A set of data that a website server gives to a browser the first time the user visits the website, and is updated with each return visit. An HTTP cookie is a packet of information which an HTTP server sends to a World Wide Web browser, to be sent back by the browser every time it reconnects with that server. HTTP cookies can be used to identify registered users. The remote server saves the information the cookie contains about the user, and the user's browser does the same, as a text file stored in the browser system folder. Depending on the type of cookie used and the browser's settings, the browser may accept or not accept the cookie, and may save the cookie for either a short time or a long time. Web servers can use cookies to keep track of how often and when a user has visited, and what sort of information was sought on their site. They can even use cookies to pass that information on to other web servers, such as advertisement servers. Cookies are usually transmitted by JavaScript or CGI Script. On the positive side, cookies can be used to store the user's own web site configuration, to remember items placed in an online store's "shopping cart", or to store account and password information for subscription sites. Cookies are usually set to expire after a predetermined amount of time and are usually saved in memory until the browser software is closed down, at which time they may be saved to disk if their expire time has not been reached. For maximum privacy, allow return of cookies to trusted sites only. A "kill cookie" batch file is an executable script that removes cookies from the computer's browser; or an "amnesia" program can scour the various temporary and history dumps on a computer for better security. See audience, circulation, tracking, sniffer, adware, spyware.