Question of the Day
• What are cookies and how do they work?
A cookie is a piece of data which often includes an unique identifier, that is sent to your browser from a web site you visit, stores as a file on your computer, identifies you as a unique user and track your web usage. There are two commonly known types of cookies. One is called a "session" or "non-persistent cookie." It is a cookie that only exists as long as your session on the web site lasts and expires as soon as you leave the web site. It is used to facilitate your activities within that site. The second type of cookie is a "persistent cookie". It exists beyond the life of your session and may live for months or years. A persistent cookie is created in order to recognize users when they return to a website. It enables the site to offer a customized experience tailored to that user - such as remembering your name and password on protected login pages. Cookie data is stored on the user's hard drive. The filename is different for each platform. For example, on Windows machines, cookie data is stored in *.txt files. A web site may set an expiration date for a cookie it delivers. If no expiration date is specified, the cookie is deleted when the user closes the browser.
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