What are cookies on the Internet? Inaccurate information about cookies. Depending on the browser

First of all, you should not confuse cookies with history and cache.

What are cookies?

These are text files that are stored on your computer in a hidden browser folder. IN cookies are contained data that you entered on all sites. Usually these are logins and passwords. They also contain various settings for sites (themes, widgets, saves, past search queries, etc.). They are also sometimes used to collect statistics by all kinds of toolbars like Yandex bar.

For example, you log into a social network and immediately get to a page with news (you used to get to your page when you logged in) without even entering your Login and Password. And they did this because they once clicked on the pop-up button at the top in the browser Save.
This also happens when visiting other sites, such as mail or a torrent tracker.
A reasonable question - how does the site know your password and login (as well as settings) to log in? Yes, because they are on your computer and, when you access the site, the site sends a request to your browser for information in cookies and the browser gives them to the site. This kind of interaction is imperceptible, and in the end, without even entering anything, you end up on the site as an authorized user.

On some sites there is this, invisible to some, checkbox that says “Someone else’s computer” or “Not for this computer” or something like that. So this is exactly what is needed for cookies. If you select this checkbox, enter your password and login, and go to the site, cookies will not be saved.

On the one hand, it’s very convenient - you don’t need to enter passwords every time and remember them for sites. By the way, cookies do not always work correctly. More precisely, they seem to “become attached” to. And if you use a browser, for example, Firefox for one site as one user, then by accessing the same site through Opera you will no longer have user data saved.
This is usually used when several people use a computer and access the same site. In this case, you also do not need to enter your data each time, because each browser has its own cookies.

Cookies are also called sessions. A session is a visit to a site. Basically the same as cookies. Typically, sites themselves set how long the session will last.
So, in order to clear cookies on the site, just press the button Go out(Exit) on the website.
However, after this, sometimes your data still remains in the login and password fields, but this is the tricks of the browser, which helps save it through itself, and not cookies.

Sometimes the antivirus swears at them, but this happens because all sorts of malicious sites try to “shove” any advertising or viruses into cookies.
Therefore, the presence of an antivirus and firewall when surfing the Internet.

Now a little about saving your data.
Yes, cookies store your passwords and logins for authorization on sites, and often it is this data that is the object of the theft of all cookies. To obtain cookies, viruses and malicious programs are used, which you can install on your computer, or they will be installed unnoticed by you when you visit a harmful site.
But there is another side to the coin - the information in cookies is stored in encrypted form. And if you have a really complex password, then it is very difficult (almost impossible) to decipher it.

Where are cookies located on your computer?

As I wrote above, they are located in the browser folder, which is .

Google Chrome I don't have it, I tested it on SPWare Iron

Windows XP C:\Documents and Settings\(Your_profile)\Application Data\Chromium\
Windows 7 C:\Users\(Your_profile)\AppData\Local\Chromium\User Data\Default\Cache\

Opera

Windows XP C:\Documents and Settings\(Your_profile)\Application Data\Opera\
Windows 7 C:\Users\(Your_profile)\AppData\Local\Opera\Opera\cache\

Firefox

Windows XP C:\Documents and Settings\(Your_profile)\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\\
Windows 7 C:\Users\(Your_profile)\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\\

Internet Explorer

Windows XP C:\Documents and Settings\Cookies\\
Windows 7 C:\Users\(Your_profile)\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies\\

In general, the meaning is clear - in the Application Data folders for Windows XP and Roaming and Local for Windows 7

Where are cookies located and how to delete cookies in the browser?
A much more interesting option.

Where are cookies located and how to delete cookies in Mozilla Firefox
Settings -> Settings

Select the link that you highlighted on the screen. A window will appear asking you to select your actions.

Where are cookies located and how to delete them in Opera?
Settings -> General settings (or keyboard shortcut ctrl + f12)

Tab Advanced, in it there is a tab at the bottom left Cookies. In it you configure what you want to do with them. When you press the button Manage cookies... a window will appear with all the cookies

Where are cookies located and how to delete cookies in Google Chrome
Select the wrench icon in the upper right corner

Select from the menu - Settings or Options

Then (on the left) “Advanced” and then “Content settings”, there we select “All cookies and site data...” and do what we want.

Each of us spends a lot of time at the computer and in particular on the Internet. Most of you have probably come across such a concept as cookies. But probably, when they saw this word, everyone immediately went to Google and looked for what it was, why they should be cleaned, and generally what they were intended for.

