If you have ever surfed the web, you have almost certainly encountered browser cookies among your digital travels. Although for some they may be a nuisance, for the majority browser cookies are an essential part of the internet experience, often interacting with you without your knowledge.
In this blog, I will take you through a 101 primer on browser cookies. For a more in-depth look at how they may affect the security of your IT environment, I invite you to read Jeff Warren’s blog on that very topic coming soon!
A browser cookie (sometimes referred to as an HTTP cookie) is a tiny snippet of data or code that is stored on a web browser when a user visits a website. This data contains a wide array of important information about the visitor. This makes it a vital tool for user experience, marketing, and, in the future, generating conversions when a user returns to the site and that information is recalled.
When a user visits a website or takes certain actions on a website, a piece of data is transferred from the site and stored within the web browser that the person is utilizing. As someone browses the web, going from site to site, they sometimes pick up many cookies from multiple websites. When they return to a previously accessed website, it can read the cookie and recall information about them, such as previous activities, information and in some cases, where they have traveled through the web.
There are many examples of browser cookies being used multiple times in your everyday life (and for different things without you even knowing!). Below are just a few of them you are likely to encounter on a day-to-day basis:
In general, yes, browser cookies are safe. One of the great things about cookies is that they cannot infect your computer with things like viruses, malware, or ransomware. When they are working the way that they should, you should notice no difference in the performance of your machine.
However, there are certain ways that cookies can compromise your machine when a nefarious actor is involved. For more information on this topic, read Jeff Warren’s upcoming blog on the subject.
Although the advantages of using browser cookies often outweigh the negatives of them, there are some drawbacks. A few are listed below.
Sick of targeted advertising? Don’t want a website to remember your info? There are a few very minor things you can do to prevent cookies.
If you are using Google Chrome, clearing your cookies is a breeze! Just follow the steps below:
Step 1: On the top right of the browser, click the Chrome menu icon and select “Settings”
Step 2: On the left-hand side, choose “Privacy and Security”
Step 3: Under “Privacy and Security” click “Clear browsing data”
Step 4: Check off “Cookies and other site data” and click “Clear data”
And that’s it! You have now just cleared all of your cookies for your browser.
If you decide that you want to disable cookies on your Chrome browser, follow these steps below:
Step 1: On the top right of the browser, click the Chrome menu icon and select “Settings”
Step 2: On the left-hand side, choose “Privacy and Security”
Step 3: Under “Privacy and security” click “Site Settings”
Step 4: Under “Site Settings” click “Cookies and site data”
Step 5: Under “Cookies and site data” uncheck “Allow sites to save and read cookie data (recommended)”
You can also check the option below “Clear cookies and site data when you quit Chrome” as well if you want your cookies erased every time you close the browser. For instances where multiple people may be using one machine, this might be the better option.
In almost all cases, web browsers by default will have browser cookies enabled. But, if you would like the check, or turn them back on again in Chrome after previously disabling them, simply follow the steps to disable, but instead re-check “Allow sites to save and read cookie data (recommended)” as your end step.
Nate is a Web Marketing Manager at Stealthbits and has worked in the IT Security industry for over 7 years.
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