Web cookies (also called HTTP cookies, browser cookies, or simply cookies) are small pieces of data that websites store on your device (computer, phone, etc.) through your web browser. They are used to remember information about you and your interactions with the site.
Purpose of Cookies:
Session Management:
Keeping you logged in
Remembering items in a shopping cart
Saving language or theme preferences
Personalization:
Tailoring content or ads based on your previous activity
Tracking & Analytics:
Monitoring browsing behavior for analytics or marketing purposes
Types of Cookies:
Session Cookies:
Temporary; deleted when you close your browser
Used for things like keeping you logged in during a single session
Persistent Cookies:
Stored on your device until they expire or are manually deleted
Used for remembering login credentials, settings, etc.
First-Party Cookies:
Set by the website you're visiting directly
Third-Party Cookies:
Set by other domains (usually advertisers) embedded in the website
Commonly used for tracking across multiple sites
Authentication cookies are a special type of web cookie used to identify and verify a user after they log in to a website or web application.
What They Do:
Once you log in to a site, the server creates an authentication cookie and sends it to your browser. This cookie:
Proves to the website that you're logged in
Prevents you from having to log in again on every page you visit
Can persist across sessions if you select "Remember me"
What's Inside an Authentication Cookie?
Typically, it contains:
A unique session ID (not your actual password)
Optional metadata (e.g., expiration time, security flags)
Analytics cookies are cookies used to collect data about how visitors interact with a website. Their primary purpose is to help website owners understand and improve user experience by analyzing things like:
How users navigate the site
Which pages are most/least visited
How long users stay on each page
What device, browser, or location the user is from
What They Track:
Some examples of data analytics cookies may collect:
Page views and time spent on pages
Click paths (how users move from page to page)
Bounce rate (users who leave without interacting)
User demographics (location, language, device)
Referring websites (how users arrived at the site)
Here’s how you can disable cookies in common browsers:
1. Google Chrome
Open Chrome and click the three vertical dots in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy and security > Cookies and other site data.
Choose your preferred option:
Block all cookies (not recommended, can break most websites).
Block third-party cookies (can block ads and tracking cookies).
2. Mozilla Firefox
Open Firefox and click the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy & Security.
Under the Enhanced Tracking Protection section, choose Strict to block most cookies or Custom to manually choose which cookies to block.
3. Safari
Open Safari and click Safari in the top-left corner of the screen.
Go to Preferences > Privacy.
Check Block all cookies to stop all cookies, or select options to block third-party cookies.
4. Microsoft Edge
Open Edge and click the three horizontal dots in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Cookies and site permissions.
Select your cookie settings from there, including blocking all cookies or blocking third-party cookies.
5. On Mobile (iOS/Android)
For Safari on iOS: Go to Settings > Safari > Privacy & Security > Block All Cookies.
For Chrome on Android: Open the app, tap the three dots, go to Settings > Privacy and security > Cookies.
Be Aware:
Disabling cookies can make your online experience more difficult. Some websites may not load properly, or you may be logged out frequently. Also, certain features may not work as expected.
Lower row: Dalia Hassan (St. John’s U.), Gina Federighi (Depauw U.), Brooke Tate (U. of North Georgia), Lucy Hanson (Boston College), Svetalana Gelpi (UConn), Alfredo Angeles-Bosa (UConn). Higher row, Matthew Beckoff (Central Connecticut State U.), Jose Gascon (UConn), James Fortwengler (Georgia College & State U.), Emily Nolan (St. Olaf College), Taylor Jones (U. of North Carolina at Charlotte), Nathan Forney (Otterbein University).
REU 2014
Saira Bakshi (Clarkson U.), Nicole Feliberty-Mendez (U. Puerto Rico), Kelsey Gillette (Misericodia U.), Matt Guberman (Fairfield U.), Kevin Knopf (Central Connecticut State U.), Katie McGeough (Smith College), Jennifer Miller (Youngstown State U.), Raiza Santiago (U. Puerto Rico), William Tsui (Cooper Union), James Ulcickas (Keene State U.)
