What is Cookies?

Cookies are small text files stored on a users computer that contain a collection of name-value pairs
designating different types of information for that user. These text files are associated with a specific
domain (e.g. asos.com), and can only be accessed or modified by that specific domain.

Scope and Usage

We may use the information we obtain from your use of our cookies for the following purposes:

1. to recognize your computer when you visit the website

2. to track you as you navigate the website, and to enable the use of any e-commerce facilities
3. to improve the website's usability
4. to analyze the use of the website
5. in the administration of the website
6. to personalize the website for you, including targeting advertisements which may be of interest
to you.

Types of Cookies
According to Vangie Beal there are basically two types of cookies:

1. Session cookie: This is a type of cookie that temporarily stores information it erases
when the web browser is closed. It does not collect information from the computer, it
sores information inform of a session identification that does not identify the users
2. Persistent cookie: This is another type of cookie that stores information permanently
until it expires or until the cookie is deleted.

First and Third-Party Cookies

When choosing a privacy setting in your browser, two terms you will see are first-party cookies and
third-party cookies. First party cookies are those cookies that originate from (or be sent to) the Web site
you're currently viewing.

A third-party cookie, however, belongs to a domain different from the one shown in the address bar.
This sort of cookie typically appears when web pages feature content from external websites, such as
banner advertisements. This opens the potential for tracking the user's browsing history, and is often
used by advertisers to serve relevant advertisements to each user. For example, if the Web site you are
on using third-party advertising those third-party advertising Web sites may use a cookie to track your
Web habits for marketing purposes. While some may simply choose to block all cookies, it can make
Web surfing difficult. For example:

1. If you shop online, many e-commerce shopping carts that have been implemented with cookies
will not work.
2. Sites you frequently visit which enable you to personalize content also will not show your
preferences when you visit if you delete or disable that cookie.
They may use the information they obtain from your use of their cookies:

1. to track your browser across multiple websites

2. to build a profile of your web surfing
3. to target advertisements which may be of particular interest to you.

Privacy
Cookie is a form of data-gathering technique which online business and website owners can store and
retrieve information from about a user or client who visited the website, without their knowledge or
consent.

Cookie technology has created a significant debate, because of the way in which certain information
about internet users are been retrieved and stored without their consent or approval. Information
about individuals online browsing preferences can be captured while the user is visiting the website and
then stored on the users computer. The information can be recollected and then resubmitted to the
website the next time the user accesses the site.

Information about users activities can be gathered together and complied by online advertising
agencies, which pays to place advertisement online, include a link from the hosts web site page to the
advertising agencys URL. So, when a user accesses a web page that contains an advertisement, a cookie
is sent to the users system not only from the requested page but also from the online advertising
agency. The advertising agency can then retrieve the information from the cookie from the users
system and use the information it acquires about the user in its marketing advertisements.

Social and Ethical Issues

Privacy is a right to human life, it does not matter what information other people have its no ones
business, what they do or probably what they have done. But with the way technology is growing faster
than the information and technology age, things are getting out of hands means of breaching privacy is
increasing.

According to the ACM (Association for computing machinery) Be honest and trustworthy meaning the
true intension of carrying out a particular action must be known to owners of the information or data,
asking for consent before carrying out a particular piece of work, Respecting the privacy of others,
there might be a possibility that a user or client does not want some of their information to be known
therefore there should be a respect for that, Honor confidential, privacy should be honored to reduce
the invasion of privacy .

A devised means of resolving the issue of cookies is that the cookies could be turned off before the user
begins to use the system in case the cookie activated on the system is a permanent cookie (persistent).

Another way in which cookies can be stopped from retrieving information and data about users is that
after the user finishes with the system in which the Webpages were visited, the cookies history could be
deleted.

Legal Issues
A lot of users have complained concerning their invasion of privacy with the use of cookies placed on
their users system.

There have been several attempts to pass laws limiting the use of cookies but there are currently few
legislative measures that protect the internet users.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved of self-regulation with an undisputed vote in 2000. This
plan request that companies to inform users of their activities involving any user profiling that gives
users the opportunity to accept or decline the request. Although it is up to the user to choose whatever
information they want to provide to the website that they are going to be visiting or whether they want
to use the cookies, FTC is taking the action of against companies that do not abode by their own private
policy rules. Major Websites currently provide users with information that is collected and its intended
use.

References
[1]"Use of Cookies - June 2015 : Nature.com", Nature.com, 2017. [Online]. Available:
http://www.nature.com/info/cookies.html?foxtrotcallback=true. [Accessed: 09- Oct- 2017].
[2]"What are Internet Cookies and What Do They Do? - Webopedia", Webopedia.com, 2017. [Online].
Available: http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/all_about_cookies.asp. [Accessed: 09-
Oct- 2017].
[3]"Cookie Deletion White Paper | Http Cookie | Web Browser", Scribd, 2017. [Online]. Available:
https://www.scribd.com/document/20518487/Cookie-Deletion-White-Paper. [Accessed: 09- Oct-
2017].
[4]"Cite a Website - Cite This For Me", Piazza-resources.s3.amazonaws.com, 2017. [Online]. Available:
https://piazza-
resources.s3.amazonaws.com/is2a9uxytdn23q/itsxqw2uwf630t/03p98andersoncacmvol36no2.pdf?A
WSAccessKeyId=AKIAIEDNRLJ4AZKBW6HA&Expires=1507595422&Signature=q%2FR4GL%
2FLuvrPOpSFZ%2BXFP7DkFnI%3D. [Accessed: 09- Oct- 2017].
[5]2017. [Online]. Available: http://www.hmhsieh.idv.tw/ec/14.pdf. [Accessed: 09- Oct- 2017].
[6]2017. [Online]. Available: https://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/eserv/rmit:160334/Davison.pdf. [Accessed:
09- Oct- 2017].
[7]2017. [Online]. Available: http://surfthenetsafely.com/surfsafely5.htm. [Accessed: 09- Oct- 2017].
[8]2017. [Online]. Available:
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.70.6318&rep=rep1&type=pdf. [Accessed:
09- Oct- 2017].