What Are Cookies, and Why Do Some Sweepstakes Require Them?

Question: What Are Cookies, and Why Do Some Sweepstakes Require Them?

I tried to enter a sweepstake today, and was told that I couldn't because I need cookies. I'm not that thin! What are cookies, and why do some sweepstakes require them?

Answer: In this context, cookies have nothing to do with delicious pastries. Web cookies are small text files that some websites save on your hard drive when you visit them. These text files save information such as user names and passwords, the last time you visited a page, or whether or not you've already entered a sweepstake. Web cookies can make a website easier to navigate and help to protect sweepstakes from illegal repeat entries. For more information, see What Are Cookies? from the About Webdesign guide.

Like just about anything online, cookies can have their disadvantages, too. For example, some online advertising agencies use cookies to track where you have been on the internet, to better tailor their advertisements to your interests. Some people feel like this is a violation of privacy, and turn cookies off in their web browsers.

However, sweepstakes sponsors who use cookies to prevent repeated entries cannot tell whether you have cookies turned off for privacy purposes or because you are trying to cheat their system. That is why they require you to use cookies in order to enter their sweepstakes. For more information, see Why the Fury About Cookies? from HowStuffWorks.com.

If you would like to learn more about how to remove and customize cookie options, see Utilities Clean Cookie Crumbs From Your Hard Drive from PCWorld at About.com.