Computer Cookies

What does clearing computer cookies mean?

Over time, as you surf the internet, your computer accumulates a lot temporary files often referred to as computer cookies.

These files are like tiny copies of webpages that you visit. They are designed to "remember" where you have visited and to speed up the download when you return to that page.

A "cookie" is a small file that a webpage stores on your local computer. Cookies were designed to store information about you, such as your login information for return visits to websites. When you visit a Web site that requires a user login and password, Windows can keep track of this information so you do not have to retype your login information each time you visit the site. Normally, your login information is encrypted so that others cannot view this information. However, any user at your computer can gain access to your websites because Windows will automatically fill in the login information.

Web developers soon found new ways to use these computer cookie files to track the viewing habits of internet surfers. The people tracking this information can start to develop a profile of you and what you are interested in. This information can then be used to create targeted advertising based on your viewing habits. Rather sneaky isn't it? The good news is since computer cookies are not programs, they cannot contain viruses or erase data.

Computer cookies were not originally designed to be used for spying purposes. They were meant to act as a sort of memory, to help your computer "learn" about you and help you get to where you want to go much faster by having information stored and ready to access. However, that can be a cause for concern for people who are worried about their privacy. Computer cookies can be used by others to track where you have been and what you are searching for on a particular computer.

If the idea of your internet habits being "tracked" bothers you, or if you don't like the feeling of being watched, you can remove the computer cookies from your PC.

Choose which version of Internet Explorer you have below and follow the steps to remove the computer cookies. If you do not know which version you have, open Internet Explorer and click on the HELP button at the top. Then click on “About Internet Explorer” from the resulting menu.

Internet Explorer 8

• From the Safety menu in the upper right corner, click "Delete Browsing History..."
• Check the boxes next to Temporary Internet files, Cookies, and History, and then click Delete.
• Or, you can open Internet Explorer 8 and then click on the “Tools” button. Then click on “Internet Options” at the bottom of the menu.
• Click the “General” tab if it isn't selected already.
• Under the heading "Temporary Internet files," click the “Delete” button. This will take you to the “Delete Browsing History” window.
• Check the boxes next to Temporary Internet files, Cookies, and History, and then click Delete.

• Click “Start” and select “Control Panel”. (Note: With Windows XP Classic View click the Windows “Start” button and select “Settings” and “Control Panel”). Click on “Internet Options”.
• Or, you can open Internet Explorer and then click on the “Tools” button. Then click on “Internet Options” at the bottom of the menu.
• Click the “General” tab if it isn't selected already.
• Under the heading "Temporary Internet files," click the “Delete” button. This will take you to the “Delete Browsing History” window.
• Click the “Delete Files” button next to the "Temporary Internet Files" heading.
• Next, click on the “Delete Cookies” button to remove website cookies from your cache.
• Next, click on the “Delete History” button next to the History heading.
• The next two buttons “Form Data” and “Passwords” are optional in my opinion and can save you the tedium of re-filling out online forms and re-typing passwords each time you visit a secure page. You may want to keep this information.
• If you don’t feel the need to store passwords and form information you can go straight to the bottom of the window and click on the “Delete All” button which will delete all of the categories mentioned above at once.
• Click the “Close” to exit this window.

• Click “Start” and select “Control Panel”. (Note: With Windows XP Classic View click the Windows “Start” button and select “Settings” and “Control Panel”). Click on “Internet Options”.
• Or, you can open Internet Explorer and then click on the “Tools” button. Then click on “Internet Options” at the bottom of the menu.
• Click the “General” tab if it isn't selected already.
• Under the heading "Temporary Internet files," click the “Delete Cookies” button. When the hourglass icon goes away it is done.
• Then click on the “Delete Files” button to remove all of the temporary files in your cache.
• Next, click on the “Settings” button. In the “Settings” window under “Check For Newer Versions of Stored Pages” select the “Every Visit to the Page” radio button. This is especially important if you regularly go to websites to retrieve updated information.
• Next, move down to the “Amount of Disk Space to Use” slider button. You can slide this button to the right to increase the amount of disk space used for temporary internet files. I think 50MB is plenty but it’s your choice. Click OK to close the Settings window.
• Drop down to the “Clear History” button and click it to clear your browsing history files. I also lower the number of days to keep pages in history down to five or less.

Clearing computer cookies in Firefox is quite easy and takes only a couple of clicks. You can also configure Firefox to delete any personal data automatically when you close it.

• To clear your computer cookies manually just click on the TOOLS button and then click on "Clear Private Data" from the resulting menu. That's it!
• If you want Firefox to clear your computer cookie data automatically when it closes, just click on the TOOLS button and then OPTIONS at the bottom of the menu. From here, click on the PRIVACY tab. In the "Private Data" section of the PRIVACY tab, check the "Always clear my private data when I close Firefox" checkbox. You can also click on the "Settings.." button and choose exactly which items to delete when Firefox closes.

For more information on computer cookies, click the link.

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