Notes

You Are Being Tracked! All About Cookies
YOU are Being Tracked! Cookies & Your Privacy

Since identity protection is every internet users right, it pays to be aware of what threats cookies can pose.

What are Cookies?
Cookies are small, often encrypted text files, located in browser directories. They are used by web developers to greatly help users navigate their websites efficiently and perform certain functions. balla berries Due to their core role of enhancing and enabling usability or site processes, disabling cookies may prevent users from using certain websites.

How are they Created?
Cookies are created when a user's browser loads a specific website. The web site sends information to the browser which in turn creates a text file. Each and every time the user dates back to the same website, the browser retrieves and sends this file to the website's server. Computer Cookies are created not just by the web site the user is browsing but also by other websites that run ads, widgets, or other elements on the page being loaded. These cookies determine how the ads appear or the way the widgets along with other elements function on the page.

Legitimate uses for Browser Cookies

Session Cookies:
Login information is stored in a cookie therefore the user can enter and leave the web site without having to re-enter the same authentication information over and over. These cookies may also save ordering information had a need to make shopping carts work instead of making the user to remember all the items the user put in the shopping cart software.

Tracking Cookies:
Are employed by the server to inform the server what pages showing the user so the user doesn't have to remember or start navigating the site all over again.
Tracking Cookies may also be employed to store user preferences. Many websites allow the user to customize how information is presented through site layouts or themes. These changes make the website simpler to navigate and/or lets user leave a few of the user's data at the site.

Privacy Issues:
Cookies work with a plain text format. They can not be executed. They cannot make copies of themselves and spread. Since they cannot perform these functions, they're not viruses.

Since they store information regarding a user's browsing preferences and history among several sites, cookies may be used to act as a form of spyware. Anti-spyware product companies know about this problem and flag these cookies for deletion after standard virus and/or spyware scans.
The way ethical and responsible web developers deal with privacy issues caused by cookie tracking is by including clear descriptions of how cookies are employed on their site.

Other cookie-based threats:
As cookies are transferred back and forth between an internet site and a browser, if an attacker hacks into the data transmission, the sensitive cookie information could be intercepted. Although relatively rare, this may happen if the browser is connecting to the server utilizing an unencrypted network for instance a non-secured WiFi channel.
Other cookie-based attacks may involve exploiting faulty cookie-setting systems on servers.

If a website does not require browsers to use only encrypted channels, attackers can use this vulnerability to trick browsers into sending sensitive information over insecure channels. The attackers then siphon off the sensitive data for criminal purposes.

Empower yourself with privacy:

Even probably the most innocent browsing has been watched by advertisers, identity thieves, data miners and spammers. There are a number of ways to gain control of your personal information, preventing others from collecting and using your data without your permission. Most browsers have privacy settings that provide different levels of cookie acceptance, expiration time, and disposal, but blocking cookies on your own browser could have undesirable results.

BLOCKING TRACKING should be your first priority. USUALLY DO NOT Track+ (DNT+) makes it easy to see and block who's trying to track you, in fact it is no cost from Abine, and is highly recommended. You will get it here: http://www.abine.com/products.php.
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