Tracking cookies

[Potatoman]

I have no idea where they come from, but the other day Adaware found a few tracking cookies on my PC and deleted them. What are they and how do they compromise my security? I though the were simply text files. Norton didnt catch them either.

[fo3nix]

people tend to get very worried about cookes, with no need to.

they are created when you visit certain websites. for example, if you visit amazon.co.uk, and sign in, how does it remember your name from page to page? or, you come back to the site a few days later and it's still saying "welcome bob."

It does this via cookies. when you type in certain information, it stores it in a cookie, on your computer. when you next goto that site, that site can have a look to see if that cookie exists (if you've been there before). if it does, it can read what the cookie is holding, a name for example. A cookie can only hold very small amounts of information. and they never store viruses or your credit card info or things like that.

Some people just dont want it storing your name, but whats the problem with that? You had to give them it for it to store it in the first place, and only they can access it.

[AngelofDeath]

A Tracking Cookie, also known as a Spyware Cookie, is any Cookie that is placed on your computer by a 3rd party not directly related to the web site you're currently viewing. The intention of this cookie is to track your movement as you surf between sites.

Tracking Cookies are mainly used to collect data regarding user tendencies such as Web Sites visited and behavioral activity. This valuable marketing data can then be used by the 3rd party to display highly targeted advertisements via Adware and/or Spyware Software.

The main problem with these is that they relay the data they collect back to the 3rd party, thus tying up processor time and your internet bandwidth. One or two may not even be noticeable, but larger quantities of them will take up more resources.

Have you tried Microsoft Anti-spyware (Beta). It is free and actively blocks tracking cookies and other spyware. It does not remove the useful cookies as described by fo3nix. Try this link if you are interested. (By the way it only works with Windows 2000 or Windows XP).

http://tinyurl.com/6fuq4