Help
Cookies
What Are Cookies?
A cookie is a little ID card that is placed on your computer by a web server. It consists of a line in a file (or a directory) that looks a little something like this: .sendit.com TRUE / FALSE 966535078 bsid Gs63JbtpwvyPM This just means that the cookie was set by Sendit.com and can only be read by Sendit.com. The bit of gobbledegook after the the 'bsid' is the ID.
Once you have a cookie, then every time you come to Sendit.com we know that it's you. Actually we don't know that it's 'you', we only recognize your browser. So if you use a different machine, or even a different browser on the same machine, then we will think you are a new visitor. If someone else uses your machine, and the same browser as you, then when they come to Sendit.com we will think they are you. That's why, if you share a machine, you should always logout at the end of a session. Most websites routinely log visitors. Web servers have access to small amounts of information, such as which browser you use, and the site that you came from to get here.
Any more information has to be submitted by you. Anything you don't tell us, we don't know. Anything you don't want to tell us, we won't know. Any information you do submit, is stored in our database against your cookie. This means that we can tailor the site to your preferences (don't like those little video coverscans? ok - they're gone) and you don't have to re-enter your details every time you come to the site (eg. we know your address from the last time).
This information is not stored on your machine, it is stored here, at Sendit.com so no-one else has access to it. The only information that we have is what you tell us. We don't even know your email address unless you tell us what it is.
Where Are My Cookies?
- Your cookies are stored on your own machine. If you are using Netscape then they are usually in a file called 'cookies' which normally resides at: c:\netscape\users\default
- Default may not be your name though. It may be Gary or Claire or Frankenstein instead. Default, as the name suggests is merely the default. If you look in this file you may find cookies from all sorts of weird and wonderful sites that you've visited. Unix users will probably find this file in the .Netscape directory. Internet Explorer users usually have their cookies stored in a directory rather than a file. The default location is: c:\windows\cookies
You can locate all the cookies files/directories you have by doing a file find on your machine. You may have several if you have several users and browsers.
How Do I Enable Cookies?
In Netscape:
- Select 'Edit' from the top of your browser and then from the resultant list: choose 'Preferences'.
- A wee box should pop up. Over at the left hand side of this box is a list of categories. One of these is called 'advanced'. Click on this so that it becomes highlighted.
- The right hand side of the box should change and at the bottom of the page is a section on cookies. You should check the 'Accept all cookies' option. You can also choose to be asked about each cookie in turn, but I found this to be a real pain as you get asked so many times!
Opera:
- Go to "Tools" then "Preferences" and a new window will open.
- On the left there will be a list of options. Select "Privacy"
- Tick the box that says "Enable Cookies"
- "Accept all cookies" should be selected in the "Normal cookies" drop-down list.
- Click "Apply" then "OK"
Firefox:
- If you go to "Tools" and then "Options" a new window opens.
- On the left side click on the "Privacy" option and on the right, click on "Cookies" were you will be given some more options.
- Tick the box that says "Allow sites to set cookies" then click "OK".
In Internet Explorer 6:
- Click on "Tools".
- Click on "Internet Options" and a new window will open 3. Click on the "Privacy" tab near the top of the window.
- Drag the slider so that it is on one of the levels below Medium High (Medium, Low or Accept All Cookies) 5. Save changes by clicking "OK"