REU 2013
Jose Aguirre (U Texas at Arlington), Molly Blessing (UConn), Matthew Doherty (Stonehill C.), Svetlana D. Gelpi (U Metropolitana), Angeleque Hartt (Bates C), Gunarso Nguyen (Central Connecticut State U), Michel Lau (UConn), Talia Planas-Fontanez (U of Puerto Rico), Yongjian Chen (Fudan U), Megan Puglia (UConn), Sai Nagella (UConn), Hongbin Liu (Fudan U), Tania Mohamed (UConn), Erin Sullivan (Fairfield U), Sheng Wang (Fudan U), Charles Fayal (UConn), Yiren Zhang (Shanhai Jio Tong U), Xiaowen Zhao (Shanhai Jio Tong U), Zhifang Zheng (Fudan U)
REU 2012
Oladeji Akinniyi (Kennesaw State U), Ann Aindow (UC Berkeley), Anisa Barolli (Western CT State U); Jacquelyn Boudle (Mt. Holyoke C), Maegan Dailey (York College of Pennsylvania), Alicia Gizzi (Central CT State U), Amelia Keyes (Alfred U), Eric Liu (Fudan U), Katherine McGarry (C of New Jersey), Zulema Melchor (U of Texas-Brownsville), Rebecca Newton (Belmont U), Rebecca Rose (UConn-Waterbury), Ashley Santiago (Cal State Polytech U, Pomona), Kaba Tandjigora (Montclair State U), Jessamyn Ward (Central CT State U), Terianna Wax (Mount Holyoke C), Steven Wiles (UConn), Moncy Yang (Fudan U)
REU 2011
Alex Ticho (St. Olaf C.), Kathleen O’Rourke (Kennesaw State U.), Kim Panther (UConn), Amelia Edward (UConn), Mitchell Stadler (Indiana U. of Pennsylvania), Madison Fletcher (Bard C.), Faith Crittenden (UConn), Jordan Metz (Bloomsburg U.), Eileen Meehan (UConn)
REU 2010
Katherine Alexander (Elmhurst C.), Mary Ambrosino (The C. of New Jersey), Alison Army (Mount Holyoke C.), Jennifer Bento (Simmons C.), Joshua Goings (Seattle Pacific U.), Jonathan Green (Syracuse U.), Joseph Lucas (Western Illinois U.), Maria Parra (U of South Florida), Sarah Page (Grove City C.), Charlene Singh (Central CT State U.), Smith Amy (Connecticut C.), Daniel Terwilliger (LMU Munich)
REU 2009
Daniel Brown (Butler U.), Kaitlyn Charles (SUNY, Oneonta), Catherine DeBlase (Marist C.), Sara Doyle (Carleton C.), Mateusz Hoppe (Central Connecticut State U.), William Isley (Lafayette C.), Ekta Makwana (Middlesex County C.), Camilo Medina (Central Connecticut State U), Lennart Niehues (Justus Liebig U., Giessen, Germany), Maria Parra (U. of South Florida), Gretchen Peters (Luther C.) Anthony Rizzuto (Elon U.)
REU 2008
Kelvin Frazier (Savannah State U.), Katelyn Billings (St. Michaels C.), Keri Avery (Merrimack C.), Lesley Sevcik (Allegheny C.), Huberta Koudoro (Mt. Holyoke C.), Dominic Perroni (St. Michaels C.), Olivia Duong (Skidmore C.), Brett Blakeley (Central CT State U.), Douglas Mooney (Central CT State U.), Jessica Sargent (Worcester State C.), Shawn Miller (UConn), Shannon Cawley (Western CT State U.), Kaddy Camera (Rust U.), Hardeep Singh (UConn)
REU 2007
Charlayne McStay (UConn), Gloria Zarate (San Diego State U.), Chad Engle (UConn), Krista Shoemaker (UConn), Krystle Clarke (Huston-Tillotson U.), , Ron Ramsubhag (UConn)
REU 2006
Laura Allen (Ohio Northern U.), Kristen Amore (Muhlenberg C.), Aaron Atkinson (U. Maryland, Eastern Shore), Vito Cataldo (Vassar C.), Emily Cherney (C. of New Jersey), Sharisse Davis (Virginia Sate U.), John DiMaio (Alfred U.), Hasiba Pehratovic (Central Connecticut State U.), Michelle King (Central Connecticut State U.), Mellisa Ly (U. Vermont), Robert Mitchell (Central Connecticut State U.), Nicole Morozovich (Indiana U. of Pennsylvania), Joe Yeager (Centre C.)
REU 2005
Sruti Bahumik (Bryn Mawr C.), Krystal Brown (Central Connecticut State U.), Matthew Carlson (California Lutheran U.), Florine Chanthavong (St. Joseph C.), Bradley Hutnick (C. of New Jersey), Joseph Jankolovits (Grinnell C.), Christopher McCarthy (Kutztown U.), Rebecca Milot (Providence C.), Rebecca Schiaffo (Elmira C.), Heather Slater (Central Connecticut State U.), Jamie Stull (Fort Lewis C.), Sarah Wright (Mercer U.)
REU 2004
Ashley Bartelson (Stonehill C.), Kathleen Batchler (Providence C.), Stefanie Cantalupo (Central Connecticut State U.), Timothy Chapp (St. Lawrence U.), Marina Dickens (Centre C.), Christine Franey (Simmons C.), Daniel Mastarone (Allegheny C.), Karen McGuigan (U. of Scranton), Aimee Morey (Missouri Southern State U.), Megan Nollenberger (Shippensburg U.), Elizabeth Reed (Central Connecticut State U.), Michael Sangi (Ithaca C.)
REU 2003
Earl Campos (Instituto Technologico y Estudios Superiores, PR), Estella Doong (Syracuse U.), Paul Foss (Central Connecticut State U.), Amy Griffiths (Skidmore C.), Ruthanne Hassey (Houghton C.), John Henssler (U. of Pittsburgh), Brittnee Jones, (Wofford C.), Kevin O’Malley (Boston C.), Dum Piawa (Monmouth U.), Jennifer Quimby (U. of Maine), Christopher Rinaldo (Keene State U.), Arlene Swierczynski, (Eastern Connecticut State U.), Linh Tran (U. of Connecticut), Aaron Van Dyke (Seattle U.)
REU 2002
Eleni Benson (Yale U.), Matthew Boxer (U. of Vermont), Ryan Brennan (Skidmore C.), Rebecca French (Oberlin C.), Russell Giudici (C. of the Holy Cross), Nathan Hnatiuk (Houghton C.), Megan Jackson (Capital U.), Levon Nikoghosyan (New York U.), Amanda Ohs (Lafayette C.), Kelly Ryan (Sienna C.), Jolene Schuster (Penn State U – Behrend), Brandi Sommer (U. of Nebraska – Lincoln), Laura Vollenweider (U. of Wisconsin – LaCrosse)
REU 2001
Cheri Barta, (U. of Nebraska – Kearny), Nathan Berkowitz (Clark U.), C. Bertozzi (Eastern C.), Cheryl Bourgeois (Houghton C.), Danielle Cleveland (Carrol C.), Marguerite Desko (Drew U.), Nelroy Jones (Benedict C.), Tasha Francis (Dartmouth C.), Sean Fyvie (SUNY Oswego), Kevin Jordan (Indiana U. of PA), James Kedenburg (Western CT State U.), Michael Krout (Indiana U. of PA), Joanna Riccobono (Salisbury State U.), Amy Scott (U. of Colorado), Suzanne Wright (SUNY Potsdam)
REU 2000
Dorothy Broadbent (Holy Cross C.), Joseph Emch (Ohio State U.), David Fleming (Providence C.), Adam Goldblum (Fort Lewis C.), Lisa Hurd (Richard Stockton C.), Kevin Jordan (Indiana U. of PA), Angela Mabb (Clarkson U.), Deborah Miller (Colgate U.), Heather Molyneux (Wilson C.), Sherrad Okeyo (Rutgers U.), Ron Rawlings (U. of Nebraska), Marc Roy (Assumption C.), Carolyn Whitney (Providence C.), Suzanna Williams (Providence C.)
REU 1999
Lori Amato (U. of Tampa), Craig Calvert (Alfred U.), John D’Angelo (SUNY-Stony Brook), Lauren DuFort (Wheaton C.), Jason Durand (Rhode Island C.), Diana Gamberdella (Manhattanville C.), Gabriel Kapur (Fordham U.), Hieu Luu (Ursinus C.), Patricia Melfi (Providence C.), Yamaris Pacheco (U. of Puerto Rico), Kendra Redin (Hofstra U.), Jessica Semanscin (SUNY-Potsdam), Melissa Smith (Hartwick C.), Kristen Terranova (LaSalle U.), Amanda Willis (Mt. Holyoke C.)
REU 1998
Dorothy Bancroft (Gordon C.), Ho Chack (SUNY-Geneseo), Gregory Constable (Shippensburg U.), Gemma D’Ambruoso (Providence C.), Michael England (Fairfield U.), Keriann Gray (Hofstra U.), Benjamin Janesko (Allegheny C.), Mark Maniccia (Indiana U. of PA), Daniel Montville (Fitchburg State U.), Ellen Moody (Mansfield U.), Joshua Schrier (St. Peter’s C.), Sherry Tsai (Yale U.), Nicole Wack (LaSalle U.), Christy Wanner (Kutztown U.)