Cookies
1.1 Introduction
This section is devoted to general questions on cookies and
their usage.
1.2 How do I set my browser to
accept/reject cookies?
Both Internet Explorer and Netscape
allow some level of cookie verification. They both have menu options
that allow you to accept all, some, or none of your incoming
cookies. In addition, the "warn before accepting" feature is present
in both, if you want to screen your incoming cookies.
In
Netscape, go to the Edit/Preferences/Advanced menu. Your
cookie choices can be changed there.
Microsoft has changed
their approach to cookies over the last 3 versions of their browser.
This is a reflection of how cookies have been thrust into the
limelight of privacy on the Internet:
- In IE 6.0, go to the
Tools/Internet Options/Privacy menu. This menu allows
you to select how discriminating the browser will be when
accepting cookies, based on two factors -- (1) the source of the
cookie, and (2) whether the source has a "privacy policy." There
are also features for the advanced user, if you'd like to have a
greater control over cookies. [more
info]
- In IE 5.0, go to the
Tools/Internet Options/Security menu. In there, you
can choose the security level for 4 different browsing conditions:
Internet Sites, Local Sites, "Trusted" Sites, and Restricted
Sites. If you select "Internet," and click on Custom Level, you'll
get a dialog box where you can accept all, warn before accepting,
or reject all cookies. [more
info]
- In IE 4.0, go to the
View/Internet Options/Advanced menu. There you can
accept all, warn before accepting, or reject all.
Once a cookie is rejected, it is thrown out and
not saved to memory or disk. Don't forget, though, that servers will
keep looking for the cookie even if you have discarded it and may
try to replace it as you surf around.
This fact is almost
comical in nature. Essentially, by removing the way to tell the
server to not send cookies, it can't remember to not send you any
cookies the next time!
1.3 Can I delete cookies after I am done?
Yes. Whether you use Internet Explorer or Netscape, your
cookies are saved to a simple text file that you can delete as you
please.
In order to do this properly, remember to close
your browser first. This is because all your cookies are held in
memory until you close your browser. So, if you delete the file with
your browser open, it will make a new file when you close it, and
your cookies will be back.
Remember that deleting your
cookie file entirely will cause you to "start from scratch" with
every web site you usually visit. So, it may be preferable to open
the cookies.txt file (in the case of Netscape) and remove only the
entries you don't like, or go to the cookies folder (in the case of
IE) and delete the files matching servers you don't want.
1.4 Sites are telling me I need to
turn on cookies, but they are on. What's wrong?
There are three likely possibilities for problems like this.
Firstly, the site you are visiting may be detecting cookies
improperly. As a result, it may appear to the site that you are
rejecting cookies when in fact you are not.
Another
possibility is that you may be running software that interferes with
cookie usage. There are many filtering and blocking software
packages available for Internet users these days, and many of them
also filter cookies. If you are running software like this, then
your computer may not receive or send cookies. This will cause sites
you visit to assume you are not accepting cookies.
Finally,
your machine may be behind a firewall or proxy server that prevents
cookie transmission. This is most likely in a corporate environment.
So, regardless of how your browser is set, cookies won't be sent or
received by your browser. Since the cookies aren't making it through
to your browser, the Web Site will assume you personally aren't
accepting them.
1.5 I deleted my Cookies, and I
can't log-on to a site anymore. What can I do?
Many sites use a cookie to keep track of your settings on
their servers, and to help you log in to their site. If you lose
your cookie, that site cannot recall your settings for you to use.
If this happens to you, the best thing you can do is contact
that site's webmaster or customer service department.
1.6 Are Cookies Dangerous to My
Computer?
NO. 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. Your browser (not a programmer) can
save cookie values to your hard disk if it needs to, but that is the
limit of the effect on your system.
1.7 Are Cookies a Threat to My
Privacy?
The sad truth is that revealing any kind of
personal information opens the door for that information to be
spread.
Consider the growing trend of technology
conveniences in our lives. We use "frequent buyer" cards at
supermarkets and gas stations. We place electronic tags on our cars
to pay tolls faster and easier. We let banks pay our bills for us
automatically each month without checks.
While each of these
technologies (and others like them) have made our lives more
convenient, each time we use them exposes us to a loss of privacy.
Stores know what foods you eat. Gas stations know how much you spend
on gas per fill-up. Turnpike operators know how fast you drive on
their highways. Banks know how you spend your money each month.
It's the same with cookies. In fact, one may argue that
cookies in the long-run will be less damaging to privacy efforts
than those technologies described above. If you're going to
single-out cookies as your sole vulnerability to personal privacy,
you should re-examine how you live your daily life.
The
never-ending ethical debate associated with these facts shall be
left to other forums. However, it is wise to consider carefully the
information you collect and share over the Internet.
1.8 Will Cookies fill up my hard
drive?
Both Netscape and Microsoft have measures in
place that limit the number of cookies that will be saved on your
hard drive at one time.
Both Internet Explorer and Netscape
conform to the RFC 2109 limitations on your total cookie count to
300 (this includes a limit of 20 cookies per individual domain). If
you exceed this, the browser will discard your least-used cookies to
make room for the new ones.
Microsoft saves cookies into the
"Temporary Internet Files" folder, a system folder that you can set
the maximum size of (the default is 2% of your hard drive).
In any event, remember that most cookie files are 4KB or
smaller, so you would need about a million cookies to fill up a 4GB
drive. This is incredibly unlikely.