Cookies
What is a cookie?
When you enter a site your computer will automatically be issued with a cookie. Cookies are text files that identify your computer to our server. Cookies in themselves do not identify the individual user, just the computer used. Many sites do this whenever a user visits their site in order to track traffic flows.
Cookies themselves only record those areas of the site that have been visited by the computer in question, and for how long. Users have the opportunity to set their computers to accept all cookies, to notify them when a cookie is issued, or not to receive cookies at any time. The last of these, of course, means that certain personalised services cannot then be provided to that user.
How to find and control your cookies?
If you're using Netscape 6.0:
On your Task Bar, click:
- Edit, then
- Preferences
- Click on Advanced
- Click on Cookies
If you're using Internet Explorer 6.0:
- Choose Tools, then
- Internet Options
- Click the Privacy Tab
- Click on Custom Level
- Click on the 'Advanced' button
- Check the 'override automatic cookie handing' box and select Accept, Block or Prompt for action as appropriate.
If you're using Internet Explorer 5.0 or 5.5:
- Choose Tools, then
- Internet Options
- Click the Security tab
- Click on Custom Level
- Scroll down to the sixth option to see how cookies are handled by IE5 and change to Accept, Disable, or Prompt for action as appropriate.
If you're using Internet Explorer 4.0:
- Choose View, then
- Internet Options
- Click the Advanced tab
- Scroll down to the yellow exclamation icon under Security and choose one of the three options to regulate your use of cookies.
In Internet Explorer 3.0:
You can View, Options, Advanced, then click on the button that says Warn before Accepting Cookies.
If you're using Netscape Communicator 4.0:
On your Task Bar, click:
- Edit, then
- Preferences
- Click on Advanced
- Set your options in the box that says Cookies.
How do you know which of the sites you've visited use cookies?
If you're using Netscape 6.0:
On your Task Bar, click:
- Edit, then
- Preferences
- Click on Advanced
- Click on Cookies
- Click the View Cookies button
If you're using Internet Explorer 5.0 or 6.0:
- Choose Tools, then
- Internet Options
- Click the General tab
- Click Settings
- View Files
If you're using Internet Explorer 4.0:
On your Task Bar, click:
- View, then
- Internet Options
- Under the tab General (the default tab) click
- Settings
- View Files.
Internet Explorer 3.0:
On your Task Bar, click:
- View
- Options
- Advanced
- View Files.
Netscape Communicator 4.0:
Netscape bundles all cookies into one file on your hard drive. You'll need to find the file, which it calls Cookie.txt on Windows machines.
How to see your cookie code?
Just click on a cookie to open it. You'll see a short string of text and numbers. The numbers are your identification card, which can only be seen by the server that gave you the cookie.
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