"Cookies" are a feature of web sites that was introduced by Netscape. A site using them passes your browser a string of bytes, called a "cookie", which your browser can then cache. Later, when you click on or select a link or a button on a form, the site you are accessing can request these cookies back. This can be a convenience. You can visit an on-line bookstore, for example, and browse through their catalogue of books. Each time you select a book, your browser gets a cookie identifying the book you selected. There is no need to write down the information about each book. When you finally go to the form to fill out to place an order, you can then activate a button on the form that will cause the server at the other end to request your browser to return all of the cookies. The list of books to be purchased can then be inserted automatically into your order form. You don't have to type them in by hand. The cookie feature DOES have potential for abuse. It is possible under *some* circumstances for the script on one site to be written to request your browser's cached cookies and, in some cases, learn information about you that you might not intend. A previous site may have asked you for your e-mail address at some point and then saved it to your system as a cookie to make filling out your order form later more convenient. Accessing a completely different site could reveal your e-mail address to someone who you might not intend to reveal it to. Also, if the format of some of the cookies from a site is unique and identifiable, a server at some other site might be able to find out some of the sites you have visited earlier -- obtaining information about you that you might not want revealed. Both Netscape and Internet Explorer allow the *prior* selection of accepting all cookies, refusing all cookies, or prompting individually for each cookie request from a server. The disadvantage of both of these is that the cookies are cached in a file on your hard disk and may be there weeks later. The new lynx only saves the cookies from your current logon session in memory. The cookies are discarded when you log off (or are logged off). There is no way for someone who runs a site you visit to be able to find out what sites you visited last week. You also have more choices with lynx: 1. Accept all cookies. 2. Accept a cookie but reserve judgement on subsequent ones with the option later of rejecting or accepting all subsequent cookies. 3. Refuse a cookie but reserve judgement on subsequent ones with the option later of rejecting or accepting all subsequent cookies. 4. Refuse all cookies. Getting a cookie request is not necessarily a sign of snooping. Some ISP's servers are set up to send a cookie for all requests to view a page on that server even if the owner of a set of pages has no use for cookies on his or her site. Some sites, however, won't let you view the site unless the cookie is accepted. In other words, at its best, the cookie feature can make things convenient for you. At its worst, under *some* conditions, your privacy may be compromised. *Most* sites won't abuse cookies. It *is* possible, however, that *some* site might do so. One thing you might want to do to safeguard yourself is to log off after visiting any site that had you give it any personal information and also asked for cookies. With lynx, this will discard any cookies saved and prevent any subsequent site from getting any information that may be in the cookies. Then log back on as soon as you find it convenient and start with a "fresh slate". -----------------------------------------------------------------------