can erase data from the user's hard disks;
· Myth: Cookies are a form of spyware in that they can read personal information stored on the user's computer;
· Myth: Cookies generate popups;
· Myth: Cookies are used for spamming;
· Myth: Cookies are only used for advertising.
Cookies are in fact only data, not program code: they cannot erase or read information from the user's computer. However, cookies allow for detecting the Web pages viewed by a user on a given site or set of sites. This information can be collected in a profile of the user. Such profiles are often anonymous, that is, they do not contain personal information of the user (name, address, etc.) More precisely, they cannot contain personal information unless the user has made it available to some sites. Even if anonymous, these profiles have been the subject of some privacy concerns.
According to the same survey, a large percentage of Internet users do not know how to delete cookies.
All in all Cookies are pretty harmless.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

If you look into your firefox folder (usually somewhere C:\Program Files\ or ~/.mozzila ) you find a file: cookies.txt

The cookies are lines of this file with special format. Like a line from mine:

ther.sytes.net FALSE / FALSE 1183571618 FontSize2 text1

Where ther.sytes.net is the host which can watch/edit this cookie. FALSE/FALSE are options a security. The big number is the seconds after 1970/01/01 00:00 when this cookie will expire. The "FontSize2" is the name, and a the "text1" is the value of the cookie.

Answer 3

you eat cookies... like oreos...
j/k

They are like a tiny program that gets stored into your computer after you visit a site. They stay there and collect information such as what other sites you have visited.When you log on back to the site were you got the cookie from, that cookie you had gets sent back with your information, and it keeps doing the same thing until you delete it.

Answer 4

if you're referring to the cookies that are on your computer, it's recent web history, or at least that's what i've been told by a relative. It's basically all of the websites that you've recently visited.
The kind of cookies you eat are the delicious desserts made from sugar, and multiple other ingredients. They are also delicious.

=]

Answer 5

Oreos or Computer Cookies?

Answer 6

cookies are what mostly make your computer go slower. everytime you visit a website you get a few cookies added unto your computer, and it's normal, but you should clean them out every day

Answer 7

they are list of websites you've visited and can be deleted by going to properties and then delete cookies or in control panel.. it's a good idea to delete them because they can contain personal info. like what sites you've vistited and most importantly take up lots of computer memory..

Answer 8

Search for the term at:

Answer 9

junk food you buy in a store...just kidding..they are unwanted files temporary files that you don't need it is safe to delete them.

Answer 10

goto this site
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_cookie