Questions about cookies in general...
Q/ Are Cookies safe?
A/ short answer - Yes.
long answer...
Q/ What Are cookies ?
A/ Cookies are small pieces of data that allow a web server to remember who
you are.
They are text and cannot be 'executed' therefore cannot act as a 'Virus',
and cannot send information from your hard drive to anyone.
An example of the use of cookies is a shopping cart...
- You select an item you would like to buy.
- Then you look around the website for other items of interest, but find
none.
- So you proceed to the checkout, the website has "remembered"
the item you want to buy.
- You then purchase the product (or not).
- The only(well almost) way for the website to "remember" you
is to use a 'cookie'.
An example of a cookie held by Internet Explorer;
userid 969358985 rebel.com.au/ 0 3048597504 29424951 3903342656 29418714
Q/ Yeah, but I have heard cookies are bad!
A/ This is a common misconception, not entirely without basis.
Cookies can track you across websites, various sneaky techniques are used
to do this, the most prominant is by a company called Doubleclick.
They use images on a webpage that contain the cookie and it goes back to their
own server, therefore bypassing the rule that a cookie is only sent to the
server sending the webpage.
If you use Netscape you can avoid this problem by clicking "only send
cookies to the originating server" Microsoft has yet to offer this facility.
(one of the reasons I prefer Netscape)
So what do they do with this sneaky technology?
Well they send you ads (banners) based on the sort of websites you visit,
in other words it is no more than a marketing ploy.
I don't personally agree with this use, but most sites see it as effective
marketing.
Q/ So what does Rebel Software do with the cookies?
A/ Simple really, we set a cookie called 'userid' when you
access certain pages on the website it allows us to call up your details and
customise the webpage.
Currently we use it to make sure that only 'registered users' download the
software and opponents, this reduces the enormous load placed on the web server.
Q/ Why don't you just let any body download the software?
A/ Every body wants free software. but it costs Rebel Software large
sums of money to send this software to just any body.
So we have decided that if people register with us, they are more likely
to buy the software (we don't make them), but some one who insists on remaining
anonymous is not likely to return.
It is a business decision to reduce our costs and yet allow us to continue
providing our software and services!
Otherwise we may have to do away with the FREE part of our software,
and no-one wants that!
Rebel Strip Poker - Cookies
