What are cookies? What is a cookie?
Cookies are small files that are saved on a user's computer. They are designed to store a tiny amount of data specific to a particular visitor and the website he visits, being accessible both to the person who owns the computer where these modules were automatically saved and to the website that sent this file. This type of processing allows the server to provide a web page tailored to a particular user or, perhaps, to transmit information from a site visit to another similar site with the same owner.
Are cookies enabled in my browser?
To verify that your browser is configured to allow cookies, you will need to look in the browser settings options for the section dedicated to these modules, usually under the heading "Privacy and security options". Also in this section, you will find information about activating or deactivating cookies, deleting cookies. You can also view the contents of these files.
What data is in a cookie?
Each cookie is a small table containing pairs of values (key, data) - for example (name, John) (name, Smith). Once the cookie has been read by the code on the client-server or computer, the data can be retrieved and used to personalize the web page accordingly.
When are cookies created?
SWriting data to a cookie is usually done when information is transmitted to the visited website - for example, after pressing a 'submit' button, the data processing page could be used to storing values in a cookie. If the user has chosen to disable cookies, the write operation will fail and subsequent visits that could extract the information already sent from the cookies will either work according to the default algorithm for new visitors or ask the user to re-enter the information that would have been stored in cookies.
Why are cookies used?
Cookies are a convenient way to associate information about how to use a site, without the need to store massive amounts of data on each visitor. In addition, storing data on the server without the use of cookies would require that each user be recognized only by authenticating them, based on username and password. Last but not least, by using cookies, the amount of personal data processed in the operators' systems is reduced, given the fact that a cookie is saved in the computer system owned by the individual concerned by this type of processing.
What is the processing time of a cookie?
The expiration date of a cookie can be set when the cookie is created. By default, the cookie is "destroyed" when the browser window is closed, but can be designed to persist for a while after accessing a site.
Who can access cookies?
When a cookie is created, it is possible to control its visibility by setting the main domain of the site that uses it. This file will then be accessible to any site that belongs to this domain. For example, the domain could be set to "principaldomain.com", and the cookie will be available for sites in "principal domain.ro" or "xyz. Principaldomain.com" or "principaldomain.ro". This could be used to allow related pages to "communicate" with each other.
How secure are cookies?
There are many concerns about privacy and security on the internet. Cookies do not in themselves constitute a threat to privacy, as they can only be used to store information that the user has voluntarily provided or that the web server already has. Although this information may be made available to certain third-party sites, this does not pose additional risks to those specific to storing data in a central database. If you are concerned that the information you provide to a web server will not be treated as confidential, then you should ask whether or not you should provide this information.
What are tracking cookies?
Some commercial websites include embedded advertising material that is served by a third party site, and such ads may store a cookie for that site. This cookie will store information that may include the name of the site, certain products visited, pages visited, etc. When the user later visits another site that contains a similar embedded ad from the same third-party site, the advertiser will be able to read the cookie and use it to determine some information about the user's browsing history. This allows publishers to run targeted ads in the interest of a user, so that, in theory, they are more likely to be relevant to the user. However, many people see such "tracking cookies" as an invasion of privacy because they allow an advertiser to build user profiles without their consent or knowledge.
How can cookies be managed or deleted?
When a site does not offer mechanisms for selecting or rejecting cookies, their storage on the computer can be controlled by the browser option that allows the rejection of cookies. Thus, through the browser settings, you can choose not to accept cookies or you can set the browser to accept cookies only from certain sites. However, you should be aware that disabling or deleting certain cookies may adversely affect or limit some functionality of the sites.
To control how you accept cookies from your browser, follow the steps below, depending on the browser you use:
Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox
Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 (Windows 10)
Safari
Opera
Edge
Deleting cookies
For information on deleting cookies, you can access the following links: