If I set a cookie in one tab of an IE7 browser, that cookie is available and valid in all the other tabs???

I don't know if this matters, but it seems strange to me. If I start my application in tab 1 and I log in, my login will set a cookie: Response.Cookies("MY_SESS")("session_id") = session_id. session_id is the key/identity of a new row just inserted into the database's usr_log table, meaning my credentials were validated and I am logged in.

I can go to a new tab and type the name of a page and all the query strings it needs. The first thing this page is supposed to do is make sure I am logged in. I am, but not in this tab. But it will let me go to the page and update the database.

If I go to a new browser window and type the name of a page and all the query string it needs, the page will say I'm not logged in.

I guess this won't cause any problems, it just surprised me. In a way, I am bypassing the login, because if normally I am supposed to go login->menu->page A, I can just go page A if I open a new tab in the browser window I've originally logged in through.