Eat Your Cookies

Once you locate your cookies file, take a look inside with a text editor such as Notepad (being careful not to modify the file) and you'll probably be surprised at the number of entries squirreled away by sites you've never heard of. That's because many popular sites have banner ads that are served up by other companies such as DoubleClick and LinkExchange. When you visit the Dilbert website, for example, you'll get a cookie from DoubleClick.

A typical cookies file contains the name of the site that wrote the entry, an expiration date, and some additional data pertaining to your visit to a site. Other crumbs of data that may be stored in cookies include your domain name (the part to the RIGHT of the "@" sign in your e-mail address -- NOT your username), the date and time of your visit, the type of computer, operating system and browser you have, and a history of the pages you visit at a specific site. Big deal, huh?

Cookies Are Safe

It's important to remember that a cookie cannot store any personal data such as your name, e-mail address or phone number UNLESS YOU EXPLICITLY PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION on a form at the site creating the cookie. Further, the safety features built into the cookies technology DO NOT ALLOW a website operator to access other files on your hard disk, or to look at cookies that were created by other sites. (Of course this assumes you are using an up-to-date version of your browser. Check the Microsoft or Firefox website if you're not sure.)

Remember these important facts about cookies:

Can Cookies Be Bad For You?

None of the information stored in a cookies file is really shocking in and of itself, but it's the ability to track the specific sites and pages you visit that worries some people. Since ad agencies like DoubleClick have their hooks in many popular sites, there is the potential that they could surreptitiously gather information on the web surfing habits of individuals. If this information was sold or improperly analyzed, it could cause trouble in the wrong hands. DoubleClick says they only use cookies to keep users from seeing the same ad too many times, and with all the media scrutiny focused on them right now, it seems safe to assume this is true.

Nonetheless, some are envisioning more frightening scenarios involving cookies and privacy. Could you face the prospect of being denied a job because you visited a website advocating the legalization of marijuana? Get hit with an insurance rate hike after visiting an AIDS patient informaton site? Or find the Feds at your door after browsing through online bomb making information?

Such prospects seem highly unlikely to yours truly, but privacy advocates like Jeff Chester of the Center for Media Education see danger ahead. "We have to keep online marketers out of the cookie jar," says Chester. "Such Orwellian practices to stealthily track every move made online and share that information with other companies should be prohibited."

Others are quick to point out that online services like America Online have the ability to track the actions of subscribers at a finer level, and know much more about their users than cookies could ever reveal to website operators. Armed with your name, home address, credit card number, and the ability to record every word you write in the the "Cheatin' Hearts" chat room, one would think the potential for abuse is much higher, but there is no anecdotal evidence that it has ever happened, either on AOL or a cookies-enabled website.

Another interesting side note: I've NEVER received a cookie from any government or military website. I'm pretty sure there is an official policy of the US government which forbids or discourages it. I think this is an over-reaction which ultimately makes those sites LESS usable, but it does give the conspiracy theorists one less thing to whine about. :-)

Tossing Your Cookies

If you're convinced that cookies pose a threat to your privacy, and you're willing to live without the convenience they provide, there are a variety of ways to block, delete and even totally prevent cookies. Both Firefox and Internet Explorer give users the option to control cookies in a variety of ways.

With Firefox, go to Tools/Options/Privacy/Cookies and you'll have the option to accept, refuse, view or delete cookies. The option to accept cookies "for the originating website only" may be a good compromise because it eliminates cookies from third-party ad serving firms such as Doubleclick. With Internet Explorer, you can do much the same thing by selecting Tools/Internet Options/Security/Custom Level. Checking the "Warn before accepting cookies" box does give you the option to accept cookies only from sites you trust, but gets really annoying after a while.

Another idea is to make your cookies file read-only. This will prevent any new cookies from being written to your hard disk, while allowing cookies to function normally during a single browser session. So you could still use online shopping sites, but you'd miss out on the ability to use customization features at sites like Yahoo. Deleting your cookies file(s) after closing your browser would have pretty much the same effect.

If you're really serious about online privacy, visit the Anonymizer website (www.anonymizer.com) and find out how to make all your web viewing totally anonymous and frustrate the cookie senders. You can also download a variety of free or inexpensive shareware programs such as Cookie Monster, Cookie Cutter and Cookie Crusher that give you total control over cookies.

Learning More

If you want to learn more about the technical details behind cookies, or delve further into the privacy and security issues, visit these sites on the web:

I hope this info helps you to understand the truth about web cookies. Feel free to pass this article along to a friend, and post your comments below.