Computer cookies almost always benefit users

For more information on computer cookies, visit Cookie Central
By John R. Borlik Jr.\Senior Web Developer

What you learned as a child still holds true -- cookies are good.

Though a child today may not believe that the word cookie could mean anything but a warm or crunchy treat, best eaten without parental permission, we adults know -- at least your average computer user -- cookies may not be such a "feel-good" term.

The implementation of cookies on the Internet is profound -- but, for the most part, they've gotten a bad rap. What cookies are, what they do and what effect they have on computers and their users is still mostly shrouded in mystery. The plain truth is, however, that almost all of us use and benefit from cookies when we surf the web, at home or at the office.

What cookies are

Simply put, a cookie is nothing more than a string of text (Ex: pfadj/lowestfare.com/;sz=1x1;site=lowestfare;ord=592?) entered into your browser's memory that allows a website to remember who you are, what things you may have entered into a shopping cart, or whether or not you've been to the site before. Cookies can be used by programmers to ensure that site content remains fresh and relevant to a user's submitted interests.

Try clicking shift+reload while on Yahoo's home page. You'll notice each time you reload the page, a new banner ad appears. This can be done using session cookies -- a browser-memory-resident cookie that tells the page "this user has already seen this banner ad, show a different one."

Some cookies will even be placed into your computer's file system (usually in your Windows Temp or InternetTemp directory) for future reference when you revisit the site that placed it there. If you've customized any website (My Yahoo or Excite, etc.) then you're using cookies. When you open your personalized page, the code within the page looks for the cookie, reads it and activates your preferences, normally stored in a database.

What cookies are not

What scares most people about computer cookies is the perception that a cookie can determine who you are, your phone number and address, your annual income, credit card numbers and your mother's maiden name. By definition, this is not true.

The only way personal information can be associated with a cookie is when a user voluntarily submits that information.

Cookies themselves do not hold viruses, nor can they run programs on your computer as they are simple strings of text. Most popular browsers limit the number of cookies allowed on your file system, so there's little worry about cookies filling you hard drive.

For more information on computer cookies, visit Cookie Central.