The “COOKIE” – MONSTER?
Laurie Lewis SLM-521 Course Module

Objective	Students will understand what an Internet “cookie” is, and what it can and can’t do.
Objective	Students will be able to locate the cookies that have been placed on their computers and read what information is being stored in them.
Objective	Students will understand the privacy issues surrounding cookies, and how they can control their use.
Introduction	The use of Internet “cookies” by web sites desiring to store information on site user’s computers has spawned an ongoing controversy over whether this practice violates the privacy of visitors to the web sites that use them. Are they spying tools? Are cookies a monster? In order to make a decision about whether or not you think the use of cookies is a violation of site user’s privacy, you must first understand what a cookie is, and what it can and cannot do. Once you understand what cookies are, what information they can provide about you, and can look at those that are being stored on your computer, you are ready to decide whether or not you wish to take steps to control this practice when you are using the Internet.
Activity	Please read the following article: How Internet Cookies Work: Located within the web site How Things Work, this is an excellent and comprehensive article that describes how cookies work, explains how to locate them on your own computer, and describes what the privacy issues are involving them. http://www.howstuffworks.com/cookie1.htm Please make sure to use the information located in the article to view the cookies on your computer and list them as described below. In addition, please view your Internet history with the web site “How Things Work” as described in the article. Also, please read these two articles cited in the How Things Work article: 1. An article on the privacy implications of cookies: http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,54769,00.html 2. A article on how to control cookies through the use of your browser: http://www.microsoft.com/info/cookies.htm?RLD=291 In addition, please read the following three articles: 1. A related article on how to control cookies using your browser: http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/sec_cook.mspx 2. A general article from the School Library Journal on Internet privacy, cookies, and how to manage them: http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1299/2_47/70927429/p1/article.jhtml 3. An article on how one company, RealNetworks, handles their cookies: http://www.realnetworks.com/company/privacy/cookies.html FACT TO NOTE: According to the following web site, the term “ cookie derives from UNIX objects called magic cookies. These are tokens that are attached to a user or program and change depending on the areas entered by the user or program.” http://webopedia.internet.com/TERM/c/cookie.html
Assignment	Please locate at least two other relevant articles concerning the privacy implications of cookies. Once you have done so, please develop a brochure on cookies to be given out to students, outlining what they are, how they can be used, what the privacy issues are surrounding them, and how you can control them. Please indicate in the brochure what articles have been used in its preparation. In addition, as a separate submission, please make a list of at least 5 cookies that have been placed on your own computer and the corresponding information that is contained in them, and submit it to your instructor. Please submit both assignments to your instructor via e-mail as an attachment.
Other Sites	Other information on Internet privacy: Electronic Privacy Information Center: http://www.epic.org/ Spyware: http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m3870/15_16/68160585/p1/article.jhtml Developing company privacy policies: http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m0DXS/32_5/57436004/p1/article.jhtml Facts About Privacy and Cyberspace. Written by the American Bar Association: http://www.gigalaw.com/articles/2000-all/aba-2000-08-all.html As concerns about Internet privacy increase, so are the number of businesses devoted to protecting it: The Reinvention of Privacy: http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2001/03/lester-p1.htm

This Course Module was developed using the template from the Java Script SLM-521 Course Module.