hi, I just installed ad-aware, and i always get something called tracking cookies... exactly how dangerous are these, and why do i have them no matter what? i even reformaatted a couple of times i think.. im a noob

As any web search will inform you, a cookie is merely a scrap of text, and not overtly harmful - they are acquired while browsing, so whether or not you 'think' you formatted is irrelevant (although it is odd that you are unsure) "80 i think" seems an unlikely number too, although an improvement over your prior claim Ad-aware itself can provide information on the various threats it detects - - as well, there's an entire Lavasoft forum (you could even break down and read Ad-aware's "Help") (a world of information - - right at your fingertips) I'm not one of those who think Bill Gates is the devil. I simply suspect that if Microsoft ever met up with the devil, it wouldn't need an interpreter.

There should be an option in Internet Explorer to delete these, even if you're not using IE 7. IE 7 is useful and recommended for several reasons. One of them is that you can delete Temp Internet Files, Cookies, History, Form Data and stored Passwords with a single button.