Deleting Cookies and How to Block Them
What are cookies?
Cookies are small files that are stored on your computer when you visit a website.
They are used to personalize user browsing and collect automatic login and site usage information.
When a website is trusted, as is the case with our portal, cookies help improve and speed up navigation, as well as making your next visit easier by making the site more useful for your needs.
This is the cookie setting (or creation) sequence:
When you visit a website for the first time, it asks you to accept a cookie for a specific domain. If you accept, the cookie is saved on your computer.
Every time you view a resource from that domain, the browser sends the cookie.
Is it possible to block cookies?
Yes, you can block or allow cookies on all websites, or choose which sites allow them.
Should I block all cookies?
Not necessarily. Blocking all cookies can help protect your privacy, but it can limit the functionality available on some websites. Therefore, it's a good idea to choose the websites for which you allow cookies. You can initially block all cookies and then allow the necessary ones for sites you trust.
What are temporary cookies?
Temporary cookies (or session cookies) are removed from your computer when you close your browser. They are used to store temporary information, such as items in your shopping cart.
What are permanent cookies?
Permanent cookies (or session cookies) remain stored on your computer even after you close your browser. They are used to store information, such as your login name and password, so you don't have to re-enter them each time you visit a specific site. Permanent cookies can remain on your computer for days, months, or even years.
What are first-party cookies?
Cookies from websites you view come from the website you are viewing and can be permanent or temporary. They can be used to store information that will be reused the next time you visit the site.
What are third-party cookies?
Third-party cookies come from ads from other sites, such as pop-ups or banners, on the website you are viewing. They can be used to track website usage for marketing purposes.
The following are the procedures for enabling or disabling, deleting, or blocking cookies on major browsers:
Google Chrome
Enabling or disabling cookies
1. Click the Chrome menu icon.
2. Select Settings.
3. At the bottom of the page, click Show advanced settings.
4. In the "Privacy" section, click Content settings.
5. Enable or disable cookies:
6. To enable cookies, select Allow local data to be set (recommended).
7. To disable cookies, select Block sites from setting any data.
8. Click Done to save.
If you prefer that Google Chrome not keep a record of your visits and downloads, you can browse the web in incognito mode.
Opening an incognito window
An incognito window looks different from a regular window. The top of an incognito window is gray or blue, depending on your computer or device.
To open an incognito window, follow these steps:
Exit incognito mode
To exit incognito mode, you can:
Click the X icon in the corner of the window.
Use the keyboard shortcut Alt+F4 (Windows and Linux) or ?-Shift-W (Mac).
Close the last tab in a window; the window closes automatically.
How it works
Browsing history is not recorded. Web pages viewed and files downloaded in incognito mode are not recorded in your browsing and download histories.
Cookies are deleted. All new cookies are deleted after you close all incognito windows.
You can easily switch between Incognito and regular browsing modes. You can open Incognito and regular browsing windows simultaneously and switch between them.
Extensions are disabled. Extensions are automatically disabled in Incognito windows. This is because Google Chrome does not control how extensions handle your personal data. If you want an extension to appear in Incognito windows, select the "Allow in Incognito Mode" checkbox for the extension.
Data stored
Chrome remembers updates to your bookmarks and general settings.
Chrome remembers any changes you make to your bookmarks or general settings while in Incognito Mode.
Websites may keep a record of your visit.
Incognito mode is intended solely to prevent Google Chrome from storing information about the websites you visit. Websites you visit may keep records of your visit. Additionally, any files saved on your computer or mobile devices are retained.
Internet Explorer
To delete cookies, follow these steps:
1. To open Internet Explorer, click the Start button. In the search box, type Internet Explorer, and then click Internet Explorer in the list of results.
2. Click the Tools button, and then click Internet Options.
3. Click the General tab, and then under Browsing history, click Delete.
4. Select the Cookies check box, and then click Delete if it is not already selected. Select or clear the check boxes for any other options you want to delete. To retain cookies for saved favorites, select the Preserve favorite website data check box.
Opera
Cookie Preferences
Preferences > Advanced > Cookies. These settings allow you to configure how Opera handles cookies. The default setting is to accept all cookies.
Accept cookies
All cookies are accepted
Accept cookies only from the site I am visiting
Third-party cookies, sent from a domain other than the one I am visiting, are rejected.
Never accept cookies
All cookies are rejected
Delete new cookies when exiting Opera
Some websites require cookies to function properly. In this case, if you want to prevent cookies from being retained between browsing sessions, enable the "Delete new cookies when exiting Opera" option.
Ask before accepting a cookie
To decide what to do with received cookies each time, select "Ask before accepting a cookie." This will display a cookie dialog box with information about the cookie's origin and attributes for each new cookie.
Cookie Management
The cookie manager allows you to review and modify the cookies stored in Opera. The "Manage Cookies..." button opens a window containing a list of folders, each identified by a domain. After using the quick search field to locate a domain, open the corresponding folder to view all the cookies associated with it.
