What is a cookie?

A cookie is a small file of data that an Internet server places on the hard drive of a user by way of the browser. This information can be passed to the server each time the browser is used, and its purpose is as a way of identifying the user without the need for a password. More elaborate cookies can be used to identify preferences (for Internet shopping, for example). Browsers contain options for restricting or eliminating cookie storage.

Collins Dictionary of Computing, © Ian R. Sinclair, 2000  

 Cookie. (2000). In Collins Dictionary of Computing. Retrieved September 04, 2007, from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/1252244

 <  Back