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What are Cookies ( HTTP)
HTTP cookies (also referred to as tracking cookies,
or simply cookies) are small pieces of text, stored on a
user's computer by a web browser; and they contain the user's
settings, shopping cart contents, or other data used by websites.
They are transmitted as parcels of text sent by a server
to a Web client
(usually a browser)
and then sent back unchanged by client each time it accesses that
server. HTTP
cookies are used for authenticating,
session tracking (state maintenance), and maintaining specific
information about users, such as site preferences or the contents
of their electronic
shopping carts. The term "cookie" is derived from
"magic
cookie," a well-known concept in UNIX
computing which inspired both the idea and the name of HTTP
cookies. Some alternatives to cookies exist, but each has its own
uses, advantages, and drawbacks.
Cookies are also subject to a number of misconceptions, mostly
based on the erroneous notion that they are computer
programs that run on the browsing computer. In fact, cookies
are simple pieces of data that affect the operation of a web
server, not the client, and do so in very specific ways. In
particular, they are neither spyware
nor viruses,
although cookies from certain sites are described as spyware by
many anti-spyware products because they allow users to be tracked
when they visit various sites.
Most modern browsers allow users to decide whether to accept
cookies, but rejection makes some websites
unusable. For example, shopping carts implemented using cookies do
not work if cookies are rejected.
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