Magic cookie
A cookie (English [ kʊki ]; to German biscuit or cookie, . Well MagicCookie, English for magic cookie ) is in its original form to a text file on a computer. They typically contains data about visited websites that stores the browser software while browsing the Internet without prompting. In the best case scenario for the user a cookie is to ensure that he does not have to log in again during repeated visit an encrypted page - the cookie tells the visited computer that he was ever there. In the worst case for the user, the cookie stores information about complex private internet behavior and transmit to, like a Trojan horse, without being asked to a receiver. Unlike the Trojan horse a cookie is not hidden by the user and seen and erasable.
Technology
Technically, it is in a cookie to a file that is used to time-limited archiving of information. The content consists of at least two constituents, his name and the contents ( value ). Many cookies also have a self- extinguishing date. Often cookies from the browser in the form of a readable text file, but partially stored in the form of a SQLite database.
Example of a set by the BBC, time-limited cookies on the visit of the BBC's bottom "world service":
Name: wsaPrefs Content: {" news headlines ": 3 } Host: www.bbc.co.uk Path: / world service Send for: Any type of connection Expires: Thursday, April 5, 2012 15:59:29 Several web browsers have different ways deal with cookies. They all load at startup all cookies in the computer's memory, but some store each cookie as a separate file in a folder on the hard drive, while others create a single file to combine all cookies in it.
Term origin
The term (Magic ) Cookie is mainly due to the U.S. programmer Lou Montulli in 1994. Preoccupied with the problem that computers could not remember which pages the user has visited, he developed a new technology that at first he "persistent client state object" called. It was this to be a five-page programming text that should give the Internet a memory.
As a former computer for identification purposes already used pieces of code to move between previously accessed pages, called this former programmer "magic cookies ", which Montulli prompting, simply to give the name of his program cookie, which lasted until today.
Application details and Privacy Policy
The value of the cookie will typically contain doing a memory address, are available over the functions of the service. Databases of this type are also known as Cookie Jar. Web browser usually provide a cookie database, which is also called cookie cache. In this database, the web server of a visited web store information in the form of HTTP cookies and read at a re- visit the page.
Google cookies and their " prefid " can identify the browser unique. They are also used for the targeted place spy software on individual computers and automated searches to monitor and to "exploit remotely ".