What are cookies and how to enable them? Computer educational program. How to enable cookies in different browsers? What are files and how to install cookie support yourself

Probably everyone has at least once had problems with a browser that did not want to open a website page. And to solve this problem, it is often advised to clear your cookies. What is this strange word, and how can it help?

What is it?

Cookies are a small set of information that the browser receives from the site server. This information includes the user’s personal data (i.e. login and password), data on the number of visits, time spent on the site, etc. Using this information, the server will recognize the user in the future using the saved login and password, due to which you can easily and simply log into the site. A convenient thing, but it can bring some inconvenience:

  • over time, a large number of cookies begin to take up a lot of space and clutter up the computer, which can cause it to freeze;
  • during their failure, there may be problems with identification and login to the site;
  • they save the entire history of browsing on the Internet, which can be used by outsiders;
  • thanks to them, user logins and passwords are saved on different services, which gives the right to any visitor to log in under the “call sign” of the computer owner.

It is because of such inconveniences that you need to clear your browser cookies from time to time. However, each browser does this differently.

Google Chome and Yandex browser

These two programs differ only in the built-in search engine and external design. Their internal settings are the same. If you wish, you can install both and make sure of this. In the upper right corner, click on the wrench or 3 horizontal stripes. A drop-down menu opens, in which you need to click “Settings”, after which we find ourselves in the program settings. Scroll to the bottom and click “Show advanced settings”. As you can see, the page has turned down.

Somewhere just below we find the “Personal Data Protection” section and click “Content Settings...” Here you will need the very first section called “Cookies” and click on the “Show cookies and site data...” button. Here you can find out about cookies, what they are and which site they are linked to. We hover over each one and delete one at a time or click the “Delete all” button (in a more recent version of the program this button is not present). Now you can sit back and continue to do your business.

Opera

Opera browser cookies are cleaned in much the same way as in Chrome. Click on the button with the Opera icon or inscription, after which you need to click “Settings” in the drop-down menu. Here, if you are interested, you can view the settings, but they are not needed now. There is a small menu on the left where you need to select “Security”. Here you can view your browsing history, passwords and manage cookies. You can also read what this is by clicking “More details...” and following the link.

Click “All cookies and site data...”. A window opens showing all these files and linking them to the site. If you need to delete specific ones, hover the cursor over the required one and click on the cross on the right at the end. But you can clear them completely by clicking the “Delete All” button. Click “Finish”. There are now no cookies in this browser. You can also create multiple exceptions for sites. For example, all sites should be allowed to save cookies, but two, for some special reason, should be prohibited.

Mozilla Firefox

Clearing browser cookies in Mozilla is somewhat different than in previous programs. Cookies, as always, are in the settings. Click on the button with three horizontal stripes in the upper right corner and select “Settings”. After this, a separate window will open where you can see a bunch of different tabs. Since we need cookies, we switch to the “Privacy” tab. And we are looking for the not very noticeable inscription “You may want to delete individual cookies,” which is highlighted in blue. Click and another window opens called “Cookies”.

Here you can see folders with the names of sites; by double-clicking on them, you can see the number of cookies, what exactly they are and which site they relate to. If you select a cookie, information about the domain, expiration date, path, etc. will appear below. You can select one or more and click “Remove Selected”, after which they will disappear. Or click “Delete all” - and the list of cookies will be empty. Then close unnecessary windows and continue working on the Internet.

Recover login and password using cookies

There is an opinion that cookies will save the user’s login and password, which you can look at and take for yourself, and then use this stolen data to log into someone else’s account and do something really weird there. Like, this is done as follows.

The page whose account is to be stolen (mail.ru, vk.com, etc.) must be open. At this time, you need to enter the document write document cookie script into the command line. A page will appear with a bunch of strange characters, where remixemail = email address and remixpass = password. After this, you need to copy this data, come to your home, open the site page, change the data to this and refresh the page.

So, if you enter document write document cookie on the command line, then none of this will work, and there will be no remixmail and remixpass lines at all. They say this worked on Opera 9.64, but now its versions are 30 and higher.

There is also a misconception that the document cookies file, which is located in “My Documents” on the system drive, contains a list of logins and passwords. Unfortunately (or fortunately), they are not there.

What else can cookies do?

At their core, they are a text document that in itself means nothing. They gain real value when they transmit information from the server to the browser and vice versa. However, this information may differ depending on the purpose of the site that is located on this server. A javascript cookie will help with this. It will help you do the following useful things:

  • Help with creating online stores. Namely, create an order basket, into which the product you like is added when you click on the “Add to cart” button.
  • It’s very nice to see expanded profile options on the service, that is, not only the banal full name, gender and year of birth, but also favorite books, films, about yourself, etc.
  • javascript cookies will help improve advertising on the site by adding targeting, tracking user interests based on search queries and the number of clicks on advertising banners, etc.
  • Don’t forget to save your username and password for quick login to the service.

