Cookies are small files that many Web sites put on your hard drive when you visit. They identify you on subsequent visits, and can be used to customize the site a bit for you. They are generally harmless, although some see them as an invasion of privacy.

Now two new open-source tools have appeared, that can sniff for traffic on the Internet. The stolen are then fed back to the Web site, allowing a hacker to impersonate the original user. The tools were created by Italian Michele Dallachiesa, and are called cookiesniffer and cookieserver.

Snatching cookies is not new; the possibility has been known for years. So what can you do?

Always log off a site properly, before visiting another. Clear your cookie data regularly. Get a program like and run it regularly. It erases your cookies, history, Temporary Internet files and other traces of your Web wanderings.

You can, of course, set your to restrict or refuse just about all cookies automatically. But then you may not be able to access certain Web sites.

Syd Tash is a noted computer security consultant and author of How to Protect Your Computer Online. He has been keeping Internet surfers safe and secure since the last century. Find out how he does it; protect your own computer with five layers of protection right here: = > http://MyPCSecuritySite.com

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