Privacy settings in Internet Explorer allow you to control how cookies are handled on your computer. A cookie is a small text file that is stored on your computer’s hard drive by a Web server. The text file stores personalized information about your visit to a Website. The Web server can then read the text file the next time you return to the Website and use the information to deliver personalized content. For example, there are several Websites that deliver the latest news stories, but deliver local news when you access their site. Or those sites that provide you with the local weather forecast for your area.

Cookies are stored on your computer’s hard drive. They are stored in a folder called Temporary Internet Files. You can find this folder in the c:\documents and settings\(username)\local settings directory. You can easily identify which files in this folder are cookies because the name looks similar to the following:

Cookie:username@website.com

In the next installment of this tip, I’ll discuss the different options available through Internet Explorer for handling cookies on your computer.

Tags: diana huggins, microsoft, ie 7, internet options privacy setting