Date: Tue, 29 Jul 1997 01:13:35 -0400 From: Bob Rankin Reply-To: TOURBUS-Request@LISTSERV.AOL.COM To: TOURBUS@LISTSERV.AOL.COM Subject: TOURBUS - 29 July 1997 - Closer Look At Cookies _________ ____________ ________ __________ _____________ ___ _ / | / | | / | \ | "Why | Surf When / You Can | Ride The | Bus?" / | \ |__________|__________/__________|__________|___________/ | \ / /______|----\ | Visit the TOURBUS website to see the Archives, |//////| | | FAQ, and Subscription Information! |//////| | | http://www.TOURBUS.com |//////| | \________________________________________________________|______|____| / \ / \ / \ \___/ \___/ T h e I n t e r n e t T o u r B u s \___/ TODAY'S TOURBUS TOPIC: A Closer Look At Cookies Been surfing all morning? Have a little snack. Your web browser is serving up cookies, but will they be to your liking? Cookies is the term used for little chunks of data that web servers can store on your hard drive. Cookies record information about your visit to a particular site, and can only be read back later by the site that created them. They are often used to make your web surfing more personal and convenient, but some people fear that cookie abuse could lead to loss of privacy. Read on for a closer look at the good, the bad and the crumbly aspects of web browser cookies. /-----------[ FORGET "URBAN LEGENDS", GET *TRUE* STORIES! ]----------\ Tired of silly, untrue stories that people pass around by e-mail? Randy Cassingham's "This is True" brings you TRUE stories, each with outrageous punchlines. The LA Times called Randy "a humorist for the Information Age, a Internet-savvy satirist and social commentator." To get TRUE, send the message SUBSCRIBE THIS-IS-TRUE to LISTSERV@NETCOM.COM, or see TRUE's web page. \------------------- ------------------/ /--------- LONG DISTANCE AVAILABLE USING INTERNET TECHNOLOGY --------\ New technology converts voice signals to self-routed digital data. 7.9 cents/min interstate long distance with NO sign up fee. Soon a monthly charge for unlimited use. Independent agents needed. Small sign up fee, with lucrative compensation package. E-mail \--- Elfreem@aol.com -OR- ---/ Cookies Are Good For You ------------------------ More and more sites are using cookies to enhance your web experience and enable some pretty cool features. The ever popular Yahoo site uses cookies to help you customize the site to suit your likings. If you specify that you want baseball scores, political headlines and a handful of quotes from your stock portfolio, Yahoo will record those preferences in a cookie. Then each time you return, the Yahoo server will read that cookie and customize the site accordingly. It's kind of like going to a restaurant where the waiter remembers your name and knows you like blue cheese dressing and extra croutons on your salad. Some sites require that you create a userid and password to login before you can access certain content, but it can be a drag to remember and enter this information each time you return. By storing this data as a cookie, you only have to enter it once. Another good use for cookies is to remember your preference for text versus graphics, or an aversion to frames. And if you do any online shopping, cookies make it possible to create a "shopping cart" into which you can place your selections before checking out. You can even logoff half way through a shopping expedition and pick up later right where you left off. What's in a Cookie? ------------------- All of this reading and writing of cookies normally takes place without the user knowing that it's going on behind the scenes. Let's take the mystery out of cookies by finding out where they live and what's inside of them. Cookies are stored in a variety of places on your hard disk, depending on your browser and operating system. If you use Netscape Navigator under Windows, all cookie data resides in a single file called "cookies.txt" which is found in the C:\Program Files\Netscape\Navigator folder. The Mac version of Netscape uses a file called "MagicCookie" found in the Netscape folder inside your System Folder's Preferences folder. With Microsoft Internet Explorer, there's a separate file in the C:\Windows\Cookies folder for each site that wants to store cookies data on your computer. The Mac version of Explorer uses a file called "cookies.txt" in the Cache sub-folder of the Explorer folder, which is inside your System Folder's Preferences folder. Once you locate your cookies file, take a look inside with a text editor and you'll probably be surprised at the number of entries squirreled away by sites you've never heard of. That's because many popular sites have banner ads that are managed by other companies such as DoubleClick and LinkExchange. When you visit the Alta Vista search engine, for example, you'll get a cookie from DoubleClick. Each line of the cookies file contains the name of the site that wrote the entry, an expiration date, and some additional data. It's important to remember that a cookie cannot store any personal data such as your name, e-mail address or phone number unless you enter that information on a form at the site creating the cookie. The safety features built into the cookies technology does not allow a website operator to rifle through the files on your hard disk, or to look at cookies that were created by other sites. Other crumbs of data that may be stored in cookies include your domain name (the part to the right of the "@" sign in your e-mail address), the