Geek Speak: CookiesBy Josefina Hellensberg

What is a cookie?

Unlike delicious oatmeal/raisin cookies, computer cookies are small text based files

The cookie variants

Session cookie

Persistent cookie

Secure cookie

HttpOnly cookie

Third-party cookie

Super cookie

Zombie cookie

The man behind the cookie

Lou Montulli

Developer for Netscape Communications

Wrote the initial Netscape cookie in 1994

What are the pros?

Cookies help personalize web browsing

Saves the user time

Provide customer feedback to businesses

What are the cons?

No explicit warning to users that their activity is being monitored

Privacy concerns

…So are cookies good or bad?

Cookies are mostly good

Certain types and uses of cookies are considered bad

References

http://www.whatarecookies.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDMqw26PHYU&feature=relmfu

http://www.877geeksonsite.com/computer-repair-blog/spyware-removal/cookies-the-pros-and-cons/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_cookie

http://ezinearticles.com/?Computer-Cookies:-Are-They-Good-or-Bad?&id=82854