A cookie is a piece of information / message given by web server to a web browser. The data stored in a cookie is sent back to server each time browser requests a page from the server. Each web browser has a set of cookies stored in the computer's memory.

So, for example, if you set CheapOair's preferences to your current browser those settings won't work for another browser or computer, and you would be required to set browser cookie settings as per CheapOair's server.

Just like cache, cookies can be cleared to restore file storage space. If not deleted manually, cookies have an expiration date and are deleted automatically, once the date has passed. However, if you don't want cookies to be set, you can do so by preserving your privacy.-

If you're prompted to enable cookies, it means that you don't have cookies enabled for that browser. You can turn-on cookies following a simple set of instructions below:

Microsoft Internet Explorer
Enabling cookies in Internet Explorer 7 or 8:

1. In Internet Explorer, click on "Tools" menu.
2. Click "Internet Options", and then click on the Privacy tab.
3. Click the Advanced button and choose 'Override automatic cookie handling' under the Cookies section.
4. Choose 'Accept' or 'Prompt' option under 'First-party Cookies'.
5. Choose 'Accept' or 'Prompt' option under 'Third-party Cookies'. (Note: In case of 'Prompt' option, you'll be asked to click OK every time a site sends a cookie.)
6. To exit click OK in Internet Options menu.

Enabling cookies in Internet Explorer 6:

1. In Internet Explorer, click on "Tools" menu.
2. Click on the Internet Options - a new window opens.
3. Click on the Privacy tab.
4. Click the Advanced button and choose 'Override automatic cookie handling' under the Cookies section.
5. Choose 'Accept' or 'Prompt' option under 'First-party Cookies'.
6. Choose 'Accept' or 'Prompt' option under 'Third-party Cookies'. (Note: In case of 'Prompt' option, you'll be asked to click OK every time a site sends a cookie.)
7. To exit click OK in Internet Options menu.

Mozilla Firefox
Enabling cookies in Mozilla Firefox 3.x (PC):

1. Click Tools > Options.
2. Click Privacy and set 'Firefox will': to Use custom settings for history.
3. Check the box next to Accept cookies from sites to enable cookies and then click OK.

Enabling cookies in Mozilla Firefox 2.x (PC):

1. Click Tools > Options.
2. Click Privacy and choose 'Accept cookies from sites' checkbox.
3. Click OK.

Enabling cookies in Mozilla Firefox (Mac):

1. Go to the Firefox drop-down menu.
2. Select Preferences and click on Privacy tab.
3. Set 'Firefox will': to Use custom settings for history.
4. Check the box next to Accept cookies from sites to enable cookies and then click OK.

Chrome
Enabling cookies in Chrome (PC):

1. Click the Tools menu.
2. Select Options.
3. Click Under the Hood tab.
4. Click Content settings in the 'Privacy' section.
5. Make sure Allow local data to be set, is selected to allow both first-party and third-party cookies. First-party cookies are cookies that are set by the site domain listed in the address bar. Third-party cookies come via other domain sources which have items, such as images, or advertisements, embedded on the page. If you only want to accept first-party cookies, check the box next to Block all third-party cookies without exception.

Enabling cookies in Chrome (Mac):

1. Select Chrome > Preferences and then click Under Hood tab.
2. Go to 'Privacy' section and click on content settings.
3. Make sure Allow local data to be set is selected to allow both first-party as well as third-party cookies.
4. If you just want first-party cookies to be allowed, check the box next to Block all third-party cookies without exception.

Safari
Enabling cookies in Safari:

1. Go to the Safari drop-down menu and choose Preferences.
2. Click Security and select 'Only from sites you navigate to' option from 'Accept Cookies'
3. If the browser cookies are already enabled and you're still getting an error message that cookie functionality is disabled, try opening a new window.

Cookies are crucial for helping an application work interactively with the user (work as per user preferences and create customized Web pages for them). When you enter a website using cookies you are requested to enter some information including your name and interests, which is then packaged and then sent to your browser. Your browser stores this information for later use and next time you when you visit the same webpage, it might display your name with welcome message, instead of the generic welcome page.

