Nikita,
Cookies sometimes are used to track users between sites (these are called tracking cookies), so it is approprite in my view to clear out your cookies every week or so. However, cookies have good uses, too. Did you log on and check the box that said, "Keep me logged on?" If so, a cookie was generated and stored on your computer containing your logon information. Cookies are also used to keep track of where you are in browsing subjects, etc, and on places like staples.com, your "shopping cart" is really a cookie on your own PC.
Although spyware scanners will get rid of tracking cookies, they are not spyware. Spyware is a program run on your PC without your knowledge (usually) and which does things like downloading ads into your PC for future display as pop-unders or to replace ads from a web site, stealing your keystrokes and sends them to a web site (usernames and passwords included), looking for mpeg3 files to swipe, or downloading other spyware.
If you use Mozilla/Firefox, then you can tell it to get rid of all cookies every 7-14 days or whenever, and you can stop worrying about tracking cookies entirely. Plus, since it doesn't use active-x (nor does Opera and most non-IE browsers), you won't get the piggyback spyware which is how my computer was infected last April. Fool me once, shame on you... |
