Adapted from Computer Concepts, New Perspectives, Thompson Course Technology EDW 647: The Internet Dr. Roger Webster & Dr. Nazli Mollah 24 Cookies: What is a “cookie”?  Cookie – small chunk of data generated by a Web server and stored in a text file on your computer A cookie is created by a Web server and stored on your computer’s hard disk

Adapted from Computer Concepts, New Perspectives, Thompson Course Technology EDW 647: The Internet Dr. Roger Webster & Dr. Nazli Mollah 25 What is a “cookie”?  Web sites use cookies to:  Track your path through a site to keep track of the pages you viewed or the items you purchased  Provide information that allows the Web site to present you with ad banners targeted to products you previously purchased at that Web site  Collect personal information you type into a Web page form and retain any personal information that you type into a Web page form

Adapted from Computer Concepts, New Perspectives, Thompson Course Technology EDW 647: The Internet Dr. Roger Webster & Dr. Nazli Mollah Why do Web sites use cookies?  You are on your favorite online music store  You search for your favorite band, new music, listen to sample tracks  Altogether you may have viewed 2- Web pages  Each time you connect to a different page, the server regards it as a new visit  Cookies allow the music site’s server to identify you so that your request won’t be mixed up with other thousands of people visiting the same online music store  Cookies also enables the server to keep track of your activity and compile a list of your purchases

Adapted from Computer Concepts, New Perspectives, Thompson Course Technology EDW 647: The Internet Dr. Roger Webster & Dr. Nazli Mollah How do cookies work?  the cookie message can include a:  customer number  shopping cart number  part number  other data  expiration date  domain name of the host that created the cookie  a server that creates a cookie can request it the next time you connect to one its Web pages browser server your browser connects to a site that uses cookies the server sends a “set-cookie” HTTP message the cookie is saved by your browser onto your computer’s hard disk

Adapted from Computer Concepts, New Perspectives, Thompson Course Technology EDW 647: The Internet Dr. Roger Webster & Dr. Nazli Mollah 26  Cookies are a relatively safe technology  Data, not computer program  cannot executed to activate worms or viruses  Can only be accessed by site that created it  Contain only information you disclose while using the site  a cookie cannot rummage through your hard drive to find passwords  BUT if you enter your credit card number during an online purchase it is possible for the cookie to store that number – same with SSN  most reputable Web sites do not store such sensitive information  Uses a customer account generated number instead of your name  your name is not associated with your cookies unless you entered it into a form, which is then transferred to a cookie Are cookies safe and private?

Adapted from Computer Concepts, New Perspectives, Thompson Course Technology EDW 647: The Internet Dr. Roger Webster & Dr. Nazli Mollah 27 Does my computer have to accept cookies?

Adapted from Computer Concepts, New Perspectives, Thompson Course Technology EDW 647: The Internet Dr. Roger Webster & Dr. Nazli Mollah 28  A Web programmer can program cookie to “time out”  You can delete the cookies  Firefox uses Cookies.txt or Magiccookie  IE stores each in a separate file How long do cookies stay on my computer?

Adapted from Computer Concepts, New Perspectives, Thompson Course Technology EDW 647: The Internet Dr. Roger Webster & Dr. Nazli Mollah Online Shopping

Adapted from Computer Concepts, New Perspectives, Thompson Course Technology EDW 647: The Internet Dr. Roger Webster & Dr. Nazli Mollah  Shopping cart – cyberspace version of the good old metal cart that you wheel around a store and fill up with merchandise  Shopper browses Web site, and then adds products using a “Buy” or “Add to Cart” button  Uses cookies to store information about your activities on Web site Shopping Carts: What’s an online shopping cart?

Adapted from Computer Concepts, New Perspectives, Thompson Course Technology EDW 647: The Internet Dr. Roger Webster & Dr. Nazli Mollah Shopping Carts: What’s an online shopping cart?  Add to Cart  when you click the “Add to Cart” button, the merchant’s server sends a message to your browser to add that item number (or ID number) to your cookie, which is them stored on your computer  View Cart  When you check out, the server asks your browser for all the cookie data that pertains to your chopping cart items  Cookies  Your browser sends those cookies along with a request for an order summary  Web Server  The Web server uses the cookies to produce a Web page listing the items you want to purchase

Adapted from Computer Concepts, New Perspectives, Thompson Course Technology EDW 647: The Internet Dr. Roger Webster & Dr. Nazli Mollah Is it safe to shop online?  spyware is any technology that surreptitiously gathers information  In the context of the Web and e-commerce, spyware secretly gathers information and relays it to advertisers or other interested parties  Web marketers use several spyware techniques, including ad-serving cookies and clear GIFs  Ad-serving cookies  if you click an ad, this 3 rd party can create an ad-serving cookie and use it to track your activities at any site containing banner ads from that third party  They claim that it is to simply serve you better targeted advertising  but privacy advocates worry that shopper profiles are compiled, sold, and used for unauthorized purposes  Clear GIFs  typically 1x1 pixel graphic on a Web page  can be used to set cookies to a 3 rd party Web site  You don’t even have to click a banner ad to receive the GIF-activated cookie  simply viewing the page that contains a clear GIF sets the cookie  Cookies created with clear GIFs have the same uses and potential for misuse as ad-serving cookies  ad-blocker software and anti-spyware are designed to block ad-serving cookies, clear GIFs, and other spyware – some even block banner and pop-up adverts altogether – these are becoming increasingly popular products, despite their tendency to slightly slow your browser’s response time

Adapted from Computer Concepts, New Perspectives, Thompson Course Technology EDW 647: The Internet Dr. Roger Webster & Dr. Nazli Mollah Can credit cards be intercepted?  Can credit card numbers be intercepted while traveling over the Internet?  YES  A packet sniffer (protocol analyzer) is a computer program that reads (sniffs) data packets as they travel over networks  most devices read only packets addressed to them, but packet sniffers read packets addressed to other devices  good for network administrators who have a legitimate need to observe/ open packets to their network  dangerous for hackers  Ethereal is a well-known packet sniffer software

Adapted from Computer Concepts, New Perspectives, Thompson Course Technology EDW 647: The Internet Dr. Roger Webster & Dr. Nazli Mollah Transaction Privacy & Security  To protect your data from packet-sniffing data, you should engage in electronic transactions only over secure connection  A secure connection encrypts the data flowing between your computer and the Web server  Even if a hacker can access packets containing your payment data, it is of little use if the data is cannot be decrypted  Technologies that create secure connections include SSL and HTTPS