How and why do I need to delete cookies in my browser?

If you ever had to deal with computer tech support, then you are familiar with the main question of specialists: "Did you delete the cookies?". But if for the first time a person does not understand what is actually the matter, then each subsequent appeal puts him in an embarrassing situation. Why do these files exist and why should they be deleted?

What are cookies?

These mysterious files are small data packets in the form of fragments of textual information sent to you in the computer from all sites that you visit. Thus, cookies contain information about your activities on a particular page. Just the browser that you use, keeps it in a compressed form. It displays all the basic information: passwords, user name, change settings for the site and all that you sent to the shopping cart, making a purchase in the online store.

Convenience of function

This is very convenient, because until you delete the cookies, you do not have to re-enter the password every time you go to this page and perform other unnecessary manipulations. All the material you have operated on is already stored in the browser. There are several different types of such files that can behave differently: some of them are deleted automatically after the visiting window is closed, and some are sent to the hard disk and will be stored there until you delete them manually.

Funny name

The word cookie in English means "cookie". Why did programmers come up with such a funny name for these files? Everything is very simple. Their concept is similar to Chinese happiness cookies, when a person, having tasted delicacy, receives notes with predictions hidden inside. So it is here. Cookies store all the main information, which, however, can be very useful for crackers.

Why do I need to delete them?

These files work in the background, so they do not bother the user. However, they need to be removed from time to time, and that's why. Cached data stored in these files sometimes conflict with the website. This happens if the page is automatically updated. This causes a crash when you reload. This means only one thing: the data is obsolete and must be disposed of. Otherwise, access to some sites for you is temporarily blocked.

In addition, text fragments accumulate on the hard disk, which ultimately results in the occupation of some space on your computer. And although each file "weighs" only a few kilobytes, if you put them together and leave them intact for a long time, this can cause certain problems.

How to ensure confidentiality?

If you do not want family members, co-workers or intruders to be able to track your activity on the Web, use incognito mode.

Depending on the browser

And one more thing: if you decide to remove cookies, at the same time, clear and cache memory. This is a very simple process. Open the browser settings and enter the "personal data" section. There you will see the function "clear history", in which you can select the parameters you are interested in.