Q: What are Internet Cookies?
A: An Internet cookie is a piece of data placed on your machine by a Web
server. Your computer uses a cookie to store and retrieve information. Without cookies,
anytime you fill out an Internet form with your name, address, and other information, and
then move on to other pages, you would lose it. Some cookies also store passwords to
restricted sites and track user browsing habits.
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Q: Does
the Town of Qualicum Beach Use Cookies?
A: Not at this particular time, however, we may in the future.
Cookies are needed to store passwords, names, addresses and other information
so that a Website functions properly. We do not use Internet Cookies
to track your browsing habits.
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Q: Can Cookies Damage My
Computer?
A: No. According to an extensive Computer Incident Advisory Capability
(CIAC) report commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy, the "vulnerability
of systems to damage or snooping by using Web browser cookies is essentially
nonexistent." For more information, see the full CIAC
report.
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Q:Do Cookies Threaten My
Privacy?
A: A cookie only contains information that you provide. It cannot
search your hard drive or use your modem to gather additional personal
data. Many Internet search engines and retailers, such as Yahoo and Amazon.com,
use cookies to retrieve mailing addresses and to track the sites and products
you prefer (mainly for marketing purposes).
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Q: Can I Refuse a Cookie?
A: Yes, but you may not want to. Both Netscape Communicator, Microsoft
Internet Explorer and other powerful browsers have programmable features
where you can choose to accept all cookies, accept only cookies from the
same server, or deny all cookies. Some browsers will also inform you when
a site requests a cookie so you can decide whether to accept or decline
it. As mentioned above, the problem with not accepting cookies is that
you can lose information as you move from page to page. Also, you will
not be able to use some Internet services without cookies.
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