What is a cookie file?
A web cookie file are simple text files which are stored locally on your computer, these contain information which is sent from a web page, every time you visit the same site this information is sent back. A cookie is so called because of a term in Unix known as the magic Cookie, these are used to track and monitor browsing behavior.
One of the best known examples of sites which leave cookies on your computer is Amazon. If you select the items which you want to buy then close your browser you will find that these items remain in your shopping cart when you return to shop.
Cookies aren't necessarily anything bad, these are data not program code and so are not capable of generating pop ups, some people think that cookies are used for spamming or are only used for advertising purposes, however this is not true. Therefor, you do not need to panic and remove cookie from your system. But you can if you want. The choice is yours.
You can of course choose not to accept cookies in your web browser if you want to, this is almost always turned on by default. As cookies are a vital part of some web sites, these sites will fail to function properly unless cookies are turned on. You can create a white list and a black list to select who you want to accept or refuse cookies from. It's very easy for you to access the cookies yourself to view and delete them if required. Some browsers even come with a cookie manager so that you can delete the cookies very easily. You can also get the browser to prompt you every time it tries to store cookies on your computer.
How to Delete Computer Cookie files
It's actually surprisingly simple to erase cookie files from your computer, it's just as easy as it is to remove all the temporary Internet files from your computer. Most browsers will have an option to Remove Tracking Cookie Files from your computer and so can do it automatically. Because you have deleted your cookie files when you go back to visit the same site again it will not remember you because your cookie was lost.
You need to download a cookie cleaner to make your life a whole lot easier, you can check the security and privacy of your personal data by using ParetoLogic Privacy Controls which can be downloaded by clicking here.
If more than one person uses the same computer then this can cause problems with cookeis. For example if I log into my Amazon account to purchase a book then someone else that uses the same computer could log in after you and purchase a book using your account. This is even more of an issue if you are using a public computer like a computer in a library, anyone can access your account and purchase whatever they want which you have to pay for.
Alternatively if you use 2 different computers, for example one at home and one at work then the cookies on each will be different. If the cookies cause problems then it can be a pain to reset everything.
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