Cookies, its a nice cute name isn't it,

And in the realms of spyware cookies are about the lowest level threat you could encounter," mostly harmless "

Every time you go to any site , a small text file is added to your cookie folder, this folder and its contents can be read by other sites that you visit, or re read by a site you've already visited,

I use cookies myself, I've placed one on your computer, it lets me know, where you've come from, and if you've come from a search engine, it lets me know, what you've typed in to get here

So you're spying on me, I hear you say, well yes I supposed I am, but let me try to justify myself

The information I've gathered about you, is mixed in with information from hundreds of other people that visit this site daily, I'm not interested in you personally, but how you got here, that interests me, i.e. I notice 30 people inquiry about cookies, on a page where I've mentioned cookies, this means its time for me to create a new page all about cookies,

You benefit by this exchange of information, the web itself evolves around you, spying yes, as this is all done without your knowledge, or consent,

Now the type of cookies I use, won't allow me to track your movements once you've exited this site,

Other sites use tracking cookies, Which can track your movements everywhere,

The sort of questions your probable asking yourself by now

Q. ? can I stop cookies from getting onto my computer / can I delete the cookie folder ?

A. yes, but lots of sites won't let you visit them without cookies, (I've tried this myself, its not really a workable idea. surfing the web becomes next to impossible)

Q. ? can I control what cookies I allow on my computer, on a cookie by cookie basis

A. yes, but in a real life situation, again it becomes un workable, not just the page , but virtually every advertisement has its own cookie, saying yes or no to each and every cookie, would just be a nightmare, this applies to Internet explore only, this doesn't apply firefox, where you can adjust your privacy settings, to only except direct cookies from the specific site your on, and only except cookies, on a yes no basis, by you,

Q. ? so what can I do to exercise some control

Run some anti-spyware software, to eliminate the spying cookies that bypass these filtering systems, with Internet explore, I'd suggest a frequent scan, FireFox uses, seldom find anything that can bypass the filtering system