What are cookies?
Cookies may be delicious as baked goods but what about the other kind of cookie? Digital cookies are an essential part of any internet browsing experience. A computer cookie is simply a way to track your website activity.
When you visit a website, the web server transfers a small packet of data to your device’s browser: a computer cookie. This cookie is designed to remember information about you, including a record of your website visits and activity.
How Do Cookies Work?
Computer cookies are small files that can be sent back to the web server each time your browser requests a new page. It’s a way for a website to remember you, your preferences, and your habits online.
Are cookies bad?
While cookies sometimes get a bad rap, they’re not necessarily bad. In fact, they help tailor a website experience for you and track your browsing habits as you navigate the website. They also recognize your computer and enhance a website’s usability.
What are some pros of cookies?
Suggested products or content: If you’re on a shopping site that has a “related searches” feature, you’ll see results based on your cookies that are cross-referenced with other users who have similar shopping habits and preferences.
Customization: Cookies store valuable information like your location and currency preference so you don’t have to select these options every time you enter a site or start a session.
Form submission: If you’ve ever had to repeatedly fill out your information on a web form, you know how annoying it can be to type in your entire mailing and billing address over and over again. Cookies can save this information so it auto-fills the next time you’re on the site.
Online shopping: When you place a product in your online shopping cart but leave the site, you can typically come back to the cart and find everything still there. That’s thanks to cookies.
What are some drawbacks of cookies?
Storage drain: Because cookies are packets of information stored on your PC’s hard drive, they can eventually take up quite a bit of space. It’s a good practice to delete your cookies every once in a while to free up space on your hard drive.
Privacy: Most browsers simply accept cookies as a default setting, so your IP address and browsing history become public information.
Data collection: The biggest drawback with cookies is unauthorized data collection where websites sell the information they gather about you from cookies to third-parties.
To delete cookies in Microsoft Edge:
Open Microsoft Edge and select Settings and more > Settings > Privacy, search, and services.
Under Clear browsing data, select Choose what to clear.
Under Time range, choose a time range.
Select Cookies and other site data, and then select Clear now.
I have linked directions to several other web browsers below:
Deleting cookies can often fix issues you might be having with web based programs (like on-line banking, shopping sites, sites that require you to log in with a user name and password).
Village Tech can clear up your cookies and do a general file maintenance procedure on your computer for you, if desired.
