Asked by: Mignon Lisboa
technology and computing browsers

What are cookies on a computer?

Last Updated: 18th May, 2020

37
Cookies are small files which are stored onauser's computer. They are designed to hold a modestamountof data specific to a particular client and website, and canbeaccessed either by the web server or theclientcomputer.

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Just so, are cookies bad?

Cookies in themselves are harmless. They arejustdata stored by a website in your browser, and they are notmalware.It is what sites do with them that determines whether welike themor not. Some cookies are essential to use a siteproperly,and others might be considered a privacyrisk.

Similarly, should I delete cookies from my computer? You should delete cookies if you no longerwantthe computer to remember your Internet browsing history.Ifyou are on a public computer, you shoulddeletecookies when you have finished browsing so later userswill nothave your data sent to websites when they usethebrowser.

In respect to this, what is the purpose of cookies on a computer?

A cookie (called an Internet or Web cookie) is thetermgiven to describe a type of message that is given to a webbrowserby a web server. The main purpose of a cookie is toidentifyusers and possibly prepare customized Web pages or to savesitelogin information for you.

How do I find cookies on my computer?

From the Chrome menu in the top right cornerofthe browser, select Settings. At the bottom of the page, clickShowadvanced settings. To manage cookie settings, check or unchecktheoptions under "Cookies". To view or removeindividualcookies, click All cookies and site dataand hoverthe mouse over the entry.

Related Question Answers

Ronan Catarino

Professional

Does deleting cookies delete passwords?

Deleting cookies removes sessionlogininformation, including the previously entered usernameandpassword. However, deleting cookies does notaffectpasswords you saved in your browser, so when yourevisit asite, your browser may automatically fill in the loginpage withyour saved username and password.

Claustre Pedrayes

Professional

Should I block cookies?

All web browsers have cookie settings that enable youtoallow them, block them, and sometimes selectively allowsomeand block others. Safari is no exception. The firstoptionis to always block cookies. This provides themaximumprivacy, but some websites do not work withthissetting.

Rolland Meijers

Professional

Should I accept cookies?

Cookies are files you can delete. You probablydonot want to block all cookies, because that wouldreallylimit the quality of your Internet experience. You can setyourbrowser to ask your permission before acceptingacookie though, and only accept them from Websitesyou trust.

Arcilia Quagliani

Explainer

How can I delete history?

Clear your history
  1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Chrome app .
  2. At the top right, tap More History. If your address bar isatthe bottom, swipe up on the address bar.
  3. Tap Clear browsing data.
  4. Next to "Time range," select how much history you wanttodelete.
  5. Check "Browsing history."
  6. Tap Clear data.

Rumyana Lindenfelser

Explainer

What happens if I don't allow cookies?

The flip-side of this is that some companies simplywon'tlet you use their website if you don't acceptacookie. It's generally because some websites simplywon'twork as intended without cookies. But for the mostpart,you'll still be able to access the majority of the internetwithoutaccepting cookies.

Korneliya Jouvin

Explainer

How do I eliminate cookies?

In the Chrome app
  1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Chrome app .
  2. At the top right, tap More .
  3. Tap History Clear browsing data.
  4. At the top, choose a time range. To delete everything,selectAll time.
  5. Next to "Cookies and site data" and "Cached images andfiles,"check the boxes.
  6. Tap Clear data.

Vitalino Joludev

Pundit

How do cookies track you?

Cookies are most commonly used totrackwebsite activity. When you visit some sites, theservergives you a cookie that acts as your identificationcard.Upon each return visit to that site, your browser passesthatcookie back to the server.

Xiufeng Monturiol

Pundit

How do I clear cookies on my phone?

How to clear the cache and cookies from yourAndroidphone
  1. Open the browser and click the Menu button on your phone.Tapthe More option.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Scroll down to the Privacy settings section and tap theClearcache option.
  4. Tap OK when prompted.
  5. Now tap the Clear all cookie data option.
  6. Again, tap OK.
  7. That's it – you're done!

Fineas Mendibil

Pundit

Why is it called a cookie?

Why Are They Called Cookies? Some peoplebelievethat the term cookies came from "magiccookies,"which are part of the UNIX operating system. Othersthink that thename originates from the story of Hansel and Gretel,who were ableto mark their trail through a dark forest by droppingcookiecrumbs behind them.

Yunier Irauregui

Pundit

What is cache and cookies?

Cookies and cache (or browsercache)are two forms of temporary storage kept on client'smachine toimprove the performance of web pages. Cookie is avery smallpiece of information that is stored on the client'smachine by theweb site and is sent back to the server each time apage isrequested.

Haitam Ouadi

Pundit

How do you set cookies?

Change your cookie settings
  1. On your computer, open Chrome.
  2. At the top right, click More Settings.
  3. At the bottom, click Advanced.
  4. Under "Privacy and security," click Site settings Cookies.
  5. Turn Allow sites to save and read cookie data on or off.

Gunnar Esteve

Teacher

How do cookies work?

Cookies are arbitrary pieces of data,usuallychosen and first sent by the web server, and stored on theclientcomputer by the web browser. The browser then sends them backtothe server with every request, introducing states (memoryofprevious events) into otherwise statelessHTTPtransactions.

Radu Grollm

Teacher

What were cookies first used for?

According to culinary historians, thefirsthistoric record of cookies was their useas testcakes. A small amount of cake batter was baked to testthe oventemperature. 7th Century A.D. – Theearliestcookie-style cakes are thought to date back to 7thcenturyPersia A.D.

Efrem Linzoain

Teacher

What does cookies mean in slang?

"Cookie" is the American term for aBritishbiscuit. It isn't slang. A cookie is codethatsomebody inserts into your computer, so they know what youhavebeen looking at, so they can send you advertisements youmightactually be interested in seeing. "Cookie" is areference toa young woman. It's a bit demeaning.

Sherlyn Feldkirchner

Reviewer

Do cookies slow down my computer?

Cookies do not slow yourbrowser.Cookies probably improve your browsingexperienceremarkably. Instead of speed, privacy is the factor youmayconcern. The most often used data is just stored on yourPC,which then makes your browser responsetimefaster.

Henrikas Ballve

Reviewer

Why is it important to clear cache and cookies?

Web browsers save cookies as files to yourharddrive. Cookies and the cache do help speed upyourweb browsing, but it's a good idea nonetheless toclearthese files now and then to free up hard disk space andcomputingpower while browsing the web.

Jonah Anaut

Reviewer

What happens when you clear cache?

Clear out all cached app data
The “cached” data used byyourcombined Android apps can easily take up more than a gigabyteofstorage space. These caches of data are essentiallyjustjunk files, and they can be safely deleted to free upstoragespace. Tap the Clear Cache button to take outthetrash.

Gabina Cubertorer

Reviewer

How do you clear the cache on your computer?

Go to Settings and choose Apps or ApplicationManager.Swipe to the All tab. In the list ofinstalledapps, find and tap your web browser. TapClear Dataand then Clear Cache.

Valvanuz Soley

Supporter

Does browsing history slow down computer?

Caches helps make things faster and easier to get to,buttoo much in your cache could be slowing yourcomputerdown. The same goes for temporary Internet files. InWindows,close all the Internet browsers, open up“InternetOptions” and click delete in the“BrowsingHistory” section.

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18th May, 2020

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