What Is A Cookie?

The most common meaning of "Cookie" on the Internet refers to a piece of information sent by a Web Server to a Web Browser. The Browser software is expected to save and to send back to the Server whenever the browser makes additional requests from the Server. Depending on the type of Cookie used and the Browser's settings, the Browser may or may not accept the Cookie and may save the Cookie for either a short or long time.

Cookies might contain information such as login or registration information or user preferences, etc. When a Server receives a request from a Browser that includes a Cookie, they can use the information stored in the Cookie. For example, the Server might customize what is sent back to the user or keep a log of particular user's requests. Cookies are usually set to expire after a predetermined amount of time and are usually saved in memory until the Browser software is closed down, when they may be saved to a disk if they have not reached their "expire time."

Cookies do not read your hard drive and send your life story to the CIA, but can be used to gather more information about a user that would be possible without them.

Turning Off Cookies

Internet Explorer

Go to the Tools menu, then to Internet Options, then to Advanced.
Click the Security tab, then the Internet icon.
Click the Custom Level box.
Under Cookies, click either Disable or Prompt. (Prompt requires you to click yes or no every time a Web site wants you to accept a cookie.)
Netscape
Go to the Edit menu.
Click on Preferences, then click on Advanced.
Select to either disable all cookies or to receive warning before cookies are accepted.
How can I erase my existing cookies?

That also depends on what browser you're using: Internet Explorer Users: First, close your Internet browser. Internet Explorer stores each cookie in a separate file called Magic Cookie in the Windows Explorer Directory (usually c:\windows\cookies), so it can be somewhat time-consuming to get rid of every file. Select the cookie file and delete, even if a warning message appears. Netscape Users: First, close your Internet browser. Look for a file called cookies.txt on your computer's directory (usually c:\windows\cookies). You can remove cookies from your directory by selecting each one and deleting them, even if a warning message appears
Discount Drug Mart's policy about using cookies: No client-side cookies are used. No files or information are stored on the visitor's computer. No information is captured from the visitor or from the visitor's computer. No personal information is ever captured.