Cookies or cookies or cookies is information created by a web server and transmitted to the browser when a client visits a web page. Cookies are small files with text stored on the user's computer, by which the server "recognizes" it next time. When you visit the site again, the browser transfers the stored information to the server, which at one time reads it and takes the necessary actions. Some cookies "live" only one session and are deleted when the browser closes. Others are kept for a certain period.
What are cookies for?
Cookies usually store personal information: settings, passwords, logins. Thanks to them, when you re-enter the site, you do not need to enter your data each time (login, password). Cookies allow faster loading of web pages and multimedia of a previously visited web resource. If at the entrance to the site with authorization check the box next to the item “Foreign computer”, then the user data will not be saved in cookies.
Thus, the purpose of cookies is to identify the visitor and accelerate the interaction between the server and the client.
The negative side of cookies
Firstly, cookies take up space on your computer, or simply put clogging up your hard drive.
Secondly, cookies are dangerous because with their help attackers can steal someone’s data and take over someone else’s account on a web resource.
Thirdly, according to them, the browser can track and maintain statistics of customer visits to certain sites. As a result, the user, upon entering any Internet resource, will be inundated with advertising information that he has been interested in recently. This practice is especially active in Google Chrome.
Fourth, cookies can lead to incorrect site operation, for example, when you go to any page of a web resource, not what you need is displayed.
Therefore, cookies must be periodically deleted from the computer.
How to delete cookies?
How to delete cookies in Google Chrome? First, click on the settings symbol in the upper right corner. In the drop-down list we find the item “Tools”, then open - “Delete viewing data”. In the window that opens, put a checkmark in front of the line - “Clear cookies”. At the top, select the period for which you want to delete data - to get rid of all cookies, you need to select "For all time." Click on the delete button at the bottom of the screen.
At the same time as cookies, you can delete the Google Chrome cache, for which you need to check the line “Clear the cache” and click “Delete”.
How to delete cookies in Mozilla Firefox? To do this, open “Tools” at the top of the browser window, then “Erase History”. A field appears - “Clear”, where we select the “All” item. Then click on the arrow "Details" with a list of journal items. We mark the “Cookie” and see if there are any checkmarks next to other components that do not need to be deleted. Next, click "Clear Now."
How to delete cookies in Opera? At the top of the Opera window in the left corner, select “Settings” - “Clear personal data”. Click on "Detailed settings", put a checkmark next to the items "Clear temporary cookies" and "Clear all cookies." It remains only to click on the "Delete" button.
How to delete cookies in Safari? In the Safari window on the top panel on the right, we find the menu and select "Settings" in the list - then "Security" - "Show cookies", mark the site for which you want to clear cookies, and click "Delete".
How to delete cookies in Internet Explorer? On the top panel of the browser we find the item “Service”, select from the list “Internet Options”. In the window that appears, open the "General" tab and go to the "Viewing History" section, click the "Delete" button. The "Clear browsing history" window opens, where we click on "Delete cookies."
All modern browsers provide for disabling cookies, deleting them after a certain period, deleting them after exiting the browser, and setting up a “black list” of cookies.
It should be remembered that the complete disabling of cookies leads to the inability to work on some sites.