Cookies help the server to remember whether or not you've previously visited a webpage.

There are mainly two types of cookies: first-party or third-party cookies (although there's no technical difference between the two.) First-party cookies belong to sites you've visited in your browser, while third-party cookies get generated from a JavaScript includes on the page (generally from third-party advertising websites.)

There are many reasons for using cookies. These include - the ability to personalize information, or for collecting demographic information. Cookies help the programmers to keep the information updated as per user interest.

For more information relaed to Cookies, please visit Cookie Central
Read articles relating to cookies on Marshall Brain's "How Stuff Works"
You can even find answers to questions relating to cookies on Yahoo .
And also on Google Cookie Guide.

No matter, the kind of browser you're using, Firefox or Internet Explorer, cookies are text-only files and can be easily deleted.

To delete cookies, close your browser first as the cookies are stored in you browser's memory.

If you choose to delete cookies, all information relating to a site will be deleted and you would have to start from the scratch. Therefore, it's recommended that you go to the cookies folder (Internet Explorer) and then delete files that you don't require.

Rejecting Cookies in Microsoft Internet Explorer:

For IE 6.0, go to Tools, select Internet Options and change cookie settings in Privacy menu
For IE 5.0, go to Tools, select Internet Options and change cookie settings in Security menu, to accept or reject cookies

For IE 4.0, go to the View, then Internet Option and click on Advanced menu for accept all, warn before accepting, or reject all.

No. Cookie is nothing more than tiny bits of text stored on your PC and is not a plug-in or a program. Also, cookies cannot access your hard drive and cannot be used as a virus.

We already know that cookies are set by the website's you've visited, so if you haven't given any information that's personal, there's no way cookies will contain them.

Also, even the cookies might contain information such as your login credentials, they're sent back to the same site that originated them. Therefore, your information isn't shared with every site you visit.

This can be due to following reasons:

• The site you're visiting isn't detecting the cookies properly, and it would appear that the cookies are being rejected by you.
• Also, you might be using software that interferes with cookies and therefore your computer is not able to receive them.
• Another possibility could be a proxy server preventing cookie transmission. This is usually the case with corporates.

If something like this happens where you're unable to recall your settings, the best thing to do is, contact site webmaster or customer service for assistance.

Microsoft has a system to keep cookies of different users segregated on the same machine. This is done by affixing the username to the cookie filename. Also, the cookies of one user aren't utilized when the other logs-in. That's why the username is a part of cookie filename and is not sent to server along with cookie data.

Cookies are embedded in the HTML information flowing to and from the user's computer and the website servers.

Cookies hold the information stored by user's browser and assign each user a unique ID which in turn helps the webmaster to track statistics. These statistics relate to when and from where the user visited and filter information for your future visit/s. Next time you visit a webpage, it would be displayed in accordance to the information your browser has sent to the server on your last visit.

Cookies are usually stored in browser memory, however it is possible for a cookie to expire even before you close the browser window, this is known as session browsing. In such cases, browser stores cookies in hard drive and you'll still see cookies that were stored previously.

Not only this, browser's also maintains cookies. Every time you open your browser, it reads your cookies and then re-saves them when it is closed. When the cookie expires, it is discarded from the memory and is no longer saved in the hard drive.

Cookies have an expiration date and your browser store a cookie as per the information (time and date), sent by the web server.

These dates could be:
• Some date in the future. Few minutes/ hours from now, or several years in the future.
• When you close your browser. Also known as session cookie, these cookies get deleted when you close your browser.
• Some date in the past: when the server asks browser to delete previously stored cookies.

If want to enjoy the benefits of cookies, keeping your privacy intact, some browsers give you the option of treating some or all cookies as session cookies. In this case, if a server asks to store a cookie for a year, your browser can store it as session cookie instead.