In the language of cyberspace or the internet, we usually find various terms, one of which is the term cookie. These cookies will appear in the form of a notification notification when someone is entering or browsing the website. However, not everyone understands the meaning of cookies and their function, so it is not uncommon for them to avoid or allow access to cookies without knowing it.
Therefore, if you find a warning notification that the website you are currently visiting wants to request or notify that they are using cookies, you should pay attention to that first. Do not carelessly allow the use of cookies because this could have a dangerous impact on your device and enter the system and hack it.
There are many possibilities that could threaten, starting from the website containing viruses or malware that is infiltrated to damage systems and devices, or sites that are not legal. Sending cookies in advance can help you determine your next steps. To avoid intrusion via cookies, let’s get to know what browser cookies are, their functions, purposes and how to get rid of them in the following.
What are browser cookies?
HTTP cookie (also called a web cookie, Internet cookie, browser cookie or simple cookie) is a small piece of data sent from a website and stored on the user’s computer by the user’s web browser while the user is browsing. This technology is designed to be a reliable mechanism for websites to remember stateful information (such as items added to a shopping cart in an online store) or to record user browsing activity (including clicking a specific button, logging in, or recording which pages were previously visited).
They can also be used to remember pieces of information and data that a user previously entered into form fields such as name, address, password, and credit card number. Cookies perform important functions on the modern web. Perhaps its most important role is that authentication cookies are the most common method used by web servers to find out whether a user is logged in or not, and which account they are logged in with.
Without such a mechanism, sites would not know whether to post sensitive information pages, or require users to authenticate themselves by logging in. Authentication cookie security generally depends on the security of the publisher’s website and the user’s web browser and whether the cookie data is encrypted. Security vulnerabilities allow cookie data to be read by hackers, used to gain access to user data, or used to gain access (with user credentials) to websites where the cookie is located.
Functions and purposes of browser cookies
To save time browsing the internet, cookies were created to assist in storing and sending so that every visitor to the website no longer needs to do other manual settings. If you have visited the same site repeatedly, all of your notes will be collected and recorded automatically.
An example is when you open a social media platform site and log in, when you log out, all the data you used earlier, starting from email, settings and your visiting history will be saved. Then when you log in again, all of your data is still in the same place so you don’t have to do manual storing and sending processes anymore.
Types of browser cookies
Cookies can be classified in a number of different ways, but the most common are 4 types of cookies. Let’s take a look at the 4 most common browser cookie classifications and understand how cookies are used and how they work.
- Session cookies
This is a type of temporary cookie that is stored in the memory of the browser only until the browser is closed. These types of cookies carry a lower security risk and are often used to power e-commerce shopping carts, to control which page elements are shown to users during a single page visit to a website and for other short-term storage purposes.
- Persistent cookies
The persistent type of cookie is a long-term type of cookie marked by the publisher with an expiration date. These cookies are stored by the browser even after the browser is closed and will be returned to the publisher every time you visit or view a site that issued a cookie. In this way, the cookie can still track your activity not only on the site that issued the cookie, but also on any site that includes the resources issued by the same site.
This is the mechanism that sites like Google and Facebook use to log user activity on various websites. Persistent cookies last longer than session cookies and can track your activity over time across multiple sites, persistent cookies are a greater risk than session cookies.
- First – party cookies
The third is the cookie set by the site you are visiting. For example, while on a website it has used cookies for various purposes, such as creating a functioning host filtering feature. Cookies that are issued when you visit the site are first-party cookies.
- Third-party cookies
Third-party cookies are cookies that are added by a domain that is not the domain you are currently visiting. The most common use of third-party cookies is to track users who click on advertisements and associate them with referring domains.
For example, when you click on an ad on a website, a third party cookie is used to associate your traffic with the site on which the ad appears. Although cookies are an essential part of the modern web, they can also pose a risk of major privacy breaches as well as security risks for websites that use them.
How to clear browser cookies
Given that we use a lot of different devices and browsers, here’s how to get rid of browser cookies on the types and types of devices and browsers that you can try to apply yourself.
How to clear cookies on Google Chrome
- Open Google Chrome and click on the three little dots in the top right corner. Select Settings.
- Scroll down to the very end of the page. Click the Advanced link at the bottom of the page.
- Under the Privacy and security section, look for the Content settings entry and click it.
- To disable cookies, turn off the switch next to Allow sites to save and read cookie data (recommended). From now on, cookies are blocked.
How to clear cookies in Internet Explorer
- Open Internet Explorer. Click on the little gear in the top right corner.
- Select Internet Options.
- Select the Privacy tab and click the Advanced button.
- On the next screen, select Block for First and Third Party Cookies. Last but not least, uncheck Always allow session cookies.
- Click OK, then close the windows. From now on, IE cookies are disabled.
How to clear cookies on Microsoft Edge
- Open Microsoft Edge and click on the three dots in the top right corner
- Click Settings.
- On the next flyout menu, click Privacy & Security.
- Just click on the Block all cookies option.
How to clear cookies in Firefox
- Open Firefox. Click on the three lines at the top right of your screen. Then click Options.
- Select the Privacy & Security category on the left.
- Click on the option to block Cookies and Third Party Trackers.
- Scroll down a little bit to find the Block cookies and site data option. Select the All cookies option.
How to clear cookies in Safari
- Open Safari. Click on Safari in the top left corner of your main menu.
- Choose Preferences.
- Click Privacy, and select Block all cookies.
- Confirm the warning message.
Conclusion
Cookie technology makes your browsing more comfortable. They save you time by remembering your login information, saving previous financial transactions, and recognizing your preferences from previous site visits. But not all cookies are this good, such as when advertisers share information without your permission or use invasive tracking cookies.
Cookie technology makes your browsing more comfortable. They save you time by remembering your login information, saving previous financial transactions, and recognizing your preferences from previous site visits. But not all cookies are this good, such as when advertisers share information without your permission or use invasive tracking cookies.
Ultimately, cookies are going nowhere and most websites use cookies in some form or fashion. By educating yourself about how cookies work and how to deal with them, you will be better equipped to take advantage of their benefits while protecting yourself from the risks. the possibility exists.
