A cookie is basically a message about your Internet activity. When you visit a website, the server passes this small item of information along to your web browser. It is stored on your computer and when you go to another page, it is passed back again.
People who have websites can gather the information they need from using cookies. They can find out which pages get the most hits and which pages get repeat hits. This enables them to conduct their business more successfully. Cookies also store information you have provided to the website. For instance if you’ve done some online shopping your information is stored in a cookie and passed back to that website the next time you visit. This saves you from having to enter the same information over and over.
The only website that can read a cookie is the one that created it in the first place. The only information that can be in a cookie is what you provide, so if you choose to shop online, then that information will be stored in a cookie. If you don’t shop online, but have your personal information stored elsewhere on your computer, no cookie can access that information. A server can only read the specific information in the cookie, not anything else on your computer.
Cookies do not contain executable code, so cannot contain a virus. If you are thinking that you don’t like any website to track your movements through the use of cookies, then they have always been able to track movements of the people who visit, but using a cookie makes it easier.
You need to enable cookies if you want to shop online or even browse easily. If cookies are disabled, many website features such as shopping carts, don’t work. While some anti-spyware products can and do detect cookies, they are not spyware, nor can they be used for any virus or malware. They are not computer program either, but simply pieces of data.
Cookies can be stolen, poisoned or hi-jacked and changed by a malicious third party if the secure https is not used. In some cases what happens is that the total $ amount on a shopping basket may be changed to a smaller amount, thus depriving the website of its profit. While you may think that personal details may also be stolen, this is not usually the case because most of the personal information is stored on the server rather than in the cookie.
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