Download - COOKIES. INTERNET COOKIES What are they Where are they found What should you do about them
COOKIES
INTERNET COOKIES
• What are they
• Where are they found
• What should you do about them
INTERNET COOKIES
• MISCONCEPTION
• A SMALL PROGRAM
• SEARCHES FOR PERSONAL INFORMATION
• CAN HARM YOUR COMPUTER
• IDENTIFIES YOU TO BUISINESSES
INTERNET COOKIES
• ACTUAL DEFINITION
• Short pieces of data used by web servers to help identify web users
• Placed on your hard drive by server
• Identifies your IP address during your visit
• Helpful on shopping sites
INTERNET COOKIES
• WEB BROWSER REQUESTS A FILE FROM A SERVER
• IF NO COOKIE, SERVER ISSUES ONE
• COOKIE IS SENT TO SERVER- IF ALREADY EXISTENT
• SERVER READS COOKIE AND SENDS IT BACK WITH UPDATE
INTERNET COOKIES
• COOKIE EXPIRATION
• NO EXPIRATION DATE
• PERSISTENT
INTERNET COOKIES
WHO CAN SEE THE COOKIES?
Only the server that put the cookie on your hard drive.
Larger sites can set a domain attribute for other servers in the same subdomain
INTERNET COOKIES
• WHAT INFO CAN COOKIES RETURN?
• IP ADDRESS
• YOUR TYPE OF BROWSER
• OPERATING SYSTEM
• NUMBER OF VISITS TO WEB SITE
• VOLUNTEERED INFORMATION
INTERNET COOKIES
SHOPPING COOKIES
IDENTIFIES YOU WITH A NUMBER
KEEPS TRACK OF YOUR SHOPPING CART
AT CHECK OUT - IT LISTS YOUR SELECTIONS
INTERNET COOKIES
• WHY A BAD REPUTATION FOR COOKIES??
• WHEN USED AS A TRACKING DEVICE
• CAN SEE WHAT WEB PAGES YOU VISIT, HOW OFTEN, AND HOW LONG
• CLICKING ON AD BANNERS
• USED TO INFER YOUR INTERESTS
INTERNET COOKIES• THE IMFAMOUS DOUBLECLICK• LARGE PROVIDER WITH AD
BANNERS ON MANY SITES• COOKIES ARE VISBILE ON MULTIPLE
SITES FOR TRACKING• CAN SEE SEARCH STRINGS YOU
TYPE INTO SEARCH ENGINES• FORMS RICH PROFILES OF USERS• THREATENED TO PERSONALIZE
INTERNET COOKIES
• WHERE ARE THESE COOKIES ON YOUR HARD DRIVE??
• DEPENDS ON WEB BROWSER
• C:\WINDOWS\COOKIES
• C:\WINDOWS\PROFILES\COOKIES DIRECTORIES IN NT OR WINNT
INTERNET COOKIES
• WHAT TO DO ABOUT THEM
• IN BROWSER TOOLS\INTERNET OPTIONS\TEMPORARY INTERNET FILES-- DELETE THEM
• IN C:\WINDOWS\COOKIES, SELECTIVELY DELETE THEM
INTERNET COOKIES• MANAGE COOKIES FROM BROWSER
• TOOLS\INTERNET OPTIONS\PRIVACY\ADVANCED PROMT BEFORE ACCEPTING OR BLOCK
• REMEMBER SOME SITES REQUIRE COOKIES FOR ACCESS!!
INTERNET COOKIES
• MANY COOKIE TOOLS TO MANAGE COOKIES WITH
• AD-AWARE WILL FIND ALL SPYWARE AND TRACKING COOKIES http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware/
• WWW.COOKIECENTRAL.COM/FILES.HTM• WWW.GUIDESCOPE.COM/HOME/
INTERNET COOKIES
• P3P- PRIVACY PREFRENCES PROJECT
• EMERGING INDUSTRY STANDARD FOR USERS TO GAIN MORE CONTROL OVER THEIR PRIVATE INFORMATION
• IN IE 6.0 IT READS THE PRIVACY POLICY ON WEB SITES AND ALLOWS YOU TO SET YOUR TOLERANCE.