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General discussion

Tracking Cookies

Aug 25, 2010 2:47AM PDT

Hello Everyone

I have a Dell dual core processor and also running windows vista 32 bit. I'm having problems with tracking cookies (zedo.com), (adyieldmanager,doubleclick)among others. Is there any way to delete these cookies forever without buying software? I have tried reformatting my OS, tried removing through avg 9 free edition, malewarebytes, blocking sites through browser settings.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated


Thanks,


Jeff

Discussion is locked

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There 'are' things you can do.
Aug 25, 2010 5:51AM PDT

But it depends how you use your internet and which browsers.

For example, if you use Internet Explorer, always use the latest version, currently IE8. In IE, goto Tools > Internet options. Under the Privacy tab set the slider to Medium. This blocks certain 3rd party cookies. Make sure the "Pop-up blocker" is turned on. Under the Security tab, make sure that the security level for the Internet zone is at least set to Medium-high, and enable Protected mode.

Don't visit suspect sites. This is difficult to decide in IE because there is no clear way to identify such sites, but using a browser like Firefox, you can do much more.

I use Firefox and I have add-ons called AdBlockPlus, to prevent web page adverts from displaying, NoScript, which prevents web page scripts from running without my permission, and WOT, or Web of Trust, an add-on similar to McAfee's Site advisor which helps me identify suspect web sites. All of these help me surf in safety, but even so there will always be cookies, and all we can do is use the tools as you already have to manage the problem.

Mark

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Re: tracking cookies
Aug 25, 2010 6:03AM PDT

Firefox, in Tools>Options>Privacy has an option to not accept third party cookies. I never tried if it worked. But immediately to the rights is a 'view cookies' button, and might be helpful to research it.

If you find something interesting, please share.

Kees

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That would be the obvious answer
Aug 25, 2010 7:29PM PDT

but I found problems with blocking 3rd party cookies with some sites.

These forums are one such site. When I blocked 3rd party cookies I wasn't allowed to log in. I could have tracked it down and added them to the exceptions, (allowed), list, but I was too lazy! Happy

Jimmy's options below look interesting.

Mark

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If you use Firefox
Aug 25, 2010 10:23AM PDT

If you use Firefox, there's an excellent extension called Beef TACO which stands for Targeted Advertising Cookie Opt-out.

What it does, is maintain permanent opt-out cookies for about 100 or so different ad networks, and more are occasionally added with new versions of the extension.

The only thing it doesn't do, is deal with flash cookies. For that you can use the BetterPrivacy extension. NoScript also comes in handy, preventing scripts that would set a flash cookie from even running.

According to some of the IE developers, they wanted to build stronger privacy protections into IE8, but were overruled by the marketing arm of MS. So, don't expect that situation to change any time soon. It's one reason to be a little suspect of Google's Chrome too. Google owns DoubleClick, plus their own adsense and google-analytics, so there might be some pressure to try and cripple software that would prevent those sites from making Google money.