Cookies, Security, and your Right to Privacy

First, a little bit about cookies. They are not bad or evil in and of themselves. They can be used for good or bad intentions, depending on how they are implemented.

What are cookies? (Viktor Mayer-Schönberger) When you visit a website a small file may be downloaded to your computer to keep track of data and events. It could be a login name and password, things you recently purchased, or certain preferences when you use that site. The site will inform you a cookie is being invoked. These types of cookies are usually fairly legitimate and unobtrusive.

Where cookies go bad is when they track your surfing habits - which sites you are visiting or things you are purchasing. And they do this without informing you. Perhaps they are sending it to a third party you don't know and would never authorize. These practices are not legitimate and invade your privacy.

The abuse of cookies has been on the rise in the last five years. So what can you do about it?

First of all, switch to Firefox. For some time it has carried a cookie manager. Set it to deny all cookies. Then add sites that you wish to enable with the exception list. This takes a little getting used to, and I still get stymied when I try to register with a site and it doesn't work. Then I remember to go in and add this site to the exception list of sites which will accept cookies. I believe Internet Explorer 7.0 also has a cookie manager.

This may seem like a lot of trouble to go through, just because of a few stupid cookies. However, I think this is the best security practice to keep your pc safe, at work or at home. I use the web a lot, and since I started this practice, the number of problems I encountered dropped dramatically.

As companies and organized crime find new ways to use cookies in a devious or malevolent fashion, it is more imperative than ever to be aware of the risks and have a strategy.