date and time of your visit, the type of computer, operating system and browser you have, and a history of the pages you visit at a specific site. Big deal, huh? Can Cookies Be Bad For You? --------------------------- None of the information stored in a cookies file is really shocking in and of itself, but it's the ability to track the specific sites and pages you visit that worries some people. Since ad agencies like DoubleClick have their hooks in many popular sites, there is the potential that they could surreptitiously gather information on the web surfing habits of individuals. If this information was sold or improperly analyzed, it could cause trouble in the wrong hands. Right now, DoubleClick says they only use cookies to keep users from seeing the same ad too many times, but some are envisioning more frightening scenarios. Could you face the prospect of being denied a job because you visited a website advocating the legalization of marijuana? Get hit with an insurance rate hike after visiting an AIDS patient informaton site? Or find the Feds at your door after browsing through online bomb making information? Such prospects seem highly unlikely to yours truly, but privacy advocates like Jeff Chester of the Center for Media Education see danger ahead. "We have to keep online marketers out of the cookie jar," says Chester. "Such Orwellian practices to stealthily track every move made online and share that information with other companies should be prohibited." Others are quick to point out that online services like America Online and Compuserve have the ability to track the actions of subscribers at a finer level, and know much more about their subscribers than cookies could ever reveal to website operators. Armed with your name, home address, credit card number, and the ability to record every word you write in the the "Cheatin' Hearts" chat room, one would think the potential for abuse is much higher, but there is no anecdotal evidence that it has ever happened. Tossing Your Cookies -------------------- If you're convinced that cookies pose a threat to your privacy, and you're willing to live without the convenience they provide, there are a variety of ways to block, delete and even totally prevent cookies. Both Netscape and Explorer give users the option to refuse cookies. Under Netscape, select Options/Network Preferences/Protocols and check the box reading "Show an alert before accepting a cookie". This will cause a popup to appear each time a site wants to create a cookie, and you'll have the option to accept or refuse the cookie. With Explorer, you can do the same thing by selecting View/Options/Advanced and checking the "Warn before accepting cookies" box. This gives you the option to accept cookies only from sites you trust, but gets annoying after a while. Another idea is to make your cookies file read-only. This will prevent any new cookies from being written to your hard disk, while allowing cookies to function normally during a single browser session. So you could still use online shopping sites, but you'd miss out on the ability to use customization features at sites like Yahoo. Deleting your cookies file after closing your browser would have pretty much the same effect. If you're really serious about online privacy, visit the Anonymizer website (www.anonymizer.com) and find out how to make all your web viewing totally anonymous and frustrate the cookie senders. You can also download a variety of free or inexpensive shareware programs such as Cookie Monster, Cookie Cutter and Cookie Crusher that give you total control over cookies. Learning More ------------- If you want to learn more about the technical details behind cookies, or delve further into the privacy and security issues, visit these sites on the web: Netscape's Cookie Specs http://home.netscape.com/newsref/std/cookie_spec.html Andy's HTTP Cookie Info http://www.illuminatus.com/cookie.fcgi Cookie Central http://www.cookiecentral.com Electronic Privacy Information Center http://www.epic.org The Center for Democracy and Technology http://www.cdt.org That's all for today. I hope this info helps you to understand the truth about web cookies. Feel free to pass this along to a friend! More About My Linux Book ------------------------ I've finally finished putting the sample chapters for my "No BS Guide To Linux" book online. If you're curious about Linux, have a look at the Introduction. Or if want to read a nice tutorial on Unix command shells, see Chapter 2. Pop on over to my home page at and click on the book cover to find the sample chapters. I'm also offering special discounts on volume purchases, and commissions for referrals that lead to sales. You can pocket up to $10 per copy. If you're an educator, sysop, or club member, ask me for details. See you next time! --Bob =====================[ Tourbus Rider Information ]=================== The Internet Tourbus - U.S. Library of Congress ISSN #1094-2238 Copyright 1995-97, Rankin & Crispen - All rights reserved Archives on the Web at http://www.TOURBUS.com Join: Send SUBSCRIBE TOURBUS Your Name to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.AOL.COM Leave: Send SIGNOFF TOURBUS to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.AOL.COM PROMOTE your business on the Internet Tourbus. Reach over 80,000 people in a Net-friendly way. Our sponsors say "It works!" Make it work for you - contact BobRankin@MHV.net for details. 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