What are Cookies?

Attached is a screenshot of what Ghostery (tracker tracker) displays while viewing this thread.

You can see there are 6 trackers. Of those, 5 are from Google for maps, analytics, Google Plus (Google's social network), etc. There is one other from DoubleClick, which is the service which handles some of the ads here and which is also a subsidiary of Google. So, all 6 trackers are from Google.

Other pages may load services from different providers, such as Facebook. If you see a Facebook related box, then you'll also receive a Facebook cookie marked as a tracker.

Not appearing in this display is cookie activity from DumagueteInfo because the site isn't included in the Ghostery database as a "tracker". In this context, a tracker collects data from your browser across the web, as opposed to DumagueteInfo cookies which start and stop at this site.

Cookies are plain text entries saved by your browser which serve as sort of a limited database for information retrieval. DumagueteInfo uses cookies to determine if you are logged in. Without the usage of cookies, the internet would be a much more frustrating place.

If you are concerned about tracking, then my suggestion is to download / update to the latest version of Firefox and use their "container" functionality to create isolated browsing sessions. You can read more about it here.

Multi-Account Containers | Firefox Help

Let us know if you have any further questions.

Thanks!

John

 

Malware is an executable file which must be downloaded and run on your computer to infect the system. Cookies are plain-text files which aren't executable. In other words, one is a software program, the other is a text file no more powerful than something you might create in Notepad. A website can't force a download of an executable file to your computer unless the authors have found and exploited a security hole in both your browser and the site in question.

Most malware gets into your computer by tricking you to download and install it. It's possible that any site could get hacked to add a download button for malware, but you would still have to click the button and download the file. The site can't force this on you. Other classic methods of trickery are email attachments and free software downloads which carry a malware payload. In some cases, free software will give you an option to install extra programs along with the initial program you downloaded, don't do this.

In the Philippines, malware may also travel by USB stick because they are so often used in internet cafes. The malware running on an infected computer detects that a USB storage device has been plugged in and it infects the storage. It then adds / modifies an "autorun" file which directs the host computer to automatically run the executable on insertion of the device. You plug the USB stick into a clean computer, this computer reads the autorun, the autorun instructs the system to run the executable, and the clean computer is infected. Rinse, repeat for every system this stick gets inserted into.

Cookies being good or bad is a bit of a rabbit hole of a discussion. Google can only information which you have given to the service. Otherwise you are a sort of John Doe character with a certain usage profile. Google knows John Doe has visited X sites, with X IP address, using X browser but it doesn't know who John Doe really is. If Google can connect you to your real name, it's because you have already provided that info to Google.

The same is true of Facebook. If you are logged into FB while browsing the internet, then FB can connect that visit to your username (because the FB cookie is present on your system.) If you aren't logged into FB, then you are a "John Doe" to FB as well.

This is where the Firefox containers come in handy. Say you want to stay logged into FB but you don't want the service to know what you are doing on other sites. You can then use one container for FB and use another container for your shopping. Just be sure that you don't log into FB using the same container that you are using for shopping.

Going further than this is where we enter the rabbit hole. You could argue that every action you take creates information which could be sold. If you view an advertisement, your decision to click or ignore the ad is information which the advertiser has purchased. Even as an autonomous user, you have made a decision (action) and the advertiser will use that information to further modify, optimize or pull their ads. The behavior of users on DumagueteInfo will result in new ads being presented and old ads being modified or pulled. We use the Google service which manages all this activity for us.

We are going for a balance of utility and privacy. Google services, such as maps, are incredibly useful when mixed with local information. We will continue to use those services as well as services from other providers we trust. If you are worried about the presence of these services, then feel free to block them.

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John