phpbb cookies

[phpnewb]

what information does phpbb collect using cookies? I tried to look on their site and I couldn't find anything.
also does Google collect information through google ads and if so what?

[CFMaBiSmAd]

For your first question, no actual information is collected using cookies. Cookies only contain values that a web site places into them and these values are returned to the same web site when you visit a page (or refresh a page you are already on.) There is a small amount of other information that is exchanged between a browser and a web site along with any cookies, such as what encoding and helper applications the browser has, what your browser language setting is, what cpu family you have, and what your browser says it is.

[phpnewb]

I thought cookies can collect information such as IP address and other information. What kind of information do Google Ads collect?

[CFMaBiSmAd]

The IP address and port of the client making the request is known to the web server (from the TCP/IP packets) since it must send the response back to that IP address : port. Cookies don't do this. If the browser is kind enough, it sends the HTTP_REFERER address of the web site it is on.

There is a small amount of other information (screen resolution, local date/time...) that javascript has access to and can send to the web server using AJAX techniques.

I cannot advise specifically as to what Google Ads collects, but it is limited to the IP address of client making the request and the information that the browser makes available.

Edit: If you make a .php script file with a phpinfo(); statement in it and browse to this, near the end there is a section "PHP Variables" The HTTP_* variables, any cookies, REMOTE_ADDR, REMOTE_PORT, REQUEST_URI, and a few others are all the information that is available to any script running on a web server about the client/browser making the request.

[firepages]

cookies can also carry data you entered at the site that generated the cookie, some badly made applications even put plain text (or base64 encoded) passwords in the cookie ... I believe that early versions of PHPBB did exactly that, many forum cookies carry usernames, time of last visit etc, sometimes obfuscated or encrypted, sometimes not.

I have even seen credit card numbers stored in cookies, cookies are not of themselves evil, but developers are very often stupid.

[phpnewb]

thank you