What are Internet Cookies?

Cookies enable websites to remember you and how you like things done, remember your login details, or what items you have stashed in your shopping cart. We've all seen, at some point in time, pop-up messages on websites asking you to choose to allow cookies on your device. But what are these cookies doing, and what are they. First of all, they contribute heavily today in the online experience. They are a part of web browsing, they allow developers to develop more personalized and convenient for you. As harmless as all that sounds, cookies can pack a whole lot of information relating to you and create severe online exposure to your private life.

Maintaining your privacy when you surf the internet is a challenge. Fortunately, even a simple understanding of cookies will enable you to prevent others from monitoring your internet surfing. Without your knowledge, most cookies are relatively harmless, some of them, however, can be used by hackers to monitor your internet behavior. This article describes how cookies work and gives you some practical advice on keeping safe on the internet.

What are Internet Cookies?

Cookies are tiny data files a web server creates and dispatches to a web browser. These browsers keep the cookies they get for a set amount of time, or until the user is active on the site. They include these cookies with any subsequent requests from the user to the server. Cookies provide website information about the visitor, allowing the sites to tailor the experience for the user. For instance, online shopping sites use cookies to track items added to the shopping cart. Moreover, certain cookies are essential for security, like authentication cookies.

The cookies utilized on the web are also referred to as "HTTP cookies." Like the rest of the web, cookies are transmitted using the HTTP protocol.

What are Magic Cookies and HTTP Cookies?

In general, cookies serve the same function but are utilized in various scenarios:

Magic cookies are an ancient computing term for data packets exchanged without alteration. They were traditionally employed during the login process to computer databases, like those found in a company's internal network. This term is older than the "cookie" we know in today's era.

HTTP cookies are a newer rendition of the "magic cookie" designed specifically for modern web browsing. In 1994, Lou Montulli, a web browser developer, drew from the "magic cookie" concept to develop the HTTP cookie while assisting an online shopping platform with server capacity issues. This is the cookie type we usually think of now. However, it's also how cybercriminals could monitor your online behavior and exploit your data.

What are HTTP Cookies?

HTTP cookies, also known as internet cookies, are specifically designed by web browsers to monitor, customize, and retain details about each user's visit. A "session" refers to the duration of time spent on a website. These cookies are made to recognize you when you visit a new site. The server hosting the site's information sends a brief stream of identifying details to your web browser, which is then stored as cookies. This identifying information, sometimes referred to as "browser cookies," is processed and read using "name-value" pairs. These pairs instruct the cookies on where to send the data and what information to retrieve.

Therefore, your web browser will keep them locally to remember the "name-value pair" that identifies you. Upon returning to the site later, your web browser sends back the cookie data to the site's server, which then retrieves your data from previous visits.

Where are Cookies Stored?

Internet browsers keep cookies in a specific file on users' devices. For example, Google Chrome keeps all cookies in a file named "Cookies." Chrome users can see the cookies held by the browser by launching developer tools, selecting the "Application" tab, and then choosing "Cookies" from the left-hand menu.

What is First-Party vs. Third-Party Cookies?

These Types of Cookies are Classified Based on the Source

• First-party cookies: First-party cookies are cookies created by the website you are on at the moment. That is, the URL in a First-party cookie will correspond to the domain of the website. Often, websites use these cookies to keep track of how users move around their site, actions done by users across visits to the site, and more.

• Third-party cookies: Third-party cookies are those cookies created by a different website other than the one the user is visiting. These would usually be the advertiser, publisher, and ad technology company serving the ads in targeted advertising. It can also mean companies or services facilitating the integration of third-party services or functions into the visited website. Third-party cookies are often known as tracking cookies, used to track user activity across the internet for advertisements and marketing purposes. Because such cookies are capable of being placed by third parties if the user does not directly visit the site where those cookies come from, debates concerning privacy concerns arise.

Types of Internet Cookies

Cookies are commonly classified by their defining characteristics, such as how they are created, how long they exist on a user's machine, or what function they serve. The following is a summary of the most common cookies:

Cookies are Classified Based on the Expiration Period

• Session cookies: Session cookies, also known as temporary cookies or non-persistent cookies, are cookie files that are set to expire once a user closes their session. A session begins when a user visits a website or web application and concludes when they exit the site or close their browser. These cookies are designed to track and remember a user's online behavior and recall their activities or preferences throughout their browsing session. Mainly, session cookies enable websites to retain a user's position within the site when they navigate between pages. They also store a user's selections in their shopping cart while they browse different pages on the site, even if the user is not logged in.

