WEBVTT

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in a perfect world a browser cookie would be something sweet and delicious

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that Chrome Firefox or Edge would shoot out of the screen so that you could

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enjoy filling up on empty calories while you watch Techquickie but tragically we

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don't live in a perfect world and in a Computing context the term Cookie

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doesn't refer to free desserts instead

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cookies are actually small files stored in your browser cache that can do a

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number of useful things but have also been scrutinized for potentially

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compromising user privacy so how exactly do these things work and why the heck

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are they even called cookies the name actually comes from Magic Cookie which

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was an early term for a small piece of data passed between computers usually

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for identification purposes modern browser cookies also identify your

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computer but they serve the additional purpose of tracking your activity which

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actually isn't always as nefarious as it

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sounds the way it works is that when you visit a cookie enabled site for the

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first time let's say Amazon the site will put a cookie on your computer that

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contains a unique ID Amazon uses this ID

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to keep track of your session so that the site knows which shopping cart is

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yours and what you've looked at so it can suggest stuff like toilet paper to

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you if you were browsing for industrial siiz packs of microwave burritos session

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management with cookies has many more applications though than just virtual

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shopping carts the identifier in a cookie can allow a server to keep track

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of your login so you don't have to keep punching in your password every time you

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visit a site and it can remember how you've customized the layout or

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appearance of a page previously cookies also allow sites to figure out how many

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unique visitors they get since each unique visitor has their own ID

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contained within a cookie which is important for web Masters who need

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analytics data for business development okay lonus I get that

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cookies make things more convenient but I heard they can also make me fat I mean

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spy on me what's the deal with that well one of the most common ways that your

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browser can compromise your privacy is by allowing third party cookies which

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are sent from sites other than the one that you're visiting for instance banner

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ads are often hosted on a different domain than the one that you're actually

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browsing and can plant cookies on your computer that track you across multiple

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sites which many people find intrusive and downright creepy but even worse is

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the potential for cookie theft which is exactly what it sounds like usually

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super sensitive things like website passwords aren't stored in cookies but

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the identifier in the cookie can be used

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to essentially steal a logged in session

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meaning that an attacker could access your shopping cart bank account or even

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Medical records without even knowing your password and get this browsers

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usually just store your cookies in plain text without any encryption making them

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a vulnerable Target though using websites that transmit cookie data over

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a secure connection can help somewhat so

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what can you do then to mitigate these privacy risks well first of all most

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browsers will allow you to disable third-party cookies with a simple option

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so you'll only get cookies directly from the site that you're visiting and if you

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want to take it a step further you can disable cookies entirely if you don't

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mind missing out on the features that they offer number two is if you've got

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cookies on or even just in general be careful about what you click on and what

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sites you're browsing if you're only navigating to trusted sites that are

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going to not spy on you then no one will be spying on you although it's not

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always easy to tell who to trust these days and finally keeping the hard drive

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on your computer encrypted is actually a pretty key one because if someone walks

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off with your entire computer and all the cookies on it it's an easy way to

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have the bad guys putting their hands in your cookie jar so to speak and on the

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subject of bad guys you know who's not bad guys

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linda.com over at linda.com you can watch and learn from Top experts about

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all kinds of stuff like they've got thousands of video courses you can take

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up digital photography or photoshop or

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transcripts to follow along or search for answers and Skip to that point in

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the video This is actually a relatively new feature you can download the

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tutorials and watch them On The Go including access on your iOS or Android

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else check out linda.com tequi and sign

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up for your free trial today thanks for watching guys if you like this video do

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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

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over on Channel Super Fun where we like threw darts at pizza and ate marmite

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which is apparently something people

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down in the southern hemisphere actually like for whatever reason thanks again

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for watching as always don't forget to subscribe and follow and all that good stuff and I will see you again next time

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cue the angry comments from Australians

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and new zealanders in the below the video place