Cookies

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Cookies are text files that are sent from a website and uploaded to a user's browser when they enter the website. They allow the process of storing information on websites that require users to login to be easier and more efficient. and navigating a website. Cookies identify a user through a name-value pair . Cookies are assigned times when they will be discontinued or expired. A user can be notified when a website sets a cookie or they have the option to choose settings that prevent cookies from being implemented. The tracking of cookies poses ethical concerns such as issues with user privacy and the ability for parties using cookies to see what sites the user has previously visited.

Example of a cookie

Setup of a Cookie

Cookies are set using a name-value pair. For example, a sample of a cookie used by goto.com:

UserID      A9A3BECE0563982D

In this case, "UserID" is the "name" part of the name-value pair and "A9A3BECE0563982D " is the "value" . A cookie also contains a domain, the website that issued the cookie. The domain allows the browser to send the right cookies as a user browses a site, and prevent websites from viewing cookies of another domain. A path value is also stored, to specify which pages within a website the cookie should be sent.

Uses

Cookies allow websites to easily maintain a user’s preferences whenever a user logs in or visits that site. Cookies ensures that preference are maintained for the duration of future visits to that site. For example, Facebook uses cookies to customize its advertisements, products, and features to a particular user, maintaining the user's privacy and other various settings. After the user logs out, Facebook would alert the user if someone tries to get through the same account or violates Facebook's policies . Cookies can also be used for browser-based gaming so that games might store a player’s state and allow returns for more play. E-commerce sites use cookies as a "shopping cart". This allows a server to hold on to the items that the user picked out to purchase while continuing to shop for other items. Cookies are a means of distributing some of the burden of information management to the client, the user’s browser, rather than the e-commerce business using costly server-side operations to save all data. If it were not for cookies, servers would have a difficult time retrieving the user's information.

Types

Session Cookies

Session cookies, also called transient cookies, are temporarily stored on a person's computer while the user is browsing on the site. This allows the user to move from page to page on the site. The session cookie is deleted upon closing the browser, and is not saved to a user's hard drive.

Persistent Cookies

Persistent cookies--also called permanent cookies or stored cookies--are not deleted when you leave a website. They allow the site to identify individual users. These cookies allow a site to keep track of and maintain a user's settings or preferences when the user logs out of a website and later logs back in. The permanent cookie is given a specified time to live (TTL) before it expires, specified by the website issuing the cookie. The cookie remains on a user's browser until it runs out, allowing the user to authenticate themselves with the cookie instead of using their username and password.

First Party Cookies

First party cookies have the same domain that a user is currently browsing. For example, if a user is on Amazon.com, the cookie will have the same domain name: Amazon.com.

Third Party Cookies

Third party cookies have a different domain than what is in the user's address bar. For example, a user may be on Amazon.com, but the cookie could have a domain name other than Amazon.com. Third Party Cookies are the subject of debate when it comes to cookies and privacy. Browsers such as Firefox, Internet Explorer and Google Chrome allow the use of third-party cookies by default but give users the option to turn third-party cookies off.

Zombie Cookies

These are cookies that automatically recreate themselves after a user initially destroys them. They are stored outside of allocated cookie storage locations and this allows them to persist after a user deletes their cookies. They can be stored either online or on your computer, and because they do not behave like traditional cookies, they can be attached to your browser even if you have chosen not to allow cookies. This type of cookie was first discovered at UC Berkley when researchers found they could not delete cookies as they kept returning.

Ethical Concerns

Cookies are not viruses, but there have been concerns about privacy on the internet, especially with Third Party Cookies. Cookies of this sort can have the capability to track what other sites a user browses and allow other sites access to a user's information without the user going on to the site and/or give a user's information to another site without the knowledge and consent of the user. Zombie cookies can track users across different browsers used by the same computer because the cookies are stored in places that are common between browsers.

Privacy

There is a concern that data about a user can be intercepted as the connection between the browser and the user is not encrypted. This would give them access to sensitive cookie data including anything a user has entered them-self into a website, for example filling out a form online.

