Living with Cookies

 

When you connect to a website using cookies for the first time, the server will send a cookie to your browser.  Usually cookies contain information about your interaction with that particular site and on the next visit to that website, the cookie is retrieved by the site.  This can make visiting the website more rewarding by displaying things according to your preferences, keeping track of purchases made on the site or alerting you to changes.  Unfortunately cookies can also be a security risk.  Here are some steps you can take to manage and protect yourself.

 

Setting Cookie Preferences

 

Many browsers will allow you to choose whether or not to accept cookies or to accept but ask first.  Here are some links regarding how to use those settings.

 

For Netscape users:

http://wp.netscape.com/legal_notices/cookies.html

 

For Internet Explorer: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/evaluation/overview/privacy.asp

 

For Opera:

http://sue-sims.nu/opera/resources/privacy.html

 

For Mozilla:

http://www.mozilla.org/projects/security/pki/psm/help_20/using_priv_help.html

 

Managing Cookies

 

Sometimes simply turning cookies on or off in the browser is just not practical, after all cookies used as they were originally intended can be good.  In some cases certain site will not work properly without cookies in place.  Shopping sites for example may use cookies to track items you with to purchase and Online forums may use cookies to let you know what you have read and what is new since your last visit.  Some sites such as Amazon or MSN allow you to customize their start page to your own preferences, but cannot save them if you do not allow cookies.  In these cases it is helpful to find an application to manage your cookies.  Here are a list of resources and suggested files for managing your cookies.

 

 

The Risks and the Myths of Cookies

If you look at a typical cookie file, you will see that is consists of plain text.  Though the text is readable it normally makes sense only to the server that sent it.  There is no real danger in anyone reading the cookie file itself.  Since cookies are stored in plain text and are not executable, it is unlikely that a cookie could contain virus or Trojan code.  Since cookies are plain text they cannot access, write or delete files from your computers file system.  In fact on their own cookies cannot do anything but sit in the directory where they belong.  There is one exception, for UNIX and Linux users, all file types can be executable, so if you use either of those operating systems, it’s a good idea to check your cookies occasionally to make sure they are legit.

Cookies only take what you give them; the biggest danger in cookies is that they track your activity over time.  The information in a cookie can be used by the web site to track your activities when you visit and can be used in combination with the personal information you provide to create a profile which they can use more effectively sell you products or provide affiliates with information about your habits so that they can do they too can offer you products or information they think you would be interested in.  These profiles can also be used to incriminate you if you view or purchase material and content that may have legal consequences.

 

Finding and Deleting Your Cookies

 

Internet Explorer 6, Windows 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP

·         Click "Tools", "Internet Options".

·         Select the "General" tab.

·         In the "Temporary Internet Files" section, click "Delete Cookies".

·         Click "OK", then "OK" again.

Internet Explorer 5.x, Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP

·         Click "Tools", "Internet Options".

·         Click the "General" tab.

·         Click "View Files".

·         In the "Temporary Internet Files" section, click "Settings".

·         On the "View" menu, click "Details".

·         Click the "Internet Address" column header, and then find the Internet address of the cookie files.  

·         Click a cookie file and then press the "Delete" button on your keyboard. If you are prompted to confirm that you want to delete the file, click "Yes". Repeat this procedure to delete individual cookies. You can delete all the cookies by using CTRL+A to select them all and then click the "Delete" key on your keyboard.

Internet Explorer 4, Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP

·         Search for the folder called "Cookies" on your hard drive.

·         Open the "Cookies" folder and highlight the contents.

·         Click the "Delete" key on your keyboard.

·         Close the "Cookies" folder.

Netscape - all versions

·         Search for a file called "cookies.txt" on your hard drive.

·         Delete the file. The next time that Netscape saves new cookies it will recreate the file.

Macintosh Internet Explorer 5 OS 9.2

·         Click the "Edit" menu and select "Preferences".

·         Select the "Cookies" option below the "Receiving Mail" heading.

·         Highlight the cookie you want to delete and press the "Delete" button.

·         Select multiple cookies by holding down the "Shift" key while you select multiple cookies.

Macintosh Internet Explorer 5.2 OS X

·         Select "Preferences" from the "Explorer" menu.

·         Select the "Cookies" option below the "Receiving Files" heading.

·         Highlight the cookie you want to delete and press the "Delete" button.

·         Select multiple cookies by holding down the "Shift" key while you select multiple cookies.

By managing and tracking your cookies you can enhance your internet experience and protect your privacy.