Cookie is dessert in the meaning of the English word and we can always see this word in web browser. How cookie could be linked with web browser? You may have this experience that when you browse the website you had visited before, you can see Hello XXXX. You feel so good just as eating a small dessert. This function is achieved by the visit of a small file on your computer. Therefore, this file comes to be known as a cookie. Want to know more about cookie? Read on!
When you visit a website, the website probably will store a small text file in your computer. This small text file is cookie. It records your user ID, password, visited web pages, and the time you stay at the web pages, and such kind of information. When you visit this site again, the website can read the cookie stored in your computer and get your relevant information. With these information, the website can make corresponding actions. For example, the website can display a welcom message at the pages, and entitles you to login your account without entering your user name or user ID and password, etc. If you are using Internet Explorer(IE), you can select 'Tools/Internet Options' -> 'General' -> 'Settings' -> 'View Files' to view all cookies stored in your computer. These files are usually named in the format of user @ domain. The user is your local user name, and the domain is the domain name of your visited website. If you are using NETSCAPE browser, cookies are stored in 'C:\PROGRAMFILES\NETSCAPE\USERS\'. NETSCAPE use one cookie file to record all the cookies.
To ensure Internet security we need to set up the web browser appropriately. IE users can open 'Tools / Internet Options', 'privacy' tab, and adjust the security level. Usually, the slider can be adjusted to 'medium high' or 'high'. However, most of the forums require cookie information. if you never go to any online forums, you can adjust the security level to 'block all cookies'. If you only want to prohibit cookies from certain websites, click 'Sites' and add the website to your block list. "Advanced" option entitles you to setup the first-party cookie and the third-party cookie. First-party cookie is the cookie from the website you are browsing while the other is from non-browsing websites. Usually, you should block third-party cookies. If you need to save cookies, you can use the Import/Export function of IE.
The contents of cookies are usually encrypted. Therefore, in human view they are only some meaningless alphanumeric combinations. Only the server CGI knows the real meaning of cookie. With the help of some software, we can know more of cookie content. Cookie Pal is a software can be used to check the cookie information. It provides us with the information of the Server, Expires, Name, Value and etc.
