Cookies

A cookie is a message that is given to a web browser by a web server for the core purpose of keep track of your visits and activity.

For instance, many e-commerce sites such as Amazon use cookies to improve the user experience, keeping shorting cart information stored as users browse and select different iteams. Without cookie technology, the shopping cart would simply be wipped each time  which would otherwise a user clicked on a new section of the website making the ecommence experience poor. 

There are two major types of cookies: Session Cookies and Persistent Cookies. 

Session cookies, or trasiset cookies, are a short term type that is deleted when you close the web browser. They typically will store information in the form of a session identification that does not personally identify the user.

Persistent Cookies, on the other hand, is a type of cookie that is stored on your hard drive until it expires or until the user manually deletes it.  Persistent cookies are used to collect identifying information about the user, such as Web surfing behavior or user preferences for a specific Web site.