Internet Security ABC - The Cookie Monster - How Do Cookies Influence Internet Security?

The Cookie Monster - How Do Cookies Influence Internet Security?

A cookie is a small file that contains only text. It attaches itself to your hard drive for each website you visit during any given browser session. They are essentially messages for web sites that stay on your hard drive until you manually delete them, by yourself or with the help of software cleaning program. These cookies keep track of your activities on the web site itself. The message stored in the cookie file is an HTTP header that can be opened by the host web server at any point in time. The term "cookie," is one well known within computer science lingo. It describes a clear piece of information held by an intermediary.

There are a number of different reasons a website might use cookies. Most sites use them to collect demographic data about the viewers. They look at how long you stay on their website, how often you come, and which pages you

look at while you do. This can help companies refine their marketing strategies to meet consumer needs. For example, if you always visit the website after one a.m., and lots of other customers do too, they might launch a new ad campaign based on that information.

Another reason a website might use cookies is to offer you a personalized experience at the web site. The host server automatically assumes this is the first time you've visited the site if no cookies are present in your system. However, if the site deposits cookies on your hard drive, the host server knows you are a returning customer. You might have seen this before when you return to a website where you've made purchases in the past, and the header at the top says "Hello, Mr. Jones!" You may have wondered how they knew your name. It was the cookies they deposited on your system. Shopping websites may also make recommendations based on other purchases you've made from them in the past as the host server stores which pages you looked at and which pages you purchased from.

One final reason a website may use cookies is to monitor your advertising messages. Most sites run several banner ads at once. The cookies can help tell the host server which banner ads you've seen and which you have not. This can help the company from a business standpoint because they can tell advertisers that site viewers will see each of their ads an approximate number of times each time they visit the site.

Cookies do not compromise your internet security. In some fashion, they do compromise your privacy, but because cookies are simple text files, they cannot hurt your computer in any fashion. It is not a program. It is not a plug-in. It is not malware. It is not spyware. It cannot spread a virus. It cannot even access your hard drive information. Cookies only have six parameters that can be stored within them. Cookies can contain the name of the cookie. They can also contain the value of the cookie and the expiration date of the cookie. This is how long the cookie will stay active on your system. For example, if you visit a shopping website, they may deposit a cookie on your system that will stay active for seven days. After that, the cookie remains on your system, but the host server will no longer recognize it after that point. Cookies can also contain a path or URL. This means that any websites outside of this path are recognized as invalid, and other host servers cannot recognize a cookie from a different website. Cookies can also contain a domain. If one host server works for multiple sites, the cookie's domain can tell it which of the sites to access. For example, if one company runs a banking website, a shopping website, and a charity website, the cookie will only be valid for one of the websites. If you use the shopping website, the cookie deposited to your system will not be good for the banking website. The final information a cookie can store is the need for a secure connection. Secure connections are used on websites where sensitive personal information is transmitted. A cookie with this information would prompt the host server to allow you to log in to their secure connection.

If you do not want your system to accept cookies, most browsers have a setting in their options menu that can help you reject cookies from websites to ensure your privacy from companies who deposit cookies on your system. It is a good idea to clean your cookies file on a regular basis.

Internet Anonymizers Why and When You Should Use Them

Spies Everywhere What is Spyware and Why is it so Bad

Dont Click No How to Safely Close those Pop up Windows

Exterminate those Bugs on your PC

Malicious Instant Messages Three Ways Instant Messaging Compromises Internet Security

Internet Security
◦ Are You an Enabler? What Enabling Cookies
◦ Can the Spam-How to Filter Out All the Unnecessary Junk
◦ Channel the Cookie Monster in You - Computer Cookies Can Be Bad For Your Computer's Health
◦ Chat Room Challenge - Five Tips to Ensure Your Anonymity
◦ Computer Band-aid - How to Know if You Need to Download that Security Patch
◦ Computer Deep Freeze - Ten Tips to Keep your PC Up and Running
◦ Computer Junkyard - Does Spam Filtering Really Help?
◦ Dial-Up vs. Broadband - Which is the Safer Alternative?
◦ Doesn't Ad up - Three Things that Adware does to your Computer
◦ Don't Click No! How to Safely Close those Pop-up Windows
◦ Don't Get Hacked Off-How to Stop Computer Interlopers in their Tracks
◦ Exercise Parental Control - Five Tips to Keep Kids Safe on the Internet
◦ Exterminate those Bugs on your PC
◦ Getting Down With Downloads - How to Protect Your Computer
◦ Hijacked at Home - Five Steps to Protect Your Home PC
◦ Identity Theft via Internet Security Flaws
◦ Inoculate Yourself against Computer Viruses
◦ Internet Anonymizers - Why and When You Should Use Them
◦ Key Logging Capers Part Two - Three Reasons why it is a Problem
◦ Key Logging Capers - Three Reasons Why You Need It
◦ Let's Go Phishing! - Five Ways to Avoid Being Hooked by This Scam
◦ Maintaining Your Privacy on the Internet - Five Things you can do
◦ Malicious Instant Messages-Three Ways Instant Messaging Compromises Internet Security
◦ Malware is bad for your Computer
◦ Picking Blackberries - Why Mobile Technology Needs More Security
◦ Pound Those Pop-Ups
◦ Six Tips for Staying Healthy in a Computer Virus World
◦ Something Doesn't Register - Cleaning your Computer's Registry for Safety
◦ Spies Everywhere - What is Spyware and Why is it so Bad?
◦ Squash those Worms - Four Ways to Keep your PC Critter-Free
◦ That Wasn't Scripted! Why Scripted Viruses are Bad News
◦ The Basics of Internet Website Encryption
◦ The Cookie Monster - How Do Cookies Influence Internet Security?
◦ The Digital Certificate - What's It Mean and Why is It Important?
◦ Three Benefits to Using an Internet Remailer
◦ Three Reasons to Wipe Your Computer's Internet History Files Clean
◦ Three Ways that an Internet Firewall Can Be Compromised
◦ Three Ways to Identify a Virus Hoax
◦ Three Ways to make sure your Online Credit Card Transaction is Safe
◦ Toolbar Traps - What You Should Know BEFORE Downloading that "Helpful" Toolbar
◦ Top Five Reasons to Install a Firewall
◦ Top Five Spyware Threats to Internet Security
◦ Top Five Vulnerable Areas in Internet Security
◦ Top Five Worst Viruses and How to Protect Your Computer against Them
◦ Top Four Ways to Ensure a Secure Password
◦ Top Ten Tools to Boost your Internet Security
◦ What IP Addresses Mean in the Scheme of Internet Security
◦ When Formatting the Hard Drive is Your Only Recourse

Internet Privacy
◦ Remote Access Trojans Hijacking your Computer
◦ Precautions You Should Take When Installing WiFi in your Home
◦ Sold! How to Maintain your Privacy and Still Indulge in Online Auctions
◦ Social Networking Be Careful of What You Post!
◦ Sneaky Ways to Get Around those Internet Privacy Issues

Identity Theft
◦ Electronic Mail Identity Theft
◦ Facts on Identity Theft
◦ Fighting Identity Theft

ID Theft

Download Free eBook "The Dangers of Identity Theft and How to Protect Yourself!"