Contolling Computer Cookies

Computer Care: How to keep your cookies under control

By Arthur Glazer

glazer.tech@gmail.com
POSTED: November 8, 2013 10:24 p.m.

Computer cookies, just as baked cookies, contain small bits in them. Instead of chocolate chips or raisins, computer cookies have in them bits of data. Usually innocuous and helpful, cookies may on occasion be detrimental to safe computing.

When you log on to often used websites like Amazon or eBay, the system recognizes you because of cookies. Little bits of data or markers are left on your computer from websites you visit so you will be recognized on your next visit.

Whenever I log back on to Amazon, I am greeted with a, “Welcome back, Arthur.” That is due to cookies. Without them, it would be like we went to oft-visited sites as if always for the first time.

As a Gmail user, I don’t have to re-enter my email address and password each time I open the application due to cookies, which retain my user information for me.

Other good cookies include those used in online shopping carts, e-billing websites and those that retain your personalized settings, like on your home page.

Should you clean your computer’s cookies, pick and choose which ones you delete. I noticed that when I inadvertently wipe them all, on sites like Gmail and Amazon, I have to re-enter my log-on information. With cookies gone, your favorite sites won’t recognize you anymore.

Cookies have been around since the mid 1990s when Netscape first used them to track users of their then-new browser. Since then, the use of cookies have become ubiquitous, from traditional tracking of users on retail websites to nefarious tracking of browsing habits in the form of tracking cookies.

The latter is a source of personalized advertising and email spam by having your browsing habits sold to advertisers. Although not technically malware, this type of cookie can be considered a form of spyware.

Have you ever wondered how, after exploring for example various automotive websites, that you begin getting spam email from auto dealers? Look on one site for a product and you’ll get spam from others selling that same product. It’s not a coincidence.

You are targeted, just as you are on the sidebar of Facebook. The ads, thanks to tracking cookies, are generally not random.

Cookies are nothing but text files. They are not self-replicating or able to initiate a program and can’t run code, thus unable to spread a virus or malware. All they do is identify you. They say to the website, “I’m back!” Some expire quickly (shopping cart), while others may remain for a long time (log-on).

Depending upon which Web browser you use, cookies can be managed, but the methods vary. Third-party applications can also be used to control cookies on your computer and as usual, many are free.

Ccleaner is a popular one, found at piriform.com. Aside from managing cookies, it also cleans your registry and empties your caches of junk files. Another is the one-task, easy-to-use Cookie Monster, found at ampsoft.net. Both will allow you to keep your good cookies and get rid of those that track your browsing habits.

Many Internet security suites also incorporate a utility to deal with cookies, so if you have a paid version of a suite, explore the settings for cookie management before you install another utility.

This task can also be accomplished from the browsers without the aid of an add-on utility. To learn how to delete or block cookies using Internet Explorer, go to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/260971for instructions. Alternatively, point your browser tohttp://www.allaboutcookies.org/manage-cookies/clear-cookies-installed.html for full instructions on how to manage cookies not just for IE, but for Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Opera as well.

Whichever Web browser you use, be sure you have the latest version installed. By keeping it updated, you can ensure it has the latest security defenses installed. Older, outdated browsers may be a source for cookie-based exploits.

To update most browsers, click on the “About” or “Help” menu at the top of the screen. Then look for “Update.” In Chrome, click the Chrome icon in the upper right corner, then “About Google Chrome.”

You have the option to not accept cookies, but by doing so you lose the functionality of many websites. The site may still allow you to visit it, but it will be the plain vanilla version instead of the loaded version with all the bell and whistles.

Before you wipe out all of your cookies in a fit of paranoia, find out which ones you need to keep, which ones to delete and use a utility, built-in or otherwise, to manage them. By deleting them all on a regular basis may afford you additional online privacy, but it’s also going to unenhance your site visitation and force you to type in all of your log-on information each time you visit your favorite websites.

Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly on the Business page and on gainesvilletimes.com.

