What are the cookies and sessions?
Sessions and cookies are used to gather user information. Session is used to store user information on the server side, while cookies are used to store information on the client side of the computer. We can manage authorization and authentication using sessions.
Table of Contents
- 12 Differences Between Cookies and Sessions
- Purpose
- Duration
- Information
- Security
- Storage Size
- Need Start,End?
- Set Value In PHP
- Get Value In PHP
- Destroy In PHP
- Set Value in Asp.net with C#
- Get Value in Asp.net with C#
- Destroy ASP.NET with C#
- Turn cookies on or off
- Hack Sessions
- Summarised difference Between Cookies and Sessions
- Useful links
12 Differences Between Cookies and Sessions
Let’s check the difference between cookies and sessions.
#1 Purpose
Cookies are mainly used to store information on client-side computers.
Sessions are used to store information on a server-side computer.
#2 Duration
Cookies have an expiration time that is set by the user.
Sessions are expired if the browser is closed or logged out.
#3 Information
Cookies are used to store information about a user’s activity without logging in.
Sessions are used to store information about the user and the activities they perform after logging in.
#4 Security
Information gathered in cookies is not secure because it is stored on a client-site computer and is in a text file, while session data is stored on a server-side computer in an encrypted form.
#5 Storage Size
Cookies store information on the client side of the system with a maximum file size of 4KB, so we can say it will store a limited amount of data.
Session-stored information on the server-side system has a maximum limit of 128 KB, but there is the possibility to extend the file size, so we can say it will store an unlimited amount of data.
#6 Need Start,End?
Because cookies are stored on a client-side computer, there is no need to perform the start cookies and end cookies operations.
Sessions are worked on the server side, and we are performing functions using server-side scripting. So we need to call the start and end functions to initiate and destroy cookies.
#7 Set Value In PHP
There is no dedicated function to start cookies in PHP.
PHP setcookie() function is used to set cookie.
Syntax:
bool setcookie ( string $name [, string $value [, int $expire = 0 [, string $path
[, string $domain [, bool $secure = false [, bool $httponly = false ]]]]]] )
setcookie(“cookieName”, “cookieValue”);/* name and value only*/
setcookie(“cookieName”, “cookieValue”, time()+1*60*60);//expiry in 1 hour(1*60*60 seconds or 3600 seconds)
setcookie(“cookieName”, “cookieValue”, time()+1*60*60, “/yourpath/”, “yourdomain.com”, 1);
A session is started with the session_start() function first and then store information
<?php
session_start();
$_SESSION[“sessionName”]=”sessionValue”;
?>
#8 Get Value In PHP
echo $_COOKIE[$cookie_name];
echo $_SESSION[“newsession”];
#9 Destroy In PHP
There are no dedicated function to destroy cookies in php.
To remove all global session variables and destroy the session, use session_unset() and session_destroy().
#10 Set Value in Asp.net with C#
HttpCookie userInfo = new HttpCookie(“userDetails”);
userDetails[“userName”] = “xyz”;
userDetails.Expires.Add(new TimeSpan(0, 1, 0));
Response.Cookies.Add(userDetails);
or
Response.Cookies[“cookieName”].Value = “cookieValue”;
Session[“sessionName”] =”sessionValue”;
#11 Get Value in Asp.net with C#
Request.Cookies[“userName”].Value;
Session[“UserName”]
#12 Destroy ASP.NET with C#
In C#, there are no specific functions for erasing cookies.
Session.Abandon
Turn cookies on or off
In Chrome
Open Chrome
- find settings from top right and click more
- under the Privacy and security click on Site settings
- click on Third Party cookies
- select option
- Allow third-party cokies.
- Block third-party cookies in Incognito mode
- Block third-party cookies.
Once block third party cookies all third party cokies from other sites are blocked unless the site is allowed.
Hack Sessions
There are several ways to hijack a Seesion Token:
The most frequent methods for which the session token could be compromised are as follows:
- Predictable session token;
- Session Sniffing;
- Client-side attacks (XSS, malicious JavaScript Codes, Trojans, etc);
- Man-in-the-middle attack
- Man-in-the-browser attack
Summarised difference Between Cookies and Sessions
- Purpose
- Duration
- Information
- Security
- Storage Size
- Get Value In PHP
- Set Value In PHP
- Need Start or End?
- Destroy In PHP
- Set Value in Asp.net with C#
- Get Value in Asp.net with C#
- Destroy ASP.NET with C#
Useful links
Read more: Difference Between C and C++
You can visit official site for more details: https://www.codeigniter.com/
