In my opinion, browser cookies are fairly benign, but they cause a lot of angst. A browser cookie is simply a small data file that keeps track of you on the Web. That description gets people as angry as they are on tax day.

In truth, the "keeping track" part is most often a good thing (as I duck flying objects from privacy fanatics), as it allows you to log in to sites with ease and also can save preferences about sites that make them easier for you to use. If it's bad, it's bad insomuch as you care that the cookies aggregate your behavior and provide data to advertisers (ducking again). But the people who complain about the data collection side of the cookie are often the people who complain that ads are stupid and usually irrelevant to them. Ponder that for a moment, and you'll see the irony.

What keeps cookies from being truly reprehensible is that, up until now, you have had many means of blocking them if they really bug you. Cookies have also behaved well by not reporting private information about you. There is a certain element of trust that cookies aren't going to go bad. That's why a recent development from a company called United Virtualities is so unsettling.

Hands in the cookie jar
The company has developed a product it calls a Persistent Identification Element. It lets a Web site look to see if a cookie is missing, and if it is, it looks for backups in Macromedia's Flash Player called local shared objects. If it finds them, it puts the cookie back in your browser. This applies mostly to advertising cookies.

The good side? The Flash ads don't repeat too often--just often enough to get your attention and make you salivate for that burger/router/screensaver. The very bad, misbehaving thing is that this undermines your ability to delete cookies. Go ahead and delete all the cookies you want; United Virtualities can recover some of them.

Thankfully, as usual in the arms race of Internet privacy, there's a way around this. Macromedia has posted notes on how to disable local shared objects. You can delete data on a per-site basis, similarly to the way Firefox handles cookies, or you can wipe out all the data stored locally. None of this will affect the performance of Flash content in your browser.

Be afraid. If the ad industry finds ways to get around you deleting cookies, what's to stop it from getting around ways to prevent your personal information from being tagged specifically to you instead of aggregated anonymously? It's another cautionary tale that the Internet is still in its Wild West stage, and you need to keep your eyes open.

Managing your cookies
Here's a little explanation of how to block cookies in IE and Firefox and also how to block the local shared objects in your Flash player:

Internet Explorer (Version 6.0)

1. In Internet Explorer, go to the Tools menu and select Internet Options.
2. Select the Privacy tab.
3. Press the Advanced button.
4. Select "Override automatic cookie handling."
   • First-party cookies come directly from the site you're visiting.
   • Third-party cookies come from an advertiser or other data-gathering company.
   • If you wish to accept all cookies, select Accept.
   • If you want to stop all cookies from ever being set, select Block. Be aware this will stop your ability to have sites remember logins and settings.
   • If you want the browser to ask you every time a site tries to set a cookie, select Prompt. This will probably drive you batty, considering the number of cookies that get set by sites.
   • Press OK, and OK again, and your new settings will take effect.
You can get more information on cookies in Internet Explorer from Microsoft.

Firefox (Version 1.0.2)
1. Go to the Tools menu and select Options.
2. Click the Privacy icon.
3. Click Cookies.
4. To block all cookies, uncheck the box next to Enable Cookies. Be aware this will stop your ability to have sites remember logins and settings.
   • First-party cookies come directly from the site you're visiting.
   • Third-party cookies come from an advertiser or other data-gathering company.
   • To block third-party cookies, check the box next to "For the originating Web site only."
   • Whether you are accepting third-party cookies or not, you have the same options. You can choose to keep cookies until they expire, to keep cookies until you close the browser, or to have the browser ask your permission for each cookie. Asking permission for each cookie will likely drive you insane, given the number of cookies most sites set.
   • If you want to choose which sites you accept cookies from and which sites you don't, press the Exceptions button.
   • If you want to delete all or some of the cookies stored on your computer, press the View Cookies button.
You can find more information on cookies in Firefox at the Firefox help site.

Local shared objects in Flash Player
You can actually access the settings for your Flash Player through your browser. The Global Storage settings panel allows you to prevent any site from storing information in Local Shared Objects. The Web Site Storage settings panel lets you create a block list of which sites get to store local shared objects and which don't. You can also delete all local shared objects from this panel. You can get more information about Flash Player local shared objects from Macromedia's Web site.

Got a point about cookies? Make it in our TalkBack area.

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