In regards to privacy, a major ethical concern regarding Third Party Cookies is the ability for them to track a user's frequently visited websites as well as store data and patterns about that user's activity online on various web pages. These functions are often used by advertisers to watch what other sites and products the user is viewing. It is often advised to turn off cookies or only accept cookies from trusted or frequently visited sites. Within these sites, cookies help a user who visits the webpage often by remembering their specific information for the frequently visited website. Zombie cookies are also considered a privacy breach as they can be stored right on your computer and are not removed when a user explicitly expects to do so.

Exploitation

Users can opt to disable cookies from websites but some functionalities will be disabled. Users are often times not made aware of that a website is collecting cookies. Cookie policies are hidden in the privacy policy of a website.

Cookie tracking

Cookies that are used to authenticate a user to a website (such as Facebook) can be used to track user behavior on third-party websites. A third party website may contain images that are pulled from Facebook, such as the like button. When the image is downloaded from the browser, Facebook identifies the user's cookie and associates that third party website visit to the user. Facebook is able to identify the user without them clicking or interacting with the page. Simply loading the page allows for data collection. Browser extensions such as Ghostery allow a user to block tracking technologies.

Airline prices

Consumers have long accused airline companies of using internet cookies to unfairly price tickets. Robert Weiss, an attorney who published a how airlines exploit cookies to price gouge tickets, found that travel sites used cookies to actually determine their pricing of tickets. Bill McGee, a journalist with USA Today and researcher for Consumers Union, conducted an experiment to demonstrate this phenomenon. McGee searched one major travel site for a ticket from New York City to Sydney, Australia with two different browsers (one was clear of all cookies and one had a history of purchasing flights). McGee ultimately found that the browser with no history offered fares ranging from $1,770 to $1,950 while the browser that had past history had fares listing at $2,116. This experiment proved how the use of cookies and other tracking information raises serious ethical issues about privacy and the use of stored information.

Consumers have since been adapting to practices like these from major online commerce sites. A common solution is to simply delete your cookie history. Another solution is to use Google Chrome Incognito. Chrome Incognito ensures that your browsing history, cookie storage, and other sensitive information will not be kept.

Such behavior arises the debate whether or not agencies and companies have the moral right to use user-specific data. Many situations are viewed on a case-by-case basis. For instance, the NSA has in the past used Google cookies to pinpoint targets to "hack" and surveil. The NSA has found particular use in a Google-specific tracking technology called the "PREF" cookie, which contains numeric code that allows the NSA to specifically track an individual's browsing data.

Vulnerabilities

Browser cookies give attackers the opportunity to steal private information about one's personal life, sensitive finances, and even identity. In September 2015, The US Computer Emergency Response Team (Cert) found a loophole in major browsers like Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari that allows remote attackers to essentially bypass industry-secure HTTPS protocol to reveal confidential data.. A website that uses cookies can be exploited through common vulnerabilities if the website is not developed with common attacks in mind. An attacker can use common attacks such as Cross Site Scripting and Cookie Poisoning. To reduce threat, the content of cookies can be encrypted. Additionally, evaluating the vulnerabilities through penetration testing can reduce the risk of an attack.

Laws Regarding Online Privacy

Europe

In 2002, the European Union made rules regarding the use of cookies. In particular, "the user is provided information about how this data is used" and the opportunity to deny a website from storing their information. In 2009, the European Union amended this law to include giving "a user advanced written notice that a cookie is being placed on his or her device and describes what the cookie is doing" and "obtains the user’s consent to the placement of the cookie before placing the cookie on the user’s device". On May 26, 2011, the European Union set guidelines for websites about using cookies. In order for a site to keep cookies on a user's hard drive, the website must get the consent of the user and gain acceptance.

United States

The site of the National Security Agency was caught putting cookies on user's computers that were capable of tracking a user's web activities. There currently exist no laws in the U.S. that directly target the use of cookies.

See Also

• Data Aggregation Online
• Data Mining
• Privacy in the Online Environment
• Web browsing history