Since they are talking about it, it means the thing is necessary and useful. Let's look into this issue and try to understand what these so-called cookies.

What are cookies?

Cookies or as we call them in Runet “cookie”- these are not large pieces of data with the help of which the browser receives the necessary information (data) from the server. The exchange takes place using the http protocol when you visit a website. If the same site is visited a couple of times, then the browser and the server where the site is located exchange data every time again.

Some data can be stored for a certain time (one session) and deleted when the browser is closed. Others can be stored for a long time and are recorded in a special file cookies.txt , which is located in the directory of the browser you are using.

Cookies allow the browser to remember some user data on the site, and not contact the server again for this data. Many will say, what difference does it make, let him apply at least 100 times. This is the whole problem, with their help you can reduce the load on the server, which is very good.

Inaccurate information about cookies:

Cookies are not programs (text file) don't believe it, they can somehow infect your computer with viruses.
They have nothing in common with pop-ups. Windows can be disabled using browser tools or additional extensions.
Cookie does not identify your data as a person, it detects browser data. For example, if you open a new site in one browser and register, then the next time you log into this site from the same browser, all data will be saved. If you log in from a new browser, you will have to enter the data again. It also doesn’t matter who uses this computer, you or someone else.

What are they needed for?

On the modern Internet, many sites will not be able to work without cookies, and even if they can, they will lose most of their functionality.

Examples of the need for cookies:

Authorization. Most of the sites: and others, have authorization (entering login, password, name, phone, email). If you do not use so-called cookies, then when you go to a new page, you will need to re-enter your login and password or other data.
Online stores. This is a separate issue; if you do not use cookies, it will not be possible to buy the product at all, since the entire operation of the shopping cart is based on saving data from these files. If you select a product and go to a new page, it will disappear.
Settings. Let's say you have set the necessary settings in search engines, region, language, etc. So that they don’t get lost and become the default.

These are some examples, in fact there are many. But the use itself cookies are very necessary and useful.

What are persistent and third-party cookies?

Persistent cookies, as a rule, can be saved for the entire time or for a certain period of time, which will be specified by the site developer. After this time has passed, they will be automatically cleaned. These are the cookies that are stored in cookie.txt file, which is located in the directory of the browser you are using.

Third party cookies- these are files that can be stored and loaded on third-party servers, and not on those where your site is located. Examples could be installed visit tracking counters from Google (), Yandex (), LiveInternet, scripts for various advertising units, photo uploads and much more. All of these examples can pass data to the browser.

Many people are wary of third-party cookies because they may violate privacy policies. Using your browser settings, you can block them and prevent loading.

How to clear, block or disable cookies in modern browsers.

Sometimes situations arise in which it is necessary to clear or delete cookies. Here are some examples.

You have visited the site from someone else’s computer and logged in. In order not to leave your username and password on this computer, you need to clear the cookies. And even better in such cases, you can use the keys for this Сtrl+Shift+N.
There are problems logging into the page; the first thing you need to do is clear the cache in your browser. You can read the article: “”. If it doesn’t help, then try clearing cookies using the methods described below.
You may need to disable or prevent the loading of third-party cookies.

Let's look at several methods for each browser.

Google Chrome (Google Chrome)

Let's go to the browser.
Press the key combination Ctrl+Shift+Delete.
In the window that opens, select “Cookies and other site and plugin data.” In the list, select the period for which you want to delete. Don't forget to click “Clear history”.

Clear Google Chrome history

To block or prohibit sites from saving data, you need to go to the menu and click on “Settings”. On the settings page, look for the “Personal Data” item and click on the “Content Settings” button.

Setting up Google Chrome content

In the pop-up window you can see the “Cookies” item and check the required box. You can manage sites or make exceptions from which sites to save and which to block. After making changes, you must click the “Done” button.

In Yandex browser, all steps are similar!

Mozilla Firefox

Let's go to the browser.
Press the key combination Ctrl+Shift+Delete. You can also go to the menu, find the item “ Magazine” and select “Delete recent history” from the list.
In the window that opens, select “Cookies”. In the list, select the period for which you want to delete. Don't forget to click “Delete history”.

To block or prohibit sites from saving data, you need to go to the menu and click on “Settings”. On the settings page, look for the “Privacy” tab. Here you can choose whether to track your site or not, as well as record cookies in the history or not. If you need to delete individual cookies for sites, click on the text “Delete individual cookies”. In the window, select the necessary sites to delete. Don't forget to save the settings.

