Showing posts with label Computer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Computer. Show all posts

Should You Remove Cookies From Your Computer?

Many websites make use of cookies to keep track of your browsing activity. Some expire when you shut down your computer. However, some may run for years if left in there. Over some time, these long term cookies can really clog up your computer system and can also be unwelcome because they are used to store information about your computer use. They will update each time you open the website that downloaded them to begin with. To stop your computer being overloaded by cookies and to retain your privacy, you need to regularly remove them from your computer system.

How You Can Block Cookies

Cookies

Internet Explorer can be set to block the installation of cookies. To do this, in the Internet Explorer window, click on the Tools tab and click on Internet Options. In the dropdown box, click on Privacy. Then you can adjust the Settings slider to establish the way you personally want them to be installed on your computer.

Should You Remove Cookies From Your Computer?

With the slider right down at the lowest point, you accept all cookies without exception. The permissions gradually become increasingly restrictive as you move the slide higher on the scale. When set at the highest level, none will be allowed. At this top setting, any cookies already on your system do not work.

It is possible to easily override these settings for some websites, if you wish to, and to allow these sites to place cookies in your system. These would of course be sites that you want to work with and that will not run without them.

To accomplish this, click on Privacy, click Advanced. Then, in Advanced Privacy, you can decide how first party and third party cookies are to be used on your system. The first party version are those placed by websites you are visiting at this time. They could be of short or longer expiry time. These are very useful cookies as they save your website preferences for future visits. The third-party version very commonly come from sales websites, and are used to market to you, or they may be from spyware and adware sites.

How You Can Remove Cookies

All cookies may be removed from your system by using options shown by Internet Explorer. You can do the following to remove them:

1. Open up Internet Explorer and then click on the Tools tab. Next click on Internet Options.
2. Depending on which Internet Explorer version you have installed on your computer, click on the General tab and you will then find options to delete either Temporary Internet Explorer files or to delete Browsing History.
3. If what you see is Temporary Internet Files, just click on the Delete button.
4. In Delete Browsing History , click on Delete Cookies. This will then remove them from the system. You can also delete a number of other Internet files, such as history, passwords, and form data.

When you delete all cookies from the system, all of the preferred settings for various websites are removed. You should be aware of this and act appropriately.

We also recommend that you should use a top quality registry cleaner after performing these above deletions. A top quality registry cleaner, will remove remove all malicious entries placed in the system registry.

Cookies, although very useful for a variety of purposes, can clog up the computer system and can also be used by hackers for nefarious purposes. You must regularly delete them from your system in order to keep your computer safe. Use the options we have shown you in Internet Explorer. The registry cleaner can remove any remaining cookies or registry entries placed by spyware or adware sites.

Should You Remove Cookies From Your Computer?

Would you like to get a lot more free information about keeping your computer running well? would you like to know how to use a registry cleaner to clean your registry and greatly speed up your computer's performance? For this and much more free information and resources go to: http://www.bestregistryrepaironline.com

Computer Cookies: Are They Good or Bad?

> Explaining "Cookies" (the non caloric ones that reside in your computer!)

You can't talk about all those nasty 'things' that can 'attack' your computer while you are surfing the Internet, like viruses or spyware, without talking about 'Cookies'. But what are they and are they really bad for my computer?

Cookies

Ok, first let's define the term, and then we'll explain the good and the bad about it.

Computer Cookies: Are They Good or Bad?

Cookie(s):

A small data (text and numbers) file (piece of information) created by a Web server (large computer that stores web sites) that is stored on your computer either temporarily for that session only (the time that you spend on a web site) or permanently on the hard disk (persistent cookie). Cookies provide a way for the Web site that you visit and go back to visit again, to identify users and keep track of their preferences. Amazon and Barnes and Noble online are very creative in the use of their cookies that get generated when you visit.

Here's an example from my computer from visiting the Disney.com website:

CP null*disneyworld.disney.go.com/1088 1761935360 30785590 403215680 29726670*

Notice that the only thing in that string of text and numbers that you can recognize is the name of the website. The rest of the information is simply a set of numbers that only a computer can understand.</p>

Why are cookies important to you? Well, you would not be able to browse through the Web as you are currently used to if you had cookies restricted on your computer.

Cookies are commonly used to "maintain the state" (the current or last-known status) of the session (time that you spend on a site) as a user browses around on the site. For example, if you filled out a form and decided to leave that for a moment to view another page, when you come back to that form, the information that you already filled in would still be there. Without cookies, the site would not know who you were.

On the 2 web sites that I mentioned, Amazon and Barnes and Noble, they both use a combination of cookies and online database to recognize you when you return to the site as well as "remember" your earlier choices and from those choices recommend possible book or music choices for you on your current visit.

Imagine, if you will, walking into a local Barnes and Noble store where a clerk immediately recognizes you, walks up to you as she calls you by name and walks you over to your own table of books and music. You see that they have put all of your favorite kinds of books and musicians on the table, both new and old works, all laid out for your quick viewing pleasure!

And, on the next table, is a sign saying "Other people who bought these items also purchased these items" so that you may find interesting items that you may never have seen but might find interesting. Wouldn't that make shopping a great experience?

Well, that is exactly what it is like to shop online with a sophisticated shopping web site like Barnes and Noble and Amazon! And it's only because of cookies remembering who you are that allows this type of service to occur.

Actually, as you have just seen, cookies on your computer are not a bad thing; it's just that the information that they contain can be quite enticing to unscrupulous people. Quite a bit of personal data may reside in the cookie files in your computer, such as ID and Password information. As a result, this storehouse of private information is sometimes the object of attack, which is what happens with some types of spyware.

The default (Default refers to a value automatically assigned to a computer program or device), settings in your Web browser typically allow "first-party" cookies that do not contain any personal information, but not "third-party" cookies.

Aha, now we're getting somewhere!

Because, a Tracking Cookie is a somewhat new term for a cookie that has been design by the above mentioned 'unscrupulous' people that do business on the Web. It is part of the unfortunate phenomenon known as Spyware! But, that's a topic for another whole article!

Computer Cookies: Are They Good or Bad?

Written by Debbi Baird, Co Owner, PC For Seniors Author of many technical articles in ‘plain English’ for the “Older Generation” and Trainer / Tutor / Consultant in the Palm Beach, Florida area. Go to http://www.pcforseniors.com to find more information on computers and the Internet in the “How Do I …” section of the web site! Also, check out the Hot Sites! Listing for links to great places to go online for Seniors!