• Persistent Cookies: Persistent cookies, also called permanent cookies, survive for a much longer period on the computer compared to session cookies. On average, persistent cookies have a lifespan varying from just a second to several years. At the set time, they are cleared from the computer. These are the cookies that remain in the user's device, help identify the user, and keep the data, preferences, settings, or login information in consideration for the user's next site visit. So, persistent cookies support the enhancement of the user experience on the sites, making it more efficient and smooth.

Cookies are Classified Based on the Purpose

• Strictly necessary cookies: Strictly cookies, as the term implies, are vital for a website to operate properly. They assist users in moving around the site and offer fundamental functionalities like logging in, selecting products for purchase, proceeding to checkout, and processing payments, among others. Strictly cookies are cookies that are not subject to cookie consent.

• Performance cookies: Performance cookies (also known as statistics cookies) enable sites to keep track of users, enhancing their online experience. These cookies help sites gather anonymous data on user behavior, page views, and any issues or difficulties users face while navigating the site, to assess its performance. This data is then utilized to refine the site's functionality and to better grasp user interests and needs, ensuring successful communication and the provision of products or services.

• Functional cookies: Functional cookies, also known as preference cookies, are categorized as types of cookies that play a crucial role in the proper operation of a website. These cookies, in line with their title, improve the website's efficiency and user experience by aiding in its performance and usability. They are responsible for enabling websites to recall user information such as login details like usernames and passwords, as well as a user's preferred site settings like their language or geographical location. Although functionality cookies do not monitor website navigation across other sites, they are also deployed by external service providers whose offerings are integrated into the website.

• Advertising/Tracking cookies: Advertising cookies (targeting or tracking cookies) are tools that websites employ to monitor the user's online activities and behaviors to create a profile that reflects the user's interests. This profiling is then used to display ads on other websites that are of interest to the user. These cookies are commonly installed by third-party advertising networks such as Google Ads, Amazon Publisher Services, and Media.net, which in turn are placed by the website in question. These cookies are often made to last and are generally placed on a user's device by external parties. Although they do not directly store personal data, they are capable of uniquely identifying a user based on their browser, device, location, patterns of browsing, preferences for certain browsers, and other related details.

What are Some Other Types of Cookies?

Authentication cookies

Authentication cookies play a key role in handling user interactions, they come into being every time a user signs into their account through their internet browser. They guarantee that private data is sent to the right user sessions by linking account details to a cookie identifier.

Supercookies

Supercookies are not cookies since they don't get installed and saved on web browsers. Instead, they utilize Unique Identifier Headers or UIDH, which embed data from a user's device and the service it's linked to. Unlike regular cookies that are not transferable to other sites, UIDH is accessible to any site that asks for it. Supercookies have sparked numerous privacy worries due to their difficult removal. They can't be cleared by removing the browser's cache, and they're not blocked by ad blockers or privacy monitoring tools.

Zombie cookies

Zombie cookies get their nickname from their knack for resurrecting! They're third-party cookies that are positioned beyond the web browser's usual cookie storage area. Unlike regular cookies, they remain untouched because they're lurking outside the standard cookie storage. Zombie cookies can easily dodge any limitations or third-party cookie-blocking features in browsers when they're recreated. These cookies have the power to monitor a user's online activities across every browser on their device. Ad networks employ zombie cookies to collect detailed profiles of people visiting websites.

Flash cookies

These are cookies kept and retrieved by Adobe Flash, the browser extension utilized by platforms like YouTube. Flash cookies are Local Shared Objects (LSOs) that allow Flash applications to save data locally. Flash cookies are employed to tailor the user experience, yet they may also keep track of the websites you browse and remain active even after you disable web cookies or choose to avoid ad tracking.

Secure cookies

Cookies with a secure attribute are designed to guarantee that they are only transmitted via a secure SSL connection. This attribute is consistently enabled to guarantee that the cookies are sent with encrypted connections, eliminating any security concerns. These cookies are specifically for HTTP and HTTPS, which is why they are referred to as HTTP only.

How do Internet Cookies Work?

Whenever someone visits or interacts with a website, a brief text file is sent to the website and saved in the user's web browser. Subsequent visits to the site allow the server to access the cookie saved in the browser, enabling it to retrieve data about the user, like their previous activities on the site.

