Cookies

Websites save information about you in files called cookies.

Websites save information about you in files called cookies.

They are saved on your computer for the next time you visit that site. Upon your return, the website code will read that file to see that it’s you. For example, when you go to a website, the page remembers your username and password – that’s made possible by a cookie.

Many galactic e-commerce shops use cookies to keep track of the items in a user’s shopping cart as they explore the site.

Without cookies, your shopping cart would reset to zero every time you clicked a new link on the site. That would make it difficult to buy anything online!

A website might also use cookies to keep a record of your most recent visit or to record your login credentials. Many people find this useful so that they can store passwords on frequently used sites, or simply so they know what they have visited or downloaded in the past.

There are types of cookies, like third-party cookies, that come from sites you’re not even visiting at the time and can track you from site to site to gather information about you.

Under normal circumstances, cookies cannot transfer viruses or malware to your computer. However, some viruses and malware may be disguised as cookies. For instance, “supercookies'' can be a potential security concern, and many browsers offer a way to block them. A “zombie cookie” is a cookie that recreates itself after being deleted, making them tough to manage.