Cookies

What are cookies?

Cookies put small Data elements that are (can be) stored on a user's computer. They are designed to store a small amount of data specific to a particular client and website, and can be retrieved either from the web server or from the client. This allows the Server, to deliver a page tailored to a particular user. However, the page itself may also contain a script that knows the data and is thus able to transfer information from one visit to the website (or a related website) to the next.

Can I see/view the cookies stored on my computer?

Most Browser have a Configuration screen, which allows the user to see which Cookies on the computer Saved at are, and optionally delete them. Note that it is not possible for a website to delete cookies set by other websites. Cookies display, as this would pose a privacy and security problem.

Why are cookies used?

Cookies represent the most convenient Possibility represent the Key data a session on one website to another to transfer. All this is made possible without burdening a server with a large amount of data to be stored. Without their use, it would be problematic to store a user's data on the server without requiring a login each time the website is visited.

Thus, if there is a large amount of information to be stored, it can be Cookies simply be used as a means of identifying a particular user. Using this information, other related information can then be looked up in a server-side database. For example, when a user visits a website for the first time, they can select a username to be stored in the cookie, and then specify data such as password, name, address, preferred font size, page layout, and so on.

This information is all stored in the database, using the username as the key. Subsequently - when the website is visited again - the server reads the cookie to find the username, and then retrieves all the user's information from the database without having to enter it.

Do cookies expire over time?

The time of expiration of a Cookies can be set when it is created. By default, a cookie is deleted when the current browser window is closed, however, they can also be set to remain stored for any period of time after that.

How secure are cookies?

There are often concerns about privacy and security on the Internet. Cookies do not in themselves pose a threat to privacy, since they can only be used to store information that the user has voluntarily provided or that the web server already has. It is of course possible for a website user's information to be made available to third parties, however it is not per se worse than storing it in a central database.