Opera

As in previous cases, there are 2 ways in which you can clean . Using a keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+Delete or go to the menu and find the “History” item. In the upper right corner we find “Clear browsing history”. In the history window, check the box next to “Delete cookies and site data”, select the period in the drop-down list and click the “Clear browsing history” button.

If you need to block or prevent the saving of cookies, then look for the “Settings” item in the menu. On the settings page, select “Security” in the left menu. Below we put the necessary marks to block or prohibit saving. You can also manage exceptions, select and allow data to be saved.

Internet Explorer

I don’t like this browser, but I’ll tell you about it too.

Let's go to the browser.
Press the keys Ctrl+Shift+Delete or go to the menu, find the “Security” item and select “ Delete browsing history”.
In the window, check the box next to “Cookies and website data.” Click the “Delete” button.

If you need to block or prohibit the saving of data, you need to select “Security” in the menu and go to “Tracking Protection” in the list. To be honest, I didn’t understand how everything worked there, since I don’t really use this browser and I don’t recommend it to you.

Safari

The latest browser from Apple today. I like its style, but it is not very popular with me. To clear cookies you need to use the following steps.

Let's go to the browser.
Go to the menu and select “ Reset browser" In the reset window, check the boxes next to the items “Delete saved names and passwords”, “Delete all website data”. Don't forget to click the “Reset” button.

If you need to block or prevent sites from saving cookies, then go to the menu and select “Settings”. In the settings window we find the “Privacy” tab, where you can delete (clear all data), block and prohibit.

Since they are talking about it, it means the thing is necessary and useful. Let's look into this issue and try to understand what these so-called cookies.

What are cookies?

Inaccurate information about cookies:

Cookies are not programs (text file) don't believe it, they can somehow infect your computer with viruses.
They have nothing in common with pop-ups. Windows can be disabled using browser tools or additional extensions.
Cookie does not identify your data as a person, it detects browser data. For example, if you open a new site in one browser and register, then the next time you log into this site from the same browser, all data will be saved. If you log in from a new browser, you will have to enter the data again. It also doesn’t matter who uses this computer, you or someone else.

What are they needed for?

On the modern Internet, many sites will not be able to work without cookies, and even if they can, they will lose most of their functionality.

Examples of the need for cookies:

Authorization. Most of the sites: and others, have authorization (entering login, password, name, phone, email). If you do not use so-called cookies, then when you go to a new page, you will need to re-enter your login and password or other data.
Online stores. This is a separate issue; if you do not use cookies, it will not be possible to buy the product at all, since the entire operation of the shopping cart is based on saving data from these files. If you select a product and go to a new page, it will disappear.
Settings. Let's say you have set the necessary settings in search engines, region, language, etc. So that they don’t get lost and become the default.

These are some examples, in fact there are many. But the use itself cookies are very necessary and useful.

What are persistent and third-party cookies?

Many people are wary of third-party cookies because they may violate privacy policies. Using your browser settings, you can block them and prevent loading.

How to clear, block or disable cookies in modern browsers.

Sometimes situations arise in which it is necessary to clear or delete cookies. Here are some examples.

You have visited the site from someone else’s computer and logged in. In order not to leave your username and password on this computer, you need to clear the cookies. And it’s even better in such cases to log in in incognito mode, for this you can use the keys Сtrl+Shift+N.
There are problems logging into the page; the first thing you need to do is clear the cache in your browser. You can read the article: “”. If it doesn’t help, then try clearing cookies using the methods described below.
You may need to disable or prevent the loading of third-party cookies.

Let's look at several methods for each browser.

Google Chrome (Google Chrome)

Let's go to the browser.
Press the key combination Ctrl+Shift+Delete.
In the window that opens, select “Cookies and other site and plugin data.” In the list, select the period for which you want to delete. Don't forget to click “Clear history”.

Clear Google Chrome history

Setting up Google Chrome content

In Yandex browser, all steps are similar!

Mozilla Firefox

Let's go to the browser.
Press the key combination Ctrl+Shift+Delete. You can also go to the menu, find the item “ Magazine” and select “Delete recent history” from the list.
In the window that opens, select “Cookies”. In the list, select the period for which you want to delete. Don't forget to click “Delete history”.

Opera

Internet Explorer

I don’t like this browser, but I’ll tell you about it too.

Let's go to the browser.
Press the keys Ctrl+Shift+Delete or go to the menu, find the “Security” item and select “ Delete browsing history”.
In the window, check the box next to “Cookies and website data.” Click the “Delete” button.

