Many web sites use "cookies" to identify a user after they've logged in so that the user doesn't have to login every time they use a resource.  A cookie is a piece of information determined by the server and which is stored on the end-user's local computer, and then a copy of that cookie is automatically sent along with further requests to the same web site that created it.

Some privacy advocates consider cookies to be a serious risk to privacy because they can be used to track a user's activities, but they are really more like thin cardboard bookmarks used in books to help the reader remember where they left off the last time.

See also

• Authentication
• Key fob
• Privacy
• Security
• Security token

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