Cookies
When a user visits a webpage, the data collected doesn’t personally identify the user; instead, it stores the personal information that may be linked to us. Cookies are generally used for the following purposes:-
To recognise the visitor’s login
To track while the user is navigating a website and to enable the use of ecommerce facilities
To analyse and improve the usability of a website.
To administrate the website
To personalise the website, including the target advertisements which may interest the user.
Cookies can also be classified as follows:-
Session Cookies, helps in tracking a user’s session and it expires after the duration of the session.
Persistent Cookies, could remain for a predetermined period of time. They also have an expiration date, which may long for days, months or even years.
Authentication Cookies, are used for managing the user’s session. They ensure the delivering of sensitive information to the correct user sessions by associating user account information with a cookie identifier string.
Tracking Cookies, are generated by tracking services. Tracking includes user activity and browsers send this record to the associated tracking service.
Zombie Cookies, regenerate even after deleting them. These sneaky cookies are used by some ad networks and cyber attackers.