Ever wondered, what are computer cookies? They are one of those internet-related things that cause confusion and, at times, concern, among computer users. Computer cookies have gotten a bad name; some people believe that they are programs that can see what you are doing on your computer. This isn't the case.
What are Computer Cookies?
Computer cookies are pieces of text data used by a website to track its visitors. Many websites will place a cookie on the computer system of its visitors. In fact, most of the websites you visit probably place cookies on your computer. This cookie may give the computer a unique user ID, making future visits more user-friendly to the visitor. Some cookies store more information, such as individual aspects of the site that are visited and the amount of time a person spends on their site. This cookie cannot see what the visitor is doing anywhere other than its own website and it is not a program which can do anything on its own. True computer cookies are not spyware, though they do track visitors.
Computer cookies can be retrieved by the website which placed them on a computer when the user returns to the website. The user's computer will send a request to the website for access once the user has typed the web address into the browser. Then the website may check the user's cookie file to see if it has already placed a cookie there. If it has, it will pull the data it has stored to display things such as shopping carts or items previously looked at. If it hasn't, it may place a cookie at that time.
To see the cookies placed on your computer, go to c:windowscookies. Once you determine what are computer cookies, you can choose to delete cookies or to prevent your computer from allowing websites to place cookies on your computer without your permission.
 | You should learn how to clear cookies if you are a computer owner concerned about privacy. It's easy, when you have the right instructions. |
This guide to deleting internet cookies explains how to remove the text placed on a user's computer that track basic information such as the user's visit to a website. |
If you have ever asked "how do I enable cookies on my computer?" we have the answers. There may be some Web sites you can't access. Learn how to fix that problem. |
Using Internet cookies is widely misunderstood. They aren't as bad as you might think. Internet cookies are used to gather information about visitors to a website. |
How do websites use cookies? There is a misconception that cookies can be used as programs, being placed on computers and then operating in a way which the computer user is not aware. |
