Web cookies (also called HTTP cookies, browser cookies, or simply cookies) are small pieces of data that websites store on your device (computer, phone, etc.) through your web browser. They are used to remember information about you and your interactions with the site.
Purpose of Cookies:
Session Management:
Keeping you logged in
Remembering items in a shopping cart
Saving language or theme preferences
Personalization:
Tailoring content or ads based on your previous activity
Tracking & Analytics:
Monitoring browsing behavior for analytics or marketing purposes
Types of Cookies:
Session Cookies:
Temporary; deleted when you close your browser
Used for things like keeping you logged in during a single session
Persistent Cookies:
Stored on your device until they expire or are manually deleted
Used for remembering login credentials, settings, etc.
First-Party Cookies:
Set by the website you're visiting directly
Third-Party Cookies:
Set by other domains (usually advertisers) embedded in the website
Commonly used for tracking across multiple sites
Authentication cookies are a special type of web cookie used to identify and verify a user after they log in to a website or web application.
What They Do:
Once you log in to a site, the server creates an authentication cookie and sends it to your browser. This cookie:
Proves to the website that you're logged in
Prevents you from having to log in again on every page you visit
Can persist across sessions if you select "Remember me"
What's Inside an Authentication Cookie?
Typically, it contains:
A unique session ID (not your actual password)
Optional metadata (e.g., expiration time, security flags)
Analytics cookies are cookies used to collect data about how visitors interact with a website. Their primary purpose is to help website owners understand and improve user experience by analyzing things like:
How users navigate the site
Which pages are most/least visited
How long users stay on each page
What device, browser, or location the user is from
What They Track:
Some examples of data analytics cookies may collect:
Page views and time spent on pages
Click paths (how users move from page to page)
Bounce rate (users who leave without interacting)
User demographics (location, language, device)
Referring websites (how users arrived at the site)
Here’s how you can disable cookies in common browsers:
1. Google Chrome
Open Chrome and click the three vertical dots in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy and security > Cookies and other site data.
Choose your preferred option:
Block all cookies (not recommended, can break most websites).
Block third-party cookies (can block ads and tracking cookies).
2. Mozilla Firefox
Open Firefox and click the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy & Security.
Under the Enhanced Tracking Protection section, choose Strict to block most cookies or Custom to manually choose which cookies to block.
3. Safari
Open Safari and click Safari in the top-left corner of the screen.
Go to Preferences > Privacy.
Check Block all cookies to stop all cookies, or select options to block third-party cookies.
4. Microsoft Edge
Open Edge and click the three horizontal dots in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Cookies and site permissions.
Select your cookie settings from there, including blocking all cookies or blocking third-party cookies.
5. On Mobile (iOS/Android)
For Safari on iOS: Go to Settings > Safari > Privacy & Security > Block All Cookies.
For Chrome on Android: Open the app, tap the three dots, go to Settings > Privacy and security > Cookies.
Be Aware:
Disabling cookies can make your online experience more difficult. Some websites may not load properly, or you may be logged out frequently. Also, certain features may not work as expected.
Ladurée Bakery in Paris. (Auna Harvey/UConn School of Business)
Somehow I’d gone 22 years of my life without having a macaroon. I’d known what they were, seen them in bakeries and at dinner parties, yet never taken a bite. When I came to Paris I knew I had to try one, and I wanted one from the best. Continue Reading
Finance and Real Estate Professor Jeffrey Cohen has received the 2017 Distinguished Member Award from the Transportation and Public Utilities Group (TPUG) of the Allied Social Sciences Associations (ASSA). The award was bestowed at the organization’s annual meeting in Philadelphia on Jan. 5. Continue Reading
The Bristol Press– Sophomore Abigail King won the gold medal certificate for her idea for an interior design consulting business called “Intuit Interiors,” at the 15th Bristol Eastern High School Business Plan Competition (BPC), held recently at the UConn-Waterbury regional campus.
Stamford Advocate– The country’s second-largest cable company wants to be more than a distributor.
Charter Communications’ announcement earlier this month that it had created and filled a new senior vice president position to oversee original content points to its increasing focus on producing its own programming. Industry experts are not surprised that Charter is focusing more on production in a shifting media landscape, but some question the effectiveness of the strategy.
OPIM Professor Shu He has been studying non-focal firms’ strategic social media adjustment in response to a competitor’s crisis. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
Savvy Social Media Tactics Boosted Airline Industry Following Devastating Crash
The crash of a passenger airplane is the ultimate public relations crisis for the airline industry.
But the opportunity to explore the way a distressed airline—and its competitors—handle that crisis on social media provides an outline for many different companies on the right and wrong way to address an industry emergency, said OPIM Professor Shu He. Continue Reading
PR Newswire– For families faced with the difficult decision of placing a loved one in a nursing home, a government rating system is often the only source of information to determine which facilities are the best. However, a new study of nursing homes in California, the nation’s largest system, by faculty at Florida Atlantic University and the University of Connecticut, found that some nursing homes inflate their self-assessment reporting to improve their score in the Five-Star Quality Rating System employed by Medicare to help consumers.
Professor David Noble has been named the director of the Peter J. Werth Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at UConn. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
Business School Professor Predicts UConn is on Cusp of Powerful Entrepreneurial Growth
David Noble, a professor-in-residence in the management department at the School of Business, has been named the director of the new Peter J. Werth Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at UConn. Continue Reading
Our final day in Tel Aviv was bittersweet, as we knew our incredible journey was coming to an end. We started the day meeting at YL Ventures, a venture capital (VC) firm like many in Israel that focused on early-stage investing. I was astounded that while the US was trending towards less early/seed-stage capital and much more later-stage investments, Israel seemed to embrace their unique VC ecosystem.
UConn Today– Immunotherapies are promising in theory, but often not in practice. In fact according to experts, they actually only work 10 percent of the time in the treatment of cancer – at best. Yet, while immunotherapy drugs may only help a minority of patients, those who do respond often do extremely well. As a result, many scientists are working to tap into the treatment’s benefits for a wider group of patients.
Hartford Courant– CVS Health Corp., which is buying Aetna Inc. for $69 billion, said Friday it will keep the health insurer in Hartford, where it has been headquartered since 1853.