Cookies, you'll recall, are little files that get sent to you by sites that want to track your usage and keep track of your preferences. According to news reports, Schmidt theorized someone had used a mechanism that can read those files off of a user's desktop. However, the online security community has roundly blasted Schmidt for promoting this notion. Their first objection was that Schmidt shouldn't be raising issues like this at a time when it will scare online shoppers away. Their second was that credit card information wouldn't be stored in cookies.
Novell representatives say the remark about the credit card theft was taken somewhat out of context.
But he did implicate cookies in the theft. While I'm not jumping on the bandwagon to store my personal data somewhere where I can't see it, Digital Me does seem more promising than ordinary cookie technology. After all, while cookies can be written by anybody with a Javascript handbook, Novell has built its business by safeguarding files being stored on networks - of which the Internet is just the largest. And unlike cookies, which can be accessed by any number of people administering the site that sent them, the Digital Me file will lock out all but the most-dedicated hackers. It's password-protected, and if you forget your password, you're hosed, because not even we can get into it.