Thus, with the help of cookie write and javascript, you can improve your online store or blog quite well.

Better with them than without them

Of course, cookies are a useful thing, but only in combination with the browser and the server on which the service is located. However, do not forget that they need to be cleaned from time to time. Few people know that they have their own expiration date, after which new ones appear. But outdated ones do not disappear anywhere, and the browser still accesses them, spending some time on this. And this, in turn, slows down the program and page loading. In addition, this useless data also takes up extra space on the system disk.

Cookies can be cleared not only through the browser. There are special programs that remove unnecessary cookies, cache and other unnecessary files. One such utility is CCleaner. This is done easily: start the program, click “Cleaning” or “Run cleaner” - and you’re done.

Cookies are small pieces of information stored on web browsers that help track user behavior. Cookies are used by advertisers and web analytics to aggregate information about users' likes and dislikes.

What is a cookie?

Cookie is a term used in computer jargon for an intermediary that holds some data. They were first introduced into the Internet browsing experience by Netscape.

The http (hypertext transfer protocol) protocol allows computers to communicate on the Internet. Whenever you visit a site, an http header will be added to the site's cookies to collect and store certain information. This cookie will be added to the list of cookies that are already present on your computer.

Tracking cookies are created when a browser visits a particular website and that website sends information to the browser. This information is then saved as a text file. When a user visits the same website again, the information is retrieved and sent to the website's server. Tracking cookies may be created by advertisements, widgets, and other elements when site pages are loaded. The process of creating cookies occurs almost instantly, so that the user is not even aware that information has been sent, received and stored on his computer.

What are cookies used for?

Tracking cookies are used by many websites to bookmark pages of interest to the user, ultimately providing a better user experience. However, the real use of these cookies is to help websites advertise more effectively. This helps advertisers track products that are most likely to be purchased. This helps them improve their advertising strategy. This happens most of the time on sites like Amazon and Ozone. Some sites use cookies to collect demographic information.

Where are they stored?

These files are stored in a specific location depending on the Internet browser used. For Internet Explorer users, cookies are placed in folders called cookies, containing separate text files for each cookie. In Windows XP, each user has an individual cookie folder in \Documents and Settings\[username]\cookie\.

In the case of Internet Explorer, cookies are stored in temporary files in the Internet folder. The Mozilla browser uses cookies.txt for each cookie, which spans one or more lines within a single file. The location of cookies in this case depends on the version and type of browser.

User Privacy Issues

Cookie tracking may have some useful features, but it also has a negative side. Although no user's personal information is tracked, some privacy issues still arise. Many websites build market profiles using these files.

This prompted the FDC to come up with stricter legislation related to privacy issues related to cookies. Many online stores use user personal information for profiling. When people enter their name, address, and even credit card number to make a purchase, there is always the threat that this information could be sold to another site. This may result in unwanted emails (spam) from companies offering similar products.

How to remove them

To remove these files, all you need to do is click on the Tools button in Internet Explorer and select the security option. Then, click on the "Delete browsing history" button. Or simply press Ctrl+Shift+Del on your keyboard and confirm deletion. In case of Firefox browser, you need to open the menu and then select the Settings option. Here, click on the "Privacy" tab in the sidebar and click on the "delete your recent history" button. For Opera - Menu - Other tools - Clear browsing history. Or Ctrl+Shift+Del.

In Internet Explorer, you can block third-party cookies by clicking Tools and selecting Security. There, click on the “Enable Tracking Protection” tab. This will bring up a window where you can select options that will prevent sites from setting cookies on your computer. The same settings are available in other browsers.

You can even use antivirus software to automatically block and delete cookies. Make sure you have controls in place to know who is sharing what information from your computer, for your own safety.

Cookies(cookies) are ordinary text files on a computer created by a web server, which are located in a hidden folder in the browser. They store data about sites visited by browsers. At first glance, they seem like useless garbage, but they greatly simplify the life of the average user.

1. Why are Cookies needed?

Cookies store service information, which most often contains:

  • Saved passwords and logins
  • Maintaining statistics about users
  • Settings for the site (themes, widgets, saves, past search queries, etc.)
  • Clicks on advertisements may also be saved in Cookies for the purpose of later displaying other relevant advertisements
  • Addresses of pages visited by the user

2. Cookie Security

Cookies cannot be viruses or spyware because they are simply text files. However, they pose a threat, because contain encrypted passwords and logins.

If traffic transmitted from a computer to the Internet is not encrypted, then hackers can read the cookie.

