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Is this guy full of crapola?

I

IBhacknU

Diamond Member
Some guy using one of the rental workstations was complaining about the amount of junk email he gets. He seems to think websites gather his email address when he surfs the net (because he has his cookies enabled).

Someone please back me up here. This guy is lost.

Here's what me thinks:

Cookie files enable a website to recoginze a person when they return to a site. Basically, it is a request to store information (an identifier) on your machine. The only information gathered by cookies is that which has been previously stored.

I'm guessing that most information about you is stored on the database of the remote web server. When you visit the site, you are recognized as a returning guest (user #32795326743), time of your last vist, when the cookie expires..... stuff like that.
 
Only thing of substance a website can really "gather" from you is your IP/domain. I have never heard of any way to get an email address unless the user types it in.
 
Believe me when I say that cookies enabled absolutely does not allow a website to grab your email. All a cookie does is store information on your machine that the website you are visiting gave you If a website gets your email its only because it specifically was given your email. Furthermore no website can grab any info from your cookies unless it gave it; microsoft.com cannot get info from a cookie that anandtech.com gave you.
 
Java is a whole different ball of wax indeed, but I really wanted to tell this guy, you're WRONG and I'm RIGHT.

He was like, "well, there's an engineer at work who could show you what I'm talking about." yea... whatever!


 
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