Safari

The latest browser from Apple today. I like its style, but it is not very popular with me. To clear cookies you need to use the following steps.

Let's go to the browser.
Go to the menu and select “ Reset browser" In the reset window, check the boxes next to the items “Delete saved names and passwords”, “Delete all website data”. Don't forget to click the “Reset” button.

Almost every Windows user has encountered the concept of cookies. What they are, why they are needed and why it is advisable to clean them, read within the framework of this publication.

Cookies - what are they?

A cookie is a text file with data that is written to the browser by the server of the site you visit. These data are:

login and password information;
individual settings and user preferences;
visit statistics, etc.

Using this data, the site you visited will be able to identify you. This happens as follows:

the site server queries the browser for information in the cookie file;
the browser provides this information by sending a response to the server;
Depending on what information the site server receives, you will be identified or become a new person for the site (if the cookies are cleared).

The main parameter of a cookie is its expiration date. By default, this is one computer session. Files are deleted when the browser is closed. If they have an expiration date, they become permanent and are deleted upon expiration or by the browser cleanup function.

What are they needed for?

First of all, they are needed for the convenience of using the Internet. For example, once you log into your profile on the site, you will not need to constantly enter your login and password after closing the tab.

Also, thanks to cookies, individual account settings are saved. For example, some sites offer to add to favorites, change the design, change the interface using such files with an expiration date.

Where are cookies stored?

Files are saved in a custom folder. Each browser has its own path:

Opera C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Opera Software\Opera
Google Chrome C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Chromium
Yandex.Browser C:\Users\User_Name\AppData\Local\Yandex\YandexBrowser
Mozilla Firefox C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Mozilla\Firefox

Why clean?

It is advisable to clear your cookies from time to time. In addition to being useful, they can also cause some inconvenience:

They provide quick access to your profiles without entering a login and password. If a stranger is at your computer, he will be able to access your personal data.
In addition, if an unauthorized person ends up on your computer, you can track your browsing history using the uncleaned cookies. This is bad from a privacy perspective.
If the site processes your cookie file incorrectly, you may not be able to log into your profile, or some functions on the web service will not work correctly.

How to clear cookies?

Here's an example of cleaning for popular browsers:

Opera. Ctrl+H → Clear history → Cookies and other data from sites.
Google Chrome. Ctrl+H → Clear history → Cookies, as well as other data from sites and plugins.
Yandex browser. Ctrl+H → Clear history → Cookies and other data from sites and modules.
Mozilla Firefox. Ctrl+Shift+Del → Cookies.

How to disable?

In general, the creation of cookies can be disabled in the browser. This feature is available in all popular browsers, so there shouldn't be any problems. But after turning off this function, some sites may stop working, since they interact with the user exclusively using cookies.

To disable in popular browsers:

Advice! If you see notifications in your browser: “cookies must be allowed” or “an attempt to save a cookie is blocked,” then your browser does not save cookies by default. Open settings and enable saving cookies.

Very often among computer users you can hear different opinions about the dangers posed by the so-called cookies (cookie files), and also that they must be constantly removed from the system to ensure normal operation of the computer. Reports of the harm that cookies cause sometimes reach the point of absurdity and look more like paranoia.

But are cookies really dangerous?
Do I need to clean my computer every day to delete cookies?

In this article, let's try to get answers to these and other questions related to such a controversial concept as cookies.

First, let's define what cookies are and where they come from.

So, cookies are small text files that are usually created by some web page that we have visited on the Internet. By default, the creation of such files occurs unnoticed by us, and therefore, most often we do not even know which of the visited web pages will create cookies on our computer and which will not.

In these files, our browser can record various information about us (more on this below), after which such a file is stored on our computer until we revisit the page that placed the cookie on our computer. When you visit the web page again, the information recorded in this file is read and thanks to this, we are “recognized” on this site.

Cookies can be compared to a watchman (concierge) at the entrance of an apartment building - the first time he demands to show a pass (or provide some data), and the second time he recognizes us and lets us in just like that. Over time, he begins to greet us and by asking (among other things) questions, he can know more and more about us (what apartment we go to, how many relatives we have, what we buy, where we vacation, etc.). Gradually, the watchman will have even more accumulated information and, using it, he will begin to advise us something (according to our interests), congratulate us on our birthday, offer some kind of help or services, and perhaps even sell something.

Here I would like to draw your attention to the fact that most often there is nothing wrong with this if the watchman does it from the bottom of his heart and not very often. If his “services” become intrusive, then everyone will get tired of it and one fine day this watchman will be fired (the cookies will be deleted). But in any case, after a while a new watchman will take his place, and the collection of information will begin all over again...

