Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
for.establishing.beyond.a.reasonable.doubt.the.activities.of.a.
user.online.
All.this.is.to.help.you.understand.the.incredible.wealth.of.
information.that.is.captured.and.retained.within.an.Internet.
cache.ile.when.someone.uses.his.or.her.browser.application.
to.work.or.play.online..But.it.is.also.(and.equally.importantly).
meant.to.be.a.big.caveat.about.recognizing.the.limitations.of.
that. information. and. the. assumptions. you. can. make. from.
what.you.ind.in.that.data.
I.promised.to.discuss.cookies.because.of.their.importance.
on.Web.sites,.so.let's.get.to.that.next.
Cookies. are,. on. their. surface,. very. simple. text. iles. that.
seem.relatively.benign..In.most.operating.systems.there.will.
be. a. folder. within. the. Internet. program. folders. or. storage.
area.that.holds.these.text.iles..They.are.created.and.stored.
for. a. certain. amount. of. time. based. on. the. Web. site's. pro-
gramming.or.on.actions.a.user.can.perform.or.settings.within.
the.browser.application.that.you.as.a.user.can.conigure.
When.you.land.on.a.Web.site.that.uses.cookies,.one.of.
the.items.it.downloads.is.this.little.text.ile..Often.it.will.start.
by. running. a. program. that. searches. on. your. computer. to.
see. if. a. cookie. matching. its. parameters. already. exists.. If. it.
does,.it.will.read.that.cookie.and.possibly.update.it.or.revise.
it. with. new.information.. In.its. most.benign. manifestation. a.
Web.site's.cookie.will.possibly.note.your.username,.when.you.
last.visited,.and.possibly.some.preferences.you.set.up.on.the.
site..Again,.this.is.a.way.to.ensure.that.your.experience.on.
the.site.is.easy.and.eficient..You.will.see.what.you.saw.last.
time,.your.username.will.automatically.ill.in.when.you.start.
to.type.it.in,.and.so.on.
A.perhaps.less.benign.and.more.invasive.use.of.cookies.
are.ones.that.note.what.you.searched.for,.or.perhaps.the.items.
you.clicked.on..Those.cookies.are.stored.with.your.computer.
name.or.possibly.the.IP.(or.Internet.Protocol).address.from.
where. you. are. browsing.. That. information. is. often. sold. to.
data.mining.companies.that.work.with.advertisers.