1. The browser of the web requests to the server of the site so that it can look at the site.

2. The server creates cookies using data packets and returns them.

3. The page appears on the browser, and the browser receives the cookies, saving them on the user's device.

What Are Cookies Used For?

Websites employ HTTP cookies to enhance your online experiences. These cookies would make certain, that in their absence, you would have to log in every time you left a site, or if you happened to shut the page while shopping, you would have to recreate your shopping cart.

The following Beof are the uses of cookies:

• Session management: Cookies perform several indispensable functions. For instance, they enable a website to recognize you and remember your login information and web page preferences such as whether your home page is showing sports news as opposed to politics.

• Personalization: The primary function of cookies in personalizing your online experience is through customized advertising. Cookies use your browsing history to recommend products or sections of a site that you might find appealing, and they also cater to your language preferences.

• Tracking: E-commerce website cookies can remember all the products that you viewed on their website so that next time they can recommend other similar products that could interest you. Cookies hold all the items in your shopping cart as one navigates around the site and has numerous other features with them. Cookies keep track of and analyze the performance of one's website, from the amount of times each web page is viewed to how much time is spent on a single page.

Cookies are stored locally on your device to free up space on the website's servers. This setup allows websites to shortlist content while reducing costs associated with server maintenance and storage.

How to Enable or Disable Cookies Settings in Browser

In the Chrome Mobile App

1. If you're using an Android phone or tablet, launch the Chrome app.
2. In the top right corner, select More Settings.
3. Choose Site Settings from the options.
4. Select Cookies to manage them.
5. Decide whether to enable or disable cookies.

In the Chrome Web Browser

1. Open the Chrome web browser on your computer.
2. In the top right corner, select More Settings. Under "Privacy and security," select Site Settings.
3. Select Cookies to manage them.
4. From this point, you can manage cookies by toggling them on or off: Click the switch next to "Blocked" to enable cookies.

To disable cookies, click "Allow sites to save and read cookie data."

What Impact Do Cookies Have on User Privacy?

As noted above, cookies can memorize a user's internet actions, for advertising purposes among others. Despite this fact, a large number of users dislike the fact their internet actions are being tracked. Additionally, users often have limited or no insight into how the data gathered by tracking services is utilized. Even in instances where cookie-based tracking is not directly linked to an individual's identity or device, certain tracking methods might still enable the connection of a user's browsing history to their actual identity. This data could be exploited in various harmful ways, ranging from intrusive advertising to the surveillance, stalking, or intimidation of users.

Certain regulations, such as the EU's ePrivacy Directive, tackle and regulate the implementation of cookies. According to this rule, visitors must agree to "informed consent" They need to be made aware of the website's cookie practices and agree to this for the website to proceed with its use of cookies. However, an exception to this regards cookies that are considered "strictly necessary" for the website to function. The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) views identifiers in a cookie as personal data, which means that the use of cookies falls under the regulation inside the EU.

How Can They Be Used Maliciously?

Web cookies enhance your internet experience by serving better content tailored to your tastes and making your navigation smoother. But these functionalities, on the flip side, can pose threats to your data security and privacy. Here are a few dangers associated with cookie usage.

• Websites might transfer the data gathered from their cookies to external entities.
• Unprotected websites might employ cookies to intercept and exploit your private data.
• Hacking attempts can masquerade as cookies to gain unauthorized access to your information.

How to Protect Yourself From Internet Cookies?

Disabling online tracking cookies isn't always straightforward. Certain sites might demand you to agree to them to view their content. However, there are steps you can take to keep your data safe from harmful tracking cookies.

• When a site prompts you to "accept all cookies," search for a choice labeled "accept only necessary cookies" and select that instead
• Whenever feasible, attempt to block or turn off cookie usage
• Make sure the sites that necessitate cookie acceptance have an HTTPS address and feature a padlock at the beginning of their URL
• Remove cookies stored in your browser to shield yourself from unsecured or unfamiliar sites
• Regularly clear your browser cache to maintain security.

Conclusion

Cookies are short text documents saved on a user's web browser on their device whenever they visit a website. These documents hold information that the website can use to recall the user's login details, the items in the shopping cart, and other preferences. Cookies allow websites to offer a tailored experience by keeping track of the user's site interactions. Cookies are a component of the Internet and are not always avoidable. It's crucial to be aware of harmful cookies to ensure a pleasant online experience. Remain alert while browsing the internet and prioritize your online security.