Cookies

How do I know what cookie is for what?

In my C:\WINDOWS\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files folder-- I have cookie columns that say, "Last Modified", "Last Accessed", and "Last Checked". What do these 3 columns mean?

My goal is to get rid of some cookies!

Thank you, Bob

This question was answered on September 19, 2002. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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Cookies are pieces of information generated by a Web server and stored in the user's computer, ready for future access Cookies are embedded in the HTML information flowing back and forth between the user's computer and the servers Cookies were implemented to allow user-side customization of Web information

Cookies are based on a two-stage process First the cookie is stored in the user's computer without their consent or knowledge For example, with customizable Web search engines like My Yahoo!, a user selects categories of interest from the Web page The Web server then creates a specific cookie, which is essentially a tagged string of text containing the user's preferences, and it transmits this cookie to the user's computer The user's Web browser, if cookie-savvy, receives the cookie and stores it in a special file called a cookie list This happens without any notification or user consent As a result, personal information (in this case the user's category preferences) is formatted by the Web server, transmitted, and saved by the user's computer.

During the second stage, the cookie is clandestinely and automatically transferred from the user's machine to a Web server Whenever a user directs her Web browser to display a certain Web page from the server, the browser will, without the user's knowledge, transmit the cookie containing personal information to the Web server

You can delete all the cookies and all that will happen is not surfing the web as easily If you see a cookie that has not been accessed lately it is sale to delete it.

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Posted by Robin of Mesa Community College on September 19, 2002

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