Once stolen, any computer with that cookie can access your account without needing login details, as long as the cookie hasn't expired or changed. Cookie stealing or cookie theft is a method of grabbing that cookie from your computer using XSS to access your account. What is cookie stealing?Īfter logging in to a site, a cookie containing a unique token is saved to your computer and identifies you as an authorized visitor. Apart from the potential privacy concerns, tracking cookies pose no threat to your computer and do not contain malware or viruses. It's up to you to decide if you want to save or delete these files. Why do anti-spyware programs warn me about tracking cookies?īecause these cookies can track your computer, they can be considered an invasion of privacy. Because the cookie for Facebook came from cbs.com, the cookie is considered a third-party tracking cookie. Clicking the Facebook Like button on cbs.com adds a Facebook cookie to your computer. For example, the cbs.com website has a button for liking them on Facebook. These cookies are added to a computer by a website other than that for which the cookie is used. It contains unique information about your computer and browsing history, which is used by the company to deliver advertisements it believes you'd be most interested in viewing.Īnother type of tracking cookie is a third-party cookie. What is a tracking cookie?Ī tracking cookie is one that is used by Internet advertisers and marketing companies. Because these files are plain-text files, they cannot be executed and cannot infect or destroy other data on your computer. Cookies are nothing more than plain-text files that are stored on your computer containing data that helps a website identify your computer. However, realize some web pages require cookies to be enabled to work. If you're concerned about web pages gathering information about your viewing habits, you can disable cookies or increase browser security to prompt you before any cookie is created. Because cookies can track you while at a site and can contain private information, the information could be potentially be compromised, but it is unlikely. Without cookies, you could not have customized settings and would have to verify your identity each time you visited a secure site. Are cookies safe?Ĭookies received over the Internet should be considered more useful than dangerous. The term "cookie" was coined by Lou Montulli, who got the idea from the term "magic cookie," which are data packets a program receives and sends on Unix computers.
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