HTTP Cookie

From SuperbHosting.net Support Wiki

HTTP cookies, or, web cookies or as they are probably most commonly know, simply cookies, are packages of text that are sent from a server to a browser and then sent back again to the server, unchanged by the browser each time it accesses that server. HTTP cookies are used for authentication, tracking, and storing information about users, like, for example site preferences. The term "cookie" is derived from "magic cookie," a common concept in UNIX computing.

Cookies are subject to a variety privacy concerns and a number of misconceptions, mostly based on the belief they are computer programs. Cookies are in fact simple chunks of data that are unable to perform any operation independently. They are neither spyware nor viruses, despite the detection of cookies by many anti-spyware products.

Most modern browsers allow users to decide whether to accept cookies or not, but rejection can make some websites unusable. For example, certain shopping carts on E-commerce sites.

For more information, please see the article on Wikipedia, HTTP cookies.