What is a cookie

What is a cookie? Usually thought as some kind of biscuit, however in computer language it means something completely different. A text information message that is stored on your computer when you visit a web page. When you return to the page the cookie is used to recognize you. It records information such as your name, site login password, preferences, shopping cart info, and more..

A cookie does not collect information about you or take any files from your computer. It is solely used to enable you to have a faster and more pleasant experience on the internet. The default browser setting is for cookies to be accepted, however sometime you may have to enable cookies yourself.

Why do we need cookies?

We don’t actually need cookies at all. There is no need to remember or record the internet surfing habits of everyone on the internet, however there can be some advantages.

  • Faster Internet Browsing – Pages load quicker because they know who you are and what you like.
  • Websites can remember you – Most sites will remember you when you load it into Internet Explorer. It’s easy when you don’t have to put your password in every time you visit a site.
  • Personalize websites – Some sites let you change what you see. For example you can see news that only applies to your local area. Without cookies, this would not be possible.
  • Optimized websites – Webmasters can see which of their pages is popular and which are not worth keeping on the web.

I am a bit crazy and sometimes like to backup my cookies so I can import them back later and keep surfing the internet smoothly. Of course if you do not care you can clear browser cache files completely in Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Chrome. This includes the cookies saved on your computer. Here is a quick video tutorial on how to clear browser cache in Firefox.

How to view your cookies?

This applies to Internet Explorer 4,5,6 and 7

  1. When you have Internet Explorer open go to the tools menu at the top.
  2. Choose Internet Options.
  3. Go to the General Tab.
  4. Under the heading, browsing history, press the Settings button.
  5. Then press View files button.

To view your cookies you can also see what cookies are stored when you are about to delete temporary internet files. This is a manual way.

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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

Zed April 20, 2011 at 10:32 am

Hi
can you help me .Im trying to delete partiion C and install new window xp but dont know how . I tried to i but it does not boot up.?

Reply

Mitz April 21, 2011 at 12:24 am

I need more details.
What did you try to do? How far did you get?
Did you follow the instructions on formatting a hard drive?

Reply

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