Student
Cookies as Spyware
This paper addresses Cookies as Spyware. The option chosen was to analyze the issues associated with cookies being used as spyware. Are cookies pieces of malicious, benign, or innocent software? The next paragraphs of this paper will discuss the various uses of cookies. And, then, the paper will conclude with my opinion about cookies based upon my research findings.
Since web browsing uses a stateless connection, cookies are used to maintain the state of a browsing session. Cookies are small data files that are produced by a web server that are stored on your computer. Cookies allow a personalized web browsing experience because of the identifying information that they store within them (such as login information, passwords, web pages visited, and/or items placed in a shopping cart). There are different types of cookies that are created for specific purposes. They include session, persistent, first-party, and third-party cookies. Session cookies are used to store information related to a particular visit during one session. Persistent cookies are used to store information permanently on your hard drive about your interactions and/or preferences with a certain web site. First-party cookies are used by the specific site that created them while their website is being visited, whereas third-party cookies are not created by the website that is being visited. Third-party cookies are created by another website besides the website being visited such as a banner advertisement on the web page that is being visited. (“Encyclopedia,”)
While most cookies appear to be used solely for the purpose of enhancing the user’s web browsing experience, cookies can be used for other purposes including adware or spyware if they contain active code. Adware is used to automatically download or display advertisements on a person’s computer. Spyware is technology used to gather information about a person or organization without their consent or knowledge and relay that
This paper addresses Cookies as Spyware. The option chosen was to analyze the issues associated with cookies being used as spyware. Are cookies pieces of malicious, benign, or innocent software? The next paragraphs of this paper will discuss the various uses of cookies. And, then, the paper will conclude with my opinion about cookies based upon my research findings.
Since web browsing uses a stateless connection, cookies are used to maintain the state of a browsing session. Cookies are small data files that are produced by a web server that are stored on your computer. Cookies allow a personalized web browsing experience because of the identifying information that they store within them (such as login information, passwords, web pages visited, and/or items placed in a shopping cart). There are different types of cookies that are created for specific purposes. They include session, persistent, first-party, and third-party cookies. Session cookies are used to store information related to a particular visit during one session. Persistent cookies are used to store information permanently on your hard drive about your interactions and/or preferences with a certain web site. First-party cookies are used by the specific site that created them while their website is being visited, whereas third-party cookies are not created by the website that is being visited. Third-party cookies are created by another website besides the website being visited such as a banner advertisement on the web page that is being visited. (“Encyclopedia,”)
While most cookies appear to be used solely for the purpose of enhancing the user’s web browsing experience, cookies can be used for other purposes including adware or spyware if they contain active code. Adware is used to automatically download or display advertisements on a person’s computer. Spyware is technology used to gather information about a person or organization without their consent or knowledge and relay that
References: Encyclopedia. (n.d.). PCMagazine, Retrieved from http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=cookie&i=40334,00.asp Information security magazine. (2008, October 5). Retrieved from http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid14_gci214518,00.html Are all cookies dangerous?. (2010, March 30). Spy Cookies Blocking the way for PC spies, Retrieved from http://www.spycookies.com/2010/03/