I think you already get the main idea!

Cookies are the same guards, but only in the form of files on our computer containing information in text form. For each individual site on our computer there is a watchman (or even several) and most often they do not do anything wrong, because... their main purpose is to collect information.

But what kind of information is collected through our computer, how and why this is done, let’s figure it out... And at the same time, let’s understand the myths about cookies in order to understand what cookies cannot do.

Why are cookies needed:

2. Cookies may be used to simplify information entry in the forms on the website.

Cookies can remember the information we entered on the site (for example, name, e-mail, phone number or home address) and the next time they themselves enter the data into the required form on this site, thereby making it easier to fill out the forms.

3. Cookies may be used for storing personal settings on a specific site.

This is usually done in order to create a more comfortable experience for the user on the site (in accordance with individual preferences).

For example, we can indicate what kind of website design and communication language we like, and indicate our location and time zone. The next time we visit the site, we will not need to make these settings again - we will immediately see it in the right color and in the right language, and we will also see, for example, the weather forecast for our city (the site view will be generated “for us” according to the saved settings).

4. Cookies may be used to activity tracking user's transactions on the site.

For example, on the websites of online stores, information about the purchases we make, discounts and bonuses, as well as the status of the shopping cart can be tracked for subsequent checkout.

Let’s say we “walk” through an online store, spend a long time choosing what we need among all the variety, and finally, we place the product we like in a virtual shopping cart, and cookies remember this (an entry is added to the file). On the next page we add another product, then another one, and the cookies are constantly updated. If this did not happen, then on each subsequent page of this store the cart would again be empty.

Thus, it is clear that on such sites without cookies, the whole point of shopping is lost - we would have to register and order each product separately.

And here is the time to talk about the “horror cookies” that are common among users and understand what cookies are not and what they do not do.

Misconception #1: Cookies They steal and send information on their own, and with their help, any attacker can find out whatever they want about us.

Actually this is not true. Information is placed in cookies only if we have provided it ourselves (manually entered it into the appropriate form on the website) or given access to it. Without our permission, cookies cannot access information and cannot view files on our computer.

I would also like to draw your attention to the fact that if we have cookies that were created on a specific site, then these cookies will allow information to be saved by this particular site, and NOT ALL in a row.

Misconception #2: Cookies are a type of virus and can therefore harm your computer.

In fact, you need to understand that cookies are not programs, but ordinary text data, so they cannot run on their own and perform any actions. The text itself cannot launch a virus, spy (send secret data), or erase data from the hard drive. It also follows that cookies cannot send/receive SPAM, cannot launch pop-up advertising windows, etc.

These are perhaps the two most common myths and as you can see, they have nothing to do with the truth - cookies simply store information about the user in order (for the most part) to make his life on the Internet easier.

Well, to paint a complete picture about cookies, we need to note some more harmful consequences of storing them on a computer, and also talk about deleting them.

Firstly, if you do not delete cookies (at least sometimes), then over time (with constant use of the Internet) quite a lot of them accumulate on the computer and they begin to take up space on the hard drive. And because Cookies are usually stored on the system disk, then the system may begin to “slow down” (due to insufficient free space on this disk).

Secondly, it is necessary to erase cookies in cases where it is necessary to hide traces of your computer activity or there are suspicions that our computer could be used by an attacker. If we have nothing to hide (in terms of sites visited and information entered on them), then it is not necessary to delete cookies.

In any case, everyone decides for themselves whether to delete cookies or not. Cookies do not carry anything really dangerous, but deleting them does not threaten anything terrible, except that on some sites you will have to re-authorize (do not confuse with registration).

Where are cookies stored?

For each browser, cookies are located in their own place, I will give an example of the most common ones

Google Chrome > C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data
Yandex browser > C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Yandex\YandexBrowser\User Data\Default
Opera > C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Opera Software\Opera Stable\Storage\ext\sync-login\def
Mozilla > C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\
IE > C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache

How to view cookies

Here, just read everything about using ccleaner and there you can find them in the link below in the paragraph about removal.

How to clear cookies

You can delete cookies directly in our browser settings. You can delete all cookies at once, or you can only delete cookies for individual sites. Moreover, in the browser settings you can specify that it (the browser) asks us for permission to create new cookies or automatically deletes all cookies when closing the browser.

Now I think you understand what cookies are, how they are used and how they are managed.