Cookie - An HTTP cookie has nothing to do with food. A cookie is a way for web sites to store small amounts of information on your computer. An example of a use for this is an online store. They will let you put things in a virtual shopping cart to purchase at a later time, even if you turn off your computer and come back tomorrow. What happens is that a small text file is created and stored on your computer's hard drive. This file is called a cookie. Some sites, such as Netscape and Microsoft, use cookies to let you create a custom start page. Cookies are very small and usually expire after a few days, so you don't have to worry about them filling up your hard disk either.