What are Cookies?
An HTTP cookie (literally translated as an English HTTP cookie), commonly referred to simply as a "cookie", is a package of information in the form of a very small file sent from a web server to your Internet browser and then returned by the browser each time he gained access to this same server. The cookies were invented by Lou Montuli, a former employee of Netscape Communications. Almost every larger and feature-rich site on the Internet uses cookies.
Cookie content and purpose
Cookies can contain arbitrary information selected by the server and are used to maintain the status of HTTP transactions that are otherwise "stateless". They are usually used to verify the identity of a registered user of a website as part of the login process or initial registration on the site, and the user is not required to re-enter a username and password each time they access this site.
Others use cookies to maintain a 'shopping cart' for selected goods to buy from a site during a session, to personalize a site (presenting different pages to different users), and to track individual users' access to a site, for user content rating systems, etc.
The best example of information stored in a cookie is whether you answered "ok" to the use of cookies for this site so that you will not be asked again. Also, some videos embedded from other sites use cookies to anonymously collect statistics about where you came from the video in question and which videos were viewed.
How long is the cookie stored on my computer?
In principle, a cookie remains stored on the user's computer for use in the next session, but this is not mandatory or a rule - it can also be used only within one session and be deleted at the end of the session. Cookies can also be deleted by the user at any time.
What do cookies identify?
If a computer uses more than one browser, each has its own space for storing cookies. " Cookies" do not identify a person, but a combination of computer and web browser. Therefore, a person who uses several browsers and / or computers has a separate set of cookies for each computer-browser combination. On the other hand, cookies do not differentiate between multiple users sharing the same computer and browser, unless they use different user accounts.
What to do if you do not want cookies to be installed on your computer?
Some people find that having a place to store information on their computer or mobile device is a bit of an interference, especially when that information is stored and used by third parties unknown to them. If you prefer, it is possible to block some or all of the cookies or even remove the cookies that are already placed on your device, but you should be aware that you may lose some functionality. To do this, you need to change the privacy settings of your browser. Below is an explanation of how.
What are these warnings for everywhere that the site uses cookies?
On 25 May 2011, the European Union introduced a requirement for all websites operating in its territory to seek the consent of their users to install cookies. The arguments in favor of the decision were that they posed a potential risk to the management of EU citizens' personal data and threatened their privacy.
Although there is no clear text to suggest what the "consent" in question should look like, the standard of so-called "tacit" consent is currently used. According to him, the user allows the installation if, after an inscription with a warning about the presence of cookies, he continues to browse the specific website.
What guarantees me the presence or absence of such a message on a site and which of the two should bother me?
The concept of user awareness is generally good, but the lack of such a message on a site unfortunately in no way guarantees that it does not use cookies. If the site in question was created for the purpose of abusing and / or installing malware on your computer, we strongly doubt that you will be warned about it.
In our opinion, the existence of such a message at the moment means only one thing: That the owners and administrators of the site in question are willing to comply with the laws (good or bad, effective or not) and have deliberately threatened their site with a warning to comply to their users. In reality, a cookie warning site is more likely to be safe than one that does not have cookies but uses cookies.
Enable or disable cookies from browser settings:
Almost any browser can allow or disable the use of cookies by setting. Below we have provided information about some of the most widely used browsers.
for Microsoft Internet Explorer:
for Mozilla:
for Opera
for Google Chrome:
