What is a Cookie?
A cookie is a tiny piece of text asking permission to be placed on your computer's hard drive. If you agree, then your browser adds the text in a small file.
If you have set your browser to notify you before accepting a cookie, you will notice that dell.com requests a cookie to be set on your computer. Its purpose is to let us know when you visit our site. This cookie, by itself, only tells us that a previous dell.com visitor has returned. It doesn't tell us your e-mail address or who you are. If you want to give us that information later via registration, that's your choice.
Why does Dell use cookies?
Because Dell Computer Corporation sells computers direct to customers, the Dell Web site has been built to enhance one-to-one customer relationships. In doing so, we continue to use some of the best technology available to enhance the user experience. We think Dell customers can get the most value from dell.com partly through the use of cookies.
Why are Cookies Persistent?
If the web server does not detect a Unique ID for your session, it will generate one and send it to the client in the form of a cookie. So, if you accept the cookie, you only get it once. If you do not accept the cookie, it will try to send you one with every hit until you accept it. This means every page and item on that page you request from dell.com will come with a cookie request unless you already have one.
Are All Cookies The Same?
No. On the dell.com site we have two kinds; temporary and log cookies. Temporary cookies are necessary to maintain the user session and tell our server which page to pull up next. The traffic log cookie tells us what pages are being used and which ones aren't. This helps us make improvements to the site to better meet your needs and cut down on pages that don't get used.
So What Does A Cookie Do For Me, The Visitor?
There are several immediate advantages on dell.com that you can see through the use of cookies. For example, the support.euro.dell.com area retains your service tag number between visits. When you return, you'll notice that the service tag number for your computer is already typed in.
Why Do I Need to Know This?
Because we want you to know why we ask you to accept a cookie. We want to be sure you understand that accepting a cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any personal information about you. We know that a lot of people have concerns about cookies, but in talking with many of our users, we feel that the benefit we both gain from their proper use is worthwhile. We value the relationships we have with our customers and future customers, so we respect these concerns.
