understanding cookie content

[javadi82]

so i know what is a cookie , how to write cookies and all that stuff.

but i fail to understand the content of the cookies.

for eg: see this cookie

ksa
0Pt3f60BGNn0AAIn8b3k2f7bd990
valueclick.com/

what does that huge second line stand for?

another example from google:

PREF
ID=761a31386b5dff28:TM=1054726221:LM=1054726221:S= N3CxA8j_bv4nLeBa
google.com/

Does anyone understand that huge ID in the cookie?

Please note that I have taken the risk and put the cookies of my local computer here because i really want to make an effort to understand how the cookies from those huge portals work. PLEASE DO NOT THINK OTHERWISE.

[eyezberg]

If you don't know how the cookie is set, you can't understand the content, it can be a random seesion id, a timestamp, a mix, anything...It's up to every site to code their own as they see fit.

[Jubba]

Yeah... lol, I was getting to this question.

Like Eyez said. The cookie can contain anything. I use cookies in some of my control panels for a light security feature that merely sets a variable to true. You can save cookies with pretty much any information on it. They aren't terribly secure tho, so its not a good idea to use them as a security feature.