in a perfect world a browser cookie would be something sweet and delicious
that Chrome Firefox or Edge would shoot out of the screen so that you could
enjoy filling up on empty calories while you watch Techquickie but tragically we
don't live in a perfect world and in a Computing context the term Cookie
doesn't refer to free desserts instead
cookies are actually small files stored in your browser cache that can do a
number of useful things but have also been scrutinized for potentially
compromising user privacy so how exactly do these things work and why the heck
are they even called cookies the name actually comes from Magic Cookie which
was an early term for a small piece of data passed between computers usually
for identification purposes modern browser cookies also identify your
computer but they serve the additional purpose of tracking your activity which
actually isn't always as nefarious as it
sounds the way it works is that when you visit a cookie enabled site for the
first time let's say Amazon the site will put a cookie on your computer that
contains a unique ID Amazon uses this ID
to keep track of your session so that the site knows which shopping cart is
yours and what you've looked at so it can suggest stuff like toilet paper to
you if you were browsing for industrial siiz packs of microwave burritos session
management with cookies has many more applications though than just virtual
shopping carts the identifier in a cookie can allow a server to keep track
of your login so you don't have to keep punching in your password every time you
visit a site and it can remember how you've customized the layout or
appearance of a page previously cookies also allow sites to figure out how many
unique visitors they get since each unique visitor has their own ID
contained within a cookie which is important for web Masters who need
analytics data for business development okay lonus I get that
cookies make things more convenient but I heard they can also make me fat I mean
spy on me what's the deal with that well one of the most common ways that your
browser can compromise your privacy is by allowing third party cookies which
are sent from sites other than the one that you're visiting for instance banner
ads are often hosted on a different domain than the one that you're actually
browsing and can plant cookies on your computer that track you across multiple
sites which many people find intrusive and downright creepy but even worse is
the potential for cookie theft which is exactly what it sounds like usually
super sensitive things like website passwords aren't stored in cookies but
the identifier in the cookie can be used
to essentially steal a logged in session
meaning that an attacker could access your shopping cart bank account or even
Medical records without even knowing your password and get this browsers
usually just store your cookies in plain text without any encryption making them
a vulnerable Target though using websites that transmit cookie data over
a secure connection can help somewhat so
what can you do then to mitigate these privacy risks well first of all most
browsers will allow you to disable third-party cookies with a simple option
so you'll only get cookies directly from the site that you're visiting and if you
want to take it a step further you can disable cookies entirely if you don't
mind missing out on the features that they offer number two is if you've got
cookies on or even just in general be careful about what you click on and what
sites you're browsing if you're only navigating to trusted sites that are
going to not spy on you then no one will be spying on you although it's not
always easy to tell who to trust these days and finally keeping the hard drive
on your computer encrypted is actually a pretty key one because if someone walks
off with your entire computer and all the cookies on it it's an easy way to
have the bad guys putting their hands in your cookie jar so to speak and on the
subject of bad guys you know who's not bad guys
linda.com over at linda.com you can watch and learn from Top experts about
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that thing if you disliked it do the other thing if you want to check out our other channels we've got a great video
over on Channel Super Fun where we like threw darts at pizza and ate marmite
which is apparently something people
down in the southern hemisphere actually like for whatever reason thanks again
for watching as always don't forget to subscribe and follow and all that good stuff and I will see you again next time
cue the angry comments from Australians
and new zealanders in the below the video place