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Frequently Asked Questions
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FAQs on Cookies

Frequently Asked Questions about HTTP cookies.

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  1. What are cookies?
  2. Are cookies harmful?
  3. What are cookies used for?
  4. Why do some people dislike cookies?
  5. What information is stored in a cookie?
  6. How can I get rid of cookies?
  7. Will Cookie files fill-up my computer?
  8. Where can I find more information about cookies?

What are cookies?

Cookies are really small pieces of information stored on your harddrive. This information is created by a web site and can only be read by that web site. Cookies help a web site remember who you are and possibility some additional information about you in relationship to that web site. It's like an invisible "Passport" or "ID" card for that web site.

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Are cookies harmful?

No. Cookies are saved into a text file or a series of text files. These files cannot transfer viruses or execute programs on your computer.

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What are cookies used for?

Tracking user-specific information for a web site. This can be used to research movements of web site users, to allow users to logon without typing their username and password in everytime, to save user preferences about a site, to target banner advertisements, to track shopping orders, and to save any other information related to that web site.

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Why do some people dislike cookies?

Well, cookies can pass information that some people consider an invasion of privacy.

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What information is stored in a cookie?

Depending on how the cookie was setup by the web site, it can be used to track the following information:

  • Your web site preferences
  • usernames and passwords for that web site
  • the type of browser you are using
  • the operating system you are using
  • your ISP connection information
  • your IP address (this usually changes each time you dial up the Internet)
  • the last web site you visited
  • several other trackable issues (depending on the browser you use and web site you visit)

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How can I get rid of cookies?

It depends on your web browser. Netscape stores cookies in a Cookies.txt file (or MagicCookie for Mac) and Internet Explorer saves the cookies in files within a cookies folder (usually under the Windows directory). You can also specify Netscape 3.x or higher and Internet Explorer 3.x or higher to decline all cookies or warn when receiving cookies.

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Will Cookie files fill-up my computer?

No. The following restrictions apply to cookies (according to Netscape):

  • 4,000 byte (4Kb) limit for each cookie
  • Maximum limit of 20 cookies per domain
  • Maximum limit of 300 cookies total.

When the 300 cookie limit is reached, the least recent cookie is removed when new cookies are set. So, even with all 300 cookies containing 4,000 bytes, it will only consume 1,200,000 bytes (1.2 Mb) -- however, most cookies are less then 1,000 bytes (1Kb).

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Where can I find more information about cookies?

There are many resources on the Internet about cookies, here are some of particular interest:

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Last Updated: Thursday, March 25, 1999

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