Sadly not of the chocolate chip variety, a 'cookie' in a web context is a small data file of letters and numbers that is downloaded from a website by your computer. Many of today's websites uses cookies to help give you a good experience.
What do Cookies do?
The main purpose of a cookie is to identify a user and prepare customized web page(s) or to save site login information to you. For example, you might fill in an online form providing personal information such as your name, email address and your interests. This information is packaged into a cookie and sent to your Web Browser (e.g. Microsoft Edge, Firefox or Chrome), which then stores this information for later use. Each time you visit the site the cookie will remember who you are and your preferences.
Cookie Types
There are two types of cookies; session cookies and persistent cookies. Session cookies are erased once you close your session and do not save any information from your computer. Persistent cookies or stored cookies are used to collect identifying information about the user and is stored until the cookie is removed
Being vigilant
When browsing the Internet be aware of any malicious cookies as these cookies can be used to store and track your activity online. Also known as tracking cookies, these cookies will track your surfing habits over time, gradually building a profile of your interests. Once that profile contains enough information about the user, it can be sold to advertising companies, who use this information to target you with specific adverts.