Cookies were invented
in 1994 by a 24-year-old programmer
named Lou Montulli, who
also claims to have invented the <> tag. A cookie
is a small data file that certain web sites write to your hard drive when you
visit them. A cookie is a simple piece of text. It is not a program
or a plug-in. It cannot be used as a virus, and it cannot access your hard
drive or read cookie files created by other sites, although that technology is
probably under development. A cookie file can contain information such as
a user ID that a web site uses to track the pages you visit, but the only personal
information a cookie can contain is information which you supply yourself.
Visitors to any web site (other than this one, of course) should be aware that two general
levels of information about their visit can be retained. The first level
comprises statistical information - about all visitors - collected on an aggregate
basis, and the second is information about a specific visitor who knowingly
chooses to provide that information.
The statistical information provides the web site manager with general (not
individually specific) information about the number of people who visit his or her web
site, the number of people who return to the site, the pages that they visit, where
they were before they came to the current web page, and the last page they saw
before they exited. The web site manager may also collect certain information
such as the type of browser being used (e.g., Netscape, Internet Explorer,
Mozilla, Opera), the type of operating system being used, (e.g., Windows 98 or
Mac OS) and the domain name of your internet service provider (e.g., America
Online, Southwestern Bell).
This information helps the well-informed web site manager monitor traffic on his or her
web site in order to analyze site usage and manage the site's content and capacity. It
also shows which parts of the site are most popular, and generally to assess user
behavior and characteristics in order to measure interest in and use of the various
areas of the site. This helps facilitate improvements in the design and content
of the web site and enables the manager to personalize your internet experience.
Recommended reading:
The Unofficial Cookie FAQ by David Whalen.
Cookies and Privacy FAQ
The Cookie Concept
Privacy Concerns: More than just cookies.
Information Bulletin I-034: Internet Cookies
What's In Your Cookie Jar?
You've
Got Spam: Learn what it is, how it works and what you can do to stop it.
EPIC's Cookie page.
Information
About Cookies on Microsoft.com.
Understanding
cookies: There are several types of cookies, and you
can choose whether to allow some, none, or all of them to be saved
on your computer. If you do not allow cookies at all, you may
not be able to view some Web sites or take advantage of customization
features.
Cookie-Based Counting Overstates Size of Web
Site Audiences. Cookies are often used by web servers to identify users and for authenticating,
tracking and maintaining specific information about users. First-party cookies are those left on a
computer by a Web site that has been visited, while third-party cookies are those left by a domain different
than the site being visited, such as an advertising server that has just delivered an ad to a computer, or
certain third-party tools used to measure site traffic.
The definition of a cookie: The main
purpose of cookies is to identify users and possibly prepare customized Web pages for them. When you enter
a Web site using cookies, you may be asked to fill out a form providing such information as your name and
interests. This information is packaged into a cookie and sent to your Web browser which stores it
for later use.
Very technical:
Persistent Client State HTTP
Cookies. Cookies are a general mechanism which server side connections (such as CGI scripts) can
use to both store and retrieve information on the client side of the connection.
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