how to erase cookies

sandysue

hello,
I am new here and also am a beginner in the world of computers. I need to know how can I erase individual cookies from my computer- what on earth ARE cookies, and how do i get rid of them after each use?

thanks

sandysue please note, someone told me to do tools>options>cookies>erase but I cannot find 'options' on my toolbar.
help? thanks again!!

Thrax

Cookies are (Generally) innocuous files that save settings for you on a website. Cookies, though, can also be very devious; they can navigation statistics or navigation demographics and report back to their originator when you navigate back to the site.

What browser do you use? Oh, and welcome!

kryyst

sandysue wrote:

hello,
I am new here and also am a beginner in the world of computers. I need to know how can I erase individual cookies from my computer- what on earth ARE cookies, and how do i get rid of them after each use?

thanks

sandysue please note, someone told me to do tools>options>cookies>erase but I cannot find 'options' on my toolbar.
help? thanks again!!

I'll make an assumption that you are using Internet Explorer. Unless you have removed the icon from your browser bars. There will be a button that says Tools on it. Click on Tools, which will bring up a new menu. Near the bottom will be an item called Internet Options. Select that. Under the General Tab you there should be a title called Browsing History (may very slightly depending on your version of IE). Under that heading will be two buttons 'delete' and 'settings'. Choose delete. That will bring up a new menu with an option to delete cookies.

If you are using Firefox. The process is similar. Across the top of FireFox you should see a menu item called Tools. Click on that then in the submenu click on 'Options'. Then in the new screen click on the Privacy Icon. In the middle grouping called 'Cookies' select 'Show Cookies' That will bring up a screen showing what cookies you have and allowing you to remove some or all.

sandysue

thank you,...but I do not see anything that says 'tools' on the bar. I see the following -- apple logo, 'file', edit, view, history, bookmakrs, window and help. That's all-- no 'tools' to click on. what should I do?
thanks!!

LIN

Please see if you have the following options in "Edit":

-From "Edit" menu, choose Preferences
-Select Receiving Files options
-Select Cookies
-Select the cookies to be deleted from the list
* [ -Press Delete button ]

*I don't own a Mac, so I'm not sure if that will delete *all* your cookies, but see if you can get that far, at least.


LIN

Linc

Thrax wrote:

they can navigation statistics or navigation demographics and report back to their originator when you navigate back to the site.

Cookies can't do anything. They are simply a single piece of info. For instance, Icrontic sets one cookie to log your user name and one for your password (encrypted). When you come here, our site can read that info and log you in automatically. Sites can't read other sites' cookies, and cookies on their own are absolutely incapable of performing an action. Lots of sites set an anonymous cookie to simply tell if you're a unique (new) viewer, or a repeat one.

It's possible to track you through a devious use of cookies in tandem with some JavaScript, but it's rarely (if ever) severe enough to worry about for day-to-day web browsing.

The point of this is that cookies are not something to be feared or that need to be disabled, just something you should clean up periodically to limit your exposure. It's like having windows in your house - just lock 'em at night, don't board them up.

I recommend clearing them about once every week or two. I tend to remember about once a month, and I selectively delete them so I don't lose the cookes for sites on which I want them (like Icrontic) because I want to stay logged in.

Thrax

Keebler wrote:

It's possible to track you through a devious use of cookies in tandem with some JavaScript

Congrats. The cookie just reported the information it was tracking back to its originator. Does it really matter how? No.

sandysue

Argghh!! This is really frustrating..under 'edit' there IS no prefernces to click on. There is a preferences under the apple icon, BUT it does not bring up anythign that says receiving files...
help? I need to hurry and find out how to do this in order to continue w/ my home job.thank you..

CB

You need to tell us exactly what browser you are using. It's obvious now that you are on a Mac. Are you using Safari?

sandysue

i think safari?? not sure, but it says in dark lettering safari

CB

Here are the steps to remove cookies in Safari 1.0 or 2.0:

Open Safari.
Click 'Preferences'.
Click 'Security'.
Click 'Show Cookies'.
Click on the cookie(s) you want to delete.
Click 'Remove'.

sandysue

thank you!! one more important question..I only want to delete certain cookies, -- will the last cookie be on TOP of the list? I only want to deleter certrain recent 'cookies' but some of them I am not sure if they are the 'cookie' I want to delete becasue some of them jut have a number, rather than a website name.

thanks,,,then hopefully I can proceed with my work!!

CB

I'm not sure.

Check to see where Icrontic's cookie falls on the list. You only visited us for the first time today, right? so the Icrontic Cookie should be close to the other new ones. If it doesn't look like it's anywhere near the beginning or end, then it's probabaly not in chronological order.

sandysue

thank you..how would I determine then if a website isnt listed by name, but only a number, whether that is a cookie I want to delete?

CB

Unfortunately, there is no directory of these things. If it's important, then it wouldn't hurt anything to just delete all of the ones you don't recognize.

Worst case: you'll have to reenter a bunch of passwords and preferences at some of the websites you visit.