Cookies

Internet Cookies are a very powerful tool that helps make designers of websites provide a better user experience to users by gathering information about the sites visitors. Nevertheless many people do not know that a Cookie stores user information on the user's hard drive so it can later be retrieved. Websites use Cookies in many different ways, some common examples are: determining how many people visit the site, storing user preferences for that site, remembering what is in your shopping cart, etc. On the other hand, Internet Cookies have created an uproar about Internet Privacy. Cookies help Web sites not only track your purchases, but also track which pages you read and what ads you click on. If you then enter your name and address to purchase something, the Web site potentially knows much more about you as an individual than a regular mail order company does. This is making people very uncomfortable for a few reasons, one of which is that it really makes targeting a lot easier and precise for advertisers and it gives websites the ability to sell your information to advertisers, websites and other companies. Another issue is that now there are companies like DoubleClick that can actually create cookies that are visible on multiple sites. DoubleClick places ads that are 1x1 pixels big that can load cookies onto your machine. DoubleClick then uses this information to track your movements across multiple sites. This information that DoubleClick acquires, without you even knowing about it, can form very rich profiles. These are anonymous but still contain a lot of information. What caused the largest uproar is that DoubleClick threatened to personalize these profiles and sell them to other people. This was perceived to be spying by most people. The good news is that you can control this process that Web sites use to get data from you. You can set your Internet browser to ask you for permission, where you choose to accept or deny, every time a Cookie wants to be placed on your hard drive.