jaykaykay
4 Ever Young
Premium,MVM
join:2000-04-13
Scottsdale, AZ
 ·Speakeasy
| Re: How 'bad' are spyware cookies?? I tend to accept only certain cookies and make sure that I am cleaned of all others as I see fit. I prefer Oreos over most of those that are dispersed from the Internet.
For those who are not quite up to snuff or as yet educated enough to really follow some of these articles, my suggesting is to give a description of what a cookie is. The following comes from »computerproblems.com/questions/q···?id=2323.
"Cookies" are small text files that are stored on a Web user's hard drive to serve as a unique identifier for tracking that users preferences and profile on that Web site. Most cookie files are stored in the "C:\WINDOWS\COOKIES directory or folder.
They take very little space (I have over 200 Cookie files on my system that take less space than a single floppy disk) so “filling up your hard drive with Cookies” is not a real concern. No personal information about you or your computer, is stored in these files, but rather a profile of your movements and preferences when surfing. In the beginning, Cookies were to be used within one Web site to track specific information such as usernames and passwords for membership-based sites, to track your on-line purchases via a "shopping basket" or to store your preferences for that site (i.e. show me sports news but only about hockey). These were good uses of cookies that made getting in and around our favorite Web sites easier and more enjoyable.
But then along came the “marketing wizards” that put up sites such as DoubleClick (www.doubleclick.com) and NetGravity (www.netgravity.com ) that now use cookies to silently track a user's movements between their clients sites that carry their ads. When a user visits AltaVista to use the search engine, for example, a cookie is sent along with that site's images, and the information is stored in a database on a remote server at DoubleClick. This information is supposed to be used to display “banner ads” that would specifically appeal to you based on your previous uses whenever you visit a member Web site, not just AltaVista. This worries some users, who feel like they are being watched. Most people that are concerned about “cookie” usage will either block or delete the cookie files on their hard drive. Is it a case of paranoia or just playing it safe? It depends upon what you believe is possible with the information that is being gathered. Most people that “fear” cookies, are more concerned about what may be done with them in the future.
Deleting cookies is fairly easy. Most cookie files are stored in the “C:\WINDOWS\COOKIES directory or folder. If you have activated user profiles, each of your users that have accessed the Internet has their own cookie directory in the C:\WINDOWS\PROFILES folder. Double-click the “username” folder (where “username” is the name you use to log on to Windows) to locate the COOKIES folder. Simply delete the entire COOKIE folder when you finish surfing and none of the information that was gathered will be available the next time you connect to the Web. When you delete all your Cookie files, however, any personal preferences or user registration information for certain web sites will be deleted as well. You may have to go through a registration or reset of your preferences every time you go to these types of sites if you use this practice.
Blocking cookies is fairly easy in most current Internet browsers. Programs like Microsoft's Internet Explorer or Netscape's Communicator/Navigator give you options to either be notified before accepting a cookie or just plain block all cookies. Most current versions of Microsoft's Internet Explorer allow you to change these settings by going to the VIEW/INTERNET OPTIONS menu, then click on the Advanced tab. Look for the word cookies in the listings for the options to accept, ask before accepting or blocking all cookies. Current Netscape versions will generally allow you to change Cookie options by clicking on the EDIT/PREFERENCES menu, then click on advanced. Be aware, however, some Web sites will not allow you access without placing a cookie on your computer, so you may be limiting your surfing options." |
