Internet > World
Wide Web > Advanced
Use > Cookies >
Cookie Capabilities
Basically, cookies can store tracking data about your browsing, but cannot
access any personal information from your browser. A summary of cookie capabilities
is given below:
- Default
settings. If you have already entered data to a web site voluntarily, then
cookies
can
store
it and later retrieve it to set default settings every time
you
visit,
such as user
name, password, Internet preference
settings, etc.
- Custom content. If you search for words
on a site associated with a certain subject, such as "garden", the site could
learn
to
present
you with more information on gardening related subjects in side-bars and related
links sections.
- Form
data. Cookies can be used by browsers and web sites to archive information
that
you
enter on complex forms, so that if you leave the page or you become disconnected
and
come
back
to the
page later, your previously entered data can be preloaded for you.
- Limitations. Cookies cannot access your email
address,
read files from your hard drive, or obtain your credit card numbers or other
personal information.
Cookies cannot put viruses on your computer, because they are text data files
and not active programs.
- Cross-site access. Cookies from one
site cannot be used to record your activity on other sites, and a site cannot
read another site's cookies. Other than site activity a cookie cannot
access any
other information with two exceptions: a site can record the address of the
page you linked from, and it can record the address of the
page you jump to (if the links are customized to transmit the data).
The Cookie Demo site provides a demonstration of cookies in action.
|