Each user can disable the use of cookies in their browser settings or choose one of the following options:

  • Completely disabling cookies
  • Clear all cookies when exiting the browser
  • Prohibition or restriction on the use of third-party cookies
  • Creating a “white” and/or “black” list of sites from which cookies will either be allowed or blocked.
  • Setting limited cookie lifetimes.

3. How to clear Cookies

It is better to clean Cookies periodically so as not to clog your computer with information. Every browser has this feature. Let's look at the instructions for each browser.

3.1. Clearing cookies in Opera

1. Open "Tools" and click "Settings"

2. Click "Security".

3. Scroll down and find “All Cookies and Site Data”.

4. Here we can delete individual cookies or clear the entire history.

3.2. Cleaning cookies in Internet Explorer 8

1. Select “Tools” from the menu and “Internet Options” from the drop-down menu.

2. In the “General” tab in the “Browsing History” section, click the “Delete” button.

3. Select the option to delete cookies.

3.3. Clearing cookies in Mozilla Firefox

2. Select "Privacy".

4. Click "Delete all".

3.4. Clearing cookies in Google Chrome

1. Open "Settings".

3. Select the Personal data section, here click on the “Clear history” button

4. Select what we want to delete and click “Clear history”

3.5. Universal cleaning method

To clear cookies, you can use the special Clean Master program (you can download it on the official website). You may have already heard such a program from Android applications.

The Clean Master program is free and in Russian. I recommend it to everyone to use.

4. Where are cookies located on your computer?

Cookie location in Google Chrome browser

Windows XP C:\Documents and Settings\(Your_profile)\Application Data\Chromium\ Windows 7 C:\Users\(Your_profile)\AppData\Local\Chromium\User Data\Default\Cache\

Cookie location in the Opera browser

Windows XP C:\Documents and Settings\(Your_profile)\Application Data\Opera\ Windows 7 C:\Users\(Your_profile)\AppData\Local\Opera\Opera\cache\

Cookie location in Firefox browser

Windows XP C:\Documents and Settings\(Your_profile)\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ Windows 7 C:\Users\(Your_profile)\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\

Cookie location in Internet Explorer browser

Windows XP C:\Documents and Settings\Cookies\ Windows 7 C:\Users\(Your_profile)\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies\

Almost every Windows user has encountered the concept of cookies. What they are, why they are needed and why it is advisable to clean them, read within the framework of this publication.

Cookies - what are they?

A cookie is a text file with data that is written to the browser by the server of the site you visit. These data are:

  • login and password information;
  • individual settings and user preferences;
  • visit statistics, etc.

Using this data, the site you visited will be able to identify you. This happens as follows:

  • the site server queries the browser for information in the cookie file;
  • the browser provides this information by sending a response to the server;
  • Depending on what information the site server receives, you will be identified or become a new person for the site (if the cookies are cleared).

The main parameter of a cookie is its expiration date. By default, this is one computer session. Files are deleted when the browser is closed. If they have an expiration date, they become permanent and are deleted upon expiration or by the browser cleanup function.

What are they needed for?

First of all, they are needed for the convenience of using the Internet. For example, once you log into your profile on the site, you will not need to constantly enter your login and password after closing the tab.

Also, thanks to cookies, individual account settings are saved. For example, some sites offer to add to favorites, change the design, change the interface using such files with an expiration date.

Where are cookies stored?

Files are saved in a custom folder. Each browser has its own path:

  • Opera C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Opera Software\Opera
  • Google Chrome C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Chromium
  • Yandex.Browser C:\Users\User_Name\AppData\Local\Yandex\YandexBrowser
  • Mozilla Firefox C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Mozilla\Firefox

Why clean?

It is advisable to clear your cookies from time to time. In addition to being useful, they can also cause some inconvenience:

  1. They provide quick access to your profiles without entering a login and password. If a stranger is at your computer, he will be able to access your personal data.
  2. In addition, if an unauthorized person ends up on your computer, you can track your browsing history using the uncleaned cookies. This is bad from a privacy perspective.
  3. If the site processes your cookie file incorrectly, you may not be able to log into your profile, or some functions on the web service will not work correctly.

How to clear cookies?

Here's an example of cleaning for popular browsers:

  1. Opera. Ctrl+H → Clear history → Cookies and other data from sites.
  2. Google Chrome. Ctrl+H → Clear history → Cookies, as well as other data from sites and plugins.
  3. Yandex browser. Ctrl+H → Clear history → Cookies and other data from sites and modules.
  4. Mozilla Firefox. Ctrl+Shift+Del → Cookies.

How to disable?

In general, the creation of cookies can be disabled in the browser. This feature is available in all popular browsers, so there shouldn't be any problems. But after turning off this function, some sites may stop working, since they interact with the user exclusively using cookies.