The Cookie Dialog
The cookie dialog appears whenever a website offers a cookie, but only if you have enabled the "Ask before accepting a cookie" option in Preferences > Advanced > Cookies. The dialog displays the cookie's origin and attributes and allows you to choose whether to accept or reject it.
Force removal when exiting Opera
Check the "Force removal when exiting Opera" box to request that the cookie be removed at the end of the session, regardless of its expiration date.
Remember my choice for all cookies for this domain
To accept or reject all cookies set for the same domain, check the "Remember my choice for all cookies for this domain" box. This way, the next time a cookie is offered for the same domain, the dialog will not appear again.
Cookie Details
Click "Cookie Details" to view all attributes.
Safari
To block cookies,
tap Block Cookies and choose "Never," "Third-party and advertisers," or "Always." Cookies are pieces of information from websites that are stored on your device to allow websites to remember you on your next visit and customize the web page based on the information collected.
Important: Some pages may only work if you accept cookies.
To enable or disable JavaScript,
Click Advanced and enable or disable the corresponding option. JavaScript allows web developers to control elements of the page. For example, a page that uses JavaScript might display the current date and time or open a link in a new pop-up window.
To remove information from your device
To clear your history from Safari, tap Settings > Safari > Clear History.
To clear all cookies from Safari, tap Settings > Safari > Clear Cookies and Data.
To clear other information stored by Safari, tap Advanced > Website Data > Remove All Website Data.
Firefox
To check or change your settings:
Click the menu button and select Options.
Select the Privacy panel.
Under History: select Use custom settings for history.
To enable cookies, check the box Accept cookies from sites; To disable them, uncheck the box.
If you're experiencing problems with cookies, also make sure the Accept third-party cookies option is not set to Never.
Choose how long cookies can be stored:
Keep until they expire: Cookies will be removed when they reach the expiration date (date set by the site sending the cookie).
Keep until I close Firefox: Cookies stored on your computer will be removed when you close Firefox.
Keep until: Displays a warning each time a website tries to set a cookie and asks the user if they want it to be saved.
Click OK to close the options window.
Delete cookies for a specific site
1. Click the menu button and select Options.
2. Select the Privacy panel.
3. Under History: select Use custom settings for history.
4. Click Show Cookies…. The Cookies window will appear.
5. In the Search field, type the name of the site whose cookies you want to remove. A list of cookies related to your search will appear.
6. From the list, select the cookies you want to remove and click the Remove Cookies button.
7. To select all cookies in the list, select the first cookie and press Shift+End.
8. Click the Close button to close the Cookies window.
9. Click OK to close the options window.
Deleting All Cookies
1. Click the menu button, select History, and then Clear Recent History.
2. From the Time Range to Clear: drop-down menu, select All.
3. Click the arrow next to Details to view the list of items to delete.
4. Select Cookies and make sure the other items you want to keep are not selected.
5. Click Clear Now to delete cookies, then close the Clear All History window.
Block cookies from a specific site
Visit the site whose cookies you want to block.
Right-click the page and select Page Information.
In the Page Information window, select the Permissions panel.
In the Set Cookies line, uncheck Use Default. Select the Block option.
Close the Page Information window.
Remove all cookies that the website has already set in Firefox.
View the list of blocked websites
Click the menu button and select Options.
Select the Privacy panel.
Under History: select Use custom settings for history.
Next to Accept cookies from sites, click the Exceptions button.
Block cookies from all sites
Click the menu button and select Options.
Select the Privacy panel.
Under History, select Use custom settings for history.
Uncheck Accept cookies from sites.
Click OK to close the options window.
Disable third-party cookies
Third-party cookies are cookies set by a website other than the one you are currently visiting. For example, the website cnn.com may contain a Facebook "Like" button. That button will set a cookie that can be read by Facebook. This may be considered a third-party cookie.
Some advertisers use these types of cookies to track your visits across all the sites on which they offer their services. If you feel this tracking is a source of concern or an invasion of privacy, you can disable third-party cookies in Firefox.
Notes:
· Disabling third-party cookies can prevent advertisers from tracking you in some cases, but not in all cases.
· Some websites (such as Microsoft's Hotmail, MSN, and Windows Live Mail inboxes) use third-party cookies for purposes that are not necessarily privacy-related, and disabling them may interfere with the proper functioning of those sites.
Third-party cookie settings are available in the Privacy panel of Firefox Options:
Click the menu button and select Options.
Select the Privacy panel.
Under History: select Use custom settings for history.
Set the Accept third-party cookies option to Never.
Note: If you find that browsing with this setting prevents you from viewing some of your favorite websites correctly, a workaround is to set the Accept third-party cookies option to From visited sites. This setting allows you to accept third-party cookies from previously visited websites.
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