Computers' eyes are always watching peoples' moves on the Internet. When a person logs onto the Internet and navigates through the World Wide Web, some level of information gathering or tracking is done. It sounds like something fattening and delicious, but a cookie is simply a block of text that the site places in a file on a computer's hard drive. Although a code in the cookie file enables the site to label a particular user, it does not identify the user's name or address unless such information is provided automatically by the user's browser. In Internet Explorer, choose view, Internet options, content and edit profile.
Cookies are basically harmless but, despite that, they frighten people.
No one wants an intruder in the home. Maybe that is why newer versions of browser software let users decide whether they want to receive cookies. Some programs notify users when a Web site is about to deposit a cookie. The nice thing about cookies is that they personalize a Web site when the user visits often. She can type in the city's name, check off the box requesting that the information be saved and a cookie will be placed on her computer's hard drive.