Cookies- a small piece of data created by a web server and stored on the user’s computer as a file, which a web client (usually a web browser) sends to the web server in an HTTP request each time it tries to open a page on the corresponding site. Used to save data on the user side, in practice it is usually used for:

  • user authentication;
  • storing personal preferences and user settings;
  • tracking the state of the user's access session;
  • maintaining statistics about users;
  1. What are cookies used for?
    Websites use cookies to provide a personalized experience and to collect information about site traffic. Many Web sites also use these files to store information that allows different sections of the site to interact, such as the shopping cart or user pages. Cookies from trusted sites provide a better browsing experience by using information about a user's personal preferences or by allowing users to automatically log into a site. However, some cookies, such as those stored by banner ads, may compromise user privacy by tracking the Web sites visited.
  2. Should all cookies be blocked?
    Not always. Blocking all cookies protects your privacy but limits the functionality of some websites. We recommend that you carefully select the websites that allow you to store cookies. You can start by blocking all cookies and then allow them for trusted sites as needed.
  3. What are temporary cookies?
    Temporary, or session, cookies are deleted from your computer when you close your browser. Web sites use them to store temporary information, such as items in a shopping cart.
  4. What are persistent cookies?
    Persistent, or persistent, cookies remain on your computer after you close your web browser. Web sites use them to store information, such as an account name and password, so that the user does not have to log in every time they visit a particular site. Persistent cookies can remain on your computer for days, months or even years.
  5. What are essential cookies?
    Essential cookies are stored by the website you are browsing and can be either permanent or temporary. Websites may use these cookies to store information the next time you visit a particular site.
  6. What are third party cookies?
    Third-party cookies are stored by advertising components (such as pop-up windows or banner ads) that are loaded on the website you are browsing. Websites often use these cookies to collect site traffic information for advertising purposes.
  7. Privacy and third party cookies
    Cookies have a significant impact on the privacy and anonymity of Internet users. Although cookies are only sent to servers in the domain for which they are intended, a web page may load images or other components from other domains. Cookies received when these components are loaded from other domains are called "third-party" cookies.

    Advertising companies use third-party cookies to track user movements across websites. In particular, an advertising company can track users on all sites where their advertising banners are installed. Knowing the pages visited by the user allows you to change the focus of advertising depending on the user’s preferences.

    User profiling is considered a potential privacy risk even when tracking within a single domain, but is especially true when tracking across multiple domains using third-party cookies. For this reason, in some countries cookies are regulated by law.

    The United States government passed strict cookie laws in 2000 after it was discovered that the US Drug Enforcement Agency was using cookies to track users who viewed their anti-drug advertisements online. In 2002, Daniel Brandt discovered that the CIA was installing persistent cookies on computers with a shelf life of up to 2010. When the CIA was notified of the illegality of this use of cookies, the agency stated that it was unintentional and stopped setting them. On December 25, 2005, Brandt discovered that the National Security Agency was leaving a pair of persistent cookies behind after a software update. Following this message, the Agency immediately disabled cookies.

    The European Union's Electronic Privacy Directive of 2002 contains regulations regarding the use of cookies. In particular, Article 5(3) states that data (including cookies) can only be stored if:

    1. the user is provided with information about how this data is used;
    2. the user has the opportunity to refuse this;
    However, this article also states that the storage of technically necessary data is exempt from these regulations. The Directive was expected to come into force in October 2003, but a December 2004 report notes that these provisions have not been implemented in practice and that in some States these provisions have not been incorporated into national legislation. The report suggests a thorough analysis of the situation in the states participating in the treaty.

    The P3P specification includes the ability for the web server to notify the browser of a privacy violation, indicating the nature of the information being collected and the purpose for the collection. This includes the use of information obtained through cookies. According to the P3P specification, the browser can accept or reject cookies according to user settings or ask the user.

  8. Misconceptions
    Since the advent of cookies, various rumors have begun to spread in the media and the Internet. In 1998, the United States Department of Energy's Computer Division (CIAC) stated that cookies were not dangerous and explained that "information about where you come from and what Web pages you visit is already stored in the log files of Web servers." . In 2005, the results of a study were published, according to which a significant percentage of respondents are confident that:
    • cookies, like worms and viruses, can erase data from the user’s hard drive;
    • cookies cause pop-ups;
    • cookies are used for email spam;
    • cookies are used for advertising only;
    In reality, cookies are only data, not software code: they cannot erase or read information from the user's computer. However, cookies make it possible to track which web pages a user views on a given site, and this information may be stored in the user's profile. Such profiles are often anonymous and do not contain users' personal information (name, address, etc.). More precisely, they cannot contain it until the user has made this information available. But even though they are anonymous, these profiles have become the subject of controversy over maintaining privacy.

 

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