“This website accepts cookies” and “accept cookies”, are two phrases you may have come across while browsing online.
These phrases are used as disclaimers to warn you that a website is seeking access to your search details.
Some users might be skeptical about clicking the ‘allow button’ while some tend to click the “accept” button in a haste to conduct their activities. However, little is known about cookies and the implications of accepting them.
According to Kaspersky Lab, a multinational cybersecurity and anti-virus provider, cookies are files that store data relating to your details such as usernames and passwords. They are used to identify a user any time a device or computer visits a website.
Upon allowing access, the servers send the details to search engines or browsers. Cookies are also used in simplifying website use. They detect the pages a user accesses and the choices made while browsing.
Subsequently, this information is used in targeted advertising based on the type of content searched by a user.
This is done by gauging the type of topics a user is interested in while sidelining those that are not of interest. Website companies are keen on establishing the users’ information to keep track of them whenever they are active on the web.
Through cookies, sites can track a user's previous searches and further make suggestions to the user on other topics that could be of interest.
For the safety of computers and devices, cookies have no potential of infecting computers with viruses and other defections. Thus, cookies have no threat to the safety of a computer or a mobile phone.
However, the danger lies in the possibility of hackers accessing a user's searches and thus infringing privacy. A breach of privacy is, therefore, the biggest challenge to worry about when accepting cookies.
Most sites give a condition of accepting cookies which in turn gives them immunity against privacy laws.
IT experts agree that cookies enhance simplicity in browsing and surfing, but also warn against accepting third-party cookies.
They have also warned against accepting cookies while using public Wi-Fi and in instances where a user is filling confidential details.
