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COOKIE INFO

What exactly is a cookie?

A cookie is a bit of information that your browser stores on your computer at the request of a web server, and passes back to the web server that created the cookie every time you talk to that web server. It is created when a web server asks your browser to store it.

Cookies can only contain information that you've already sent to a particular web site.

Cookies can not otherwise discover information about you. A cookie is NOT something that looks at things on your computer, or examines your history, or anything like that. There may be other ways that a web server can find out information about you, but these work with or without cookies.

Cookies are only sent back to the web server that created them (unless your browser has a serious bug). Cookies can't leak information from a site you trust to a site that you don't trust.

What's the point?

Cookies are used to track "sessions". Cookies are also used as a convenience for you the user, so you don't have to type in the same info over and over again when you visit a web site. Cookies may be used for both purposes.

A session is a set of accesses that are all from the same person. If a web site that you don't trust is using cookies for this purpose, they aren't "spying" on you. If you haven't sent them information, then they don't have any idea who you are. They just know that (for example) random ID #56843065829 accessed the web site 17 times on Monday, 3 times on Wednesday, and 86 times today. They can track what links random ID #56843065829 used when getting somewhere, which may help the web site redesign its layout to be more convenient, or to know where to best put advertisements.

DotComerica.com, however, does not track user's moves on our site, but uses cookies for security.

Cookies can also store information that you've sent them. For instance, if you shop there, they may store some sort of user id in a cookie so that it is easier to "log in" to that web site on future visits. In this case, they can relate the sessions to you personally. They can also sell that information -- but this has nothing to do with cookies: you've given them personal information, they can sell it regardless of whether or not they use cookies. If you don't want them to sell your personal information, I suggest you only do business with reputable web sites, and also make sure to read their statements on the use of personal information. Also, make sure they are running a secure server.

DotComerica.com does not share any information with any third party without your permission.

If you haven't given a web site personal information, then cookies can't be used to find anything out about YOU personally. If you HAVE given a web site personal information, the primary data that they will be selling is that explicit information (e.g. what did you buy from them, and when). Cookies only add marginal information, which is less saleable: what web pages did you look at when you weren't buying anything?

Cookies in Ad Banners

The most sinister part of the whole cookie thing is in Ad Banners provided by companies such as doubleclick.com. You may get a web page from kaopectate.com, but it may have an ad banner at the top, which is retrieved from doubleclick.com. This allows doubleclick.com to set a cookie, and also lets doubleclick.com know that you've visited kaopectate.com (the ad banner will be requested with a URL that has this info embedded in it, for example "http://doubleclick.com/truck_ad?advertiser=kaopectate.com", although it will be encoded so that you can't read it).

What this means is that doubleclick.com can track your movement across any site that they advertise on. Again though, they can't correlate your name to your clicks, unless they've already got your name some other way. Unfortunately, they can probably get it from any company they advertise on, which means that if you give your name to kaopectate.com, you may be giving it to doubleclick.com, who in term may sell it to all of the other companies that carry their ad.

This just makes it all the more important that you don't do business with companies without reading their privacy statements, and also making sure they're a reputable business.

DotComerica.com makes every attempt to screen any banners from outside sources so this won't happen.

Other ways of gaining information

While cookies can't be used to capture explicit information about you, there are other methods that can be used. Once the information is captured, it can be stored in cookies, or stored on the web server, or whatever. The main point is that the cookies don't add any extra danger to these problems.

Cookies can't grab information from you. Only you can give up information.

Instead of worrying about cookies, try to do the following: Make sure you have the latest version of JavaScript to reduce the chances of a software bug getting through. Don't allow ActiveX at all. Don't use browser software that you don't trust.

Information from: http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~fine/opinions/cookies.html