Cookies are bad for your health and your computer!

Everyone loves the delectable warm taste of a cookie. The sweet sugary sensation in every bite is one of the greatest joys in the life of a human. However, I think we can all agree that too many cookies is bad for your health. We can also agree that eating too many cookies without exercising or doing a delay workout routine can lead to even more severe health conditions. In a figurative sense, this phenomenon is similar to that of a HTTP cookie (or web cookie, internet cookie, browser cookie, etc.).

The only difference is that internet cookies have never been "delectable". We do, however, love to surf the Web to look at social media, shop, and inform ourselves about current events. So in a sense, we like to consume information on the Internet, which involves downloading lots of web cookies. Originally, cookies were made to help us surf the Internet more efficiently, but many websites have created tracking cookies that can be annoying for users of the Web.

What is an internet cookie? It is a small piece of data that is sent from a website while browsing that website, and is then stored in the user's web browser (internet explorer, firefox, chrome, safari, etc.). Every time the user goes back to that website, the browser tells the server of that user's previous activity. Initially, cookies were used as a handy tool to remember items in a shopping cart, to remember pages user's had visited, and to keep user's logged in. Obviously, they are still being used in a good way, but now websites have created different kinds of cookies that can be intrusive. The most common is a tracking cookie, also called a persistent cookie. They are typically used by advertisers to track what a user has been doing on the Internet for an extended period of time. The tracking cookie then reports all that information back to a company's server. Another annoying cookie is called a third-party cookie. These are typically ads and banners from external websites. They might not even be related to the website you are currently looking at. Each third-party cookie shows different media because it is media relevant to each user.

Now you might be wondering, "How can I avoid the bad cookies and how can I get rid of them?" Unfortunately, you can never completely avoid the bad cookies because they are all over the Internet. Legitimate companies use cookies on their websites. Browsers have the capability to erase cookies for a period of time. In your browser's settings, you can delete history, cache, and cookies. It is highly recommended that you delete your cookies at least every week or two. Otherwise, your browser may run slow and you will have advertisements all over your webpages.

Thankfully, cookies are not attached with viruses or malicious content. They are simply just tracking devices. Before you enable your cookies on a website, always make sure the website is legit. Do not just click enable immediately without thinking about it. Cookies taste great, so I encourage you to consume them both physically and virtually. Just make sure you get on a weekly routine to watch your own health and to watch your computer's health.