Cookies As Fast As Possible
Techquickie
·Techquickie
·2016-05-06
·
1,026 words · ~5 min read
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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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video editing or business or whatever the case may be you can browse course
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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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device you can create playlists and share with your friends or Watch
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Playlist that your friends have created so you guys can go through your coursework together it's great stuff and
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it's free to try for 10 days after that
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it starts at a flat rate of just $25 a month so whether you're looking to
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become an industry expert or you're just passionate about a hobby or whatever
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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