What is a cookie
 A cookie is something a web site puts on your hard disk in order to remember something about you.
Why should you care?
Cookies store information about what you have given to web sites, they do not store information you have not given. For example they may store your user name as the forum section of this site does, they will not store information you have not given, such as you hair colour, etc. there is a paranoia about cookies that is unfounded. Where to find your cookies
You can view the cookies that have been stored on your hard disk (although the content stored in each cookie may not make much sense to you). The location of the cookies depends on the browser. Internet Explorer stores each cookie as a separate file under a Windows subdirectory. Netscape stores all cookies in a single cookies.txt file. Opera stores them in a single cookies.dat file. Good use of Cookies
Such sites such as Amazon.co.uk and this site, on it's forum, make good use of cookies, it could be argued, by remembering how you are you need not log on every time you visit. Bad / malicious use of Cookies
Cookies essentially store information given what you have provided about you on your computer without you consent
Protecting Yourself against cookies
you can delete cookies (find out here) or prevent them in the first place by selecting on internet explorer:
Tool -> Internet Options . . .
And selecting privacy
clicking advanced and SELECTING override automatic cookie
and selecting block
Click okay and your all done, but do consider the consequences outline in this article before doing so.
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