Advantages and Disadvantages of the Cookies

[Deepmala]

Advantages of the Cookies :-

1. Websites can track number of users visiting it by means of cookies.
2. Cookies has made possible their users to change the layout and content of the website to bring about a personalized view of the site.
3. Cookies are also useful for the advertisers to track the on-site behavior of users. While keeping the personal information of a visitor, confidential, cookies help the advertisers know the web surfing habits of the visitors.
4. Cookies makes it possible for the shopping website to know user's preferences in shopping. The online shopping mechanism would have been difficult without the use of cookie technology.

Disadvantages of the Cookies :-

1. Cookie poisoning is defined as the act of manipulating the contents in the cookie before they are sent to the server. Changing the information contained in the cookies can misguide the websites and advertisers.
2. A site has an independent set of cookies. Another site should not be able to manipulate its cookies.
3. Cookies may generate an inconsistent state between the state of the client and that stored in the cookie. In cases where an operation is undone by clicking on a Back button, or when a page is reloaded, the state stored in the cookie should reflect the corresponding change.
4. Cookies lacks the ability to distinguish between two users who use the same user account. Cookies do not distinguish one user from another.
5. Cookies prone to cookie hijacking. Cookie hijacking refers to the interception of the information on the cookies by a malicious user

.

Modern technology has found solutions to many of these disadvantages. Cookies remain being the easiest and one of the only ways to enable online shopping and e-commerce activities. Despite the criticism and competition, the cookies are widely used till date.