Online Privacy

Computer Care: Privacy online doesn’t exist, but that needs to be changed

By Arthur Glazer
arthur@glazerthepctech.com

POSTED: March 5, 2011 2:29 a.m.


Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly on the Business page and on gainesvilletimes.com.

Every e-mail you send, every page you visit, each form you fill out, all the ads you click on and all the products you buy online are all there to see for anyone who wants to.

Then there is the information you place on the Internet willingly. All that personal information, those photos, your plans, your thoughts and those quotes you published to Facebook.

You've heard of Internet privacy? I believe it's but a concept, something that could have been a benefit, but we let slip away. Remember when it was just our Social Security numbers we were worried about? Well, we are way past that now.

There used to be so-called paper trails of what people did. Now there are virtual trails, and they are just as real. One day, it may be used against you.

A Barrow County teacher lost her job due to a photo she posted on Facebook. She was on vacation, out of the country, holding a beer. And I thought Prohibition was over.

A Florida teen was convicted of murder because of a voicemail that was left on a cell phone.

It's not just computers now - cell phones, too, are open to ad companies and anyone else, including law enforcement.

Nothing is private anymore. Advertising companies track every mouse click we make, and it's worth billions to them. A 2009 study cited that interactive ads were responsible for $300 billion of economic activity in the U.S. alone. Globally, $10 trillion is currently being spent online each year.

Clearly, someone is making money via the Internet. The ad companies claim that curbing the tracking of our online habits will ultimately harm the economy. Allowing them to track us is a big price to pay. Our privacy should be paramount.

Our Internet service providers, and who knows who else, have access to our e-mails. They are about as private as talking into a microphone at a filled auditorium. E-mail letters are more like postcards. They are open for anyone to see along the delivery route.

Would you give the kid at the checkout your phone number and address, age and Social Security number or allow the postman to read your mail? Of course we wouldn't. But we do.

Sure you can use private mode, clean your cookies and install filters. You can opt out of certain websites for data gathering, even take advantage of privacy policies and clear your web bugs. But you are still being watched, one way or another. Big brother is out there. Remember, just because we're paranoid, doesn't mean we're not being watched.

Encryption is probably the best (but not the easiest) way to ensure anonymity in sending e-mails. You could also use a proxy server to surf the Web anonymously.

There are other proactive things you can do, but how effective are they really? The jury is still out.

For now, take advantage of the usefulness of things like Privacy Choice, Privacy Mark, TRUSTe, SquareTrade and BBBOnline. Look for their seals on websites that you frequent.

Install a good Internet security program, not just an anti-virus but one that will warn you of other imminent dangers.

Use of a throwaway e-mail address, one that you won't check for incoming mail, will ease spam. Mailinator is a great free one. Use it to sign up for things instead of using your own "real" account.

Be careful if you use a company computer. They own it and everything in it, just like the contents of your desk.

It's time for laws to be passed to protect our online activity. Some have tried and others are working on it.

Last month, a "Do Not Track" bill was introduced in Congress. Its goal is to prevent Internet advertisers from tracking what we do online. The bill is similar to the Do Not Call Registry that is used to curb the activity of telemarketers.

The new tracking bill would only work if we choose to elect to not be tracked, just like with the phone solicitation bill. If we don't take advantage, or know, of what's in place, nothing changes. We would not be protected if we didn't opt out. Maybe we need something stronger.

Recently, Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., and Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., introduced privacy bills, and at least one Republican will also be introducing a bill soon.

Congressmen from Florida and Texas are also working on other Internet privacy bills.

Meanwhile, until legislation is passed, be cautious of what links you click on, what e-mails you respond to and what you post on Facebook. Be wary each time you fill out an online form. Make sure the website is secure (https) before you purchase anything online.

Write to your Congress members and to the White House. Tell them we need better privacy laws concerning the Internet.

Let's seal the envelope on e-mails and make advertisers earn their money the old fashioned way instead of snooping. Better legislation may be the key.

Just remember, if it's an e-mail you're writing, you never know who else will be reading it.