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Tracking cookies and how to delete them

18 Dec 2007
 by Cristina Mailat | in: Security

Cookies, not so long ago they were something we ate, a delicious snack. Now it’s a term for files that arrive on your computer when you surf the web. Computers are filled with both good and bad cookies. A common bad cookie is known as the tracking cookie. It is important to detect tracking cookies and remove tracking cookies from your computer as soon as possible. For a smooth and hassle free removal of these bad guys, use the Ad-Aware software.

The use of the internet has skyrocketed, and with the increased usage comes increased concerns about privacy. These concerns are fueled by what we hear on the news, and read in the paper. The fear is real, but for many there is no understanding of how the web works and what kind of tracking is possible with these cookies.

What are tracking cookies?

Most of us have heard the term HTTP. This stands for hypertext transfer protocol, and this is what makes it possible for different computers to talk to each other on the web. If the site you are visiting uses cookies the HTTP header will tell your browser what information it needs to be placed in the cookie. Your browser adds this cookie to the many other cookies which already reside on your computer.

Each time you visit a site, your browser checks the existing cookies on your system. If you already have a cookie for that site it will use that cookie. If you do not have an existing cookie it creates a new one based on the HTTP instructions it is given. This process happens so fast you are never aware it is occurring.

Most claim that they use cookies so they can personalize their website to your tastes and needs. However the real truth is tracking cookies are mainly used to target advertising. Targeted advertising attempts to match the product with the consumer that is most likely to purchase that product.

There are many online advertising companies, but doubleclick is by far the biggest. Even if you have never heard of them, there is a good chance that you have a cookie on your computer from DoubleClick. Cookies you receive from sites you’ve never been to are called third party cookies. These are usually a type of tracking cookie.

Doubleclick isn’t the only one placing tracking cookies on your computer, they just happen to be the one doing a billion dollar a year business. They are used by many companies.

Any time you visit a website by clicking on a link, the information is recorded, in an attempt to create online profiles about your interests. Lycos, AltaVista, and Infoseek, all use cookies to record what terms a user searches for.

Privacy has become an increasing concern, as more and more websites use tracking cookies to build market profiles. In fact it has become such a big concern that the FTC has been forced to begin to address the issue with new legislation.

Online businesses argue that profiling does not invade the individuals privacy rights because there is no personal information attached to the tracking. Only your likes and dislikes, and your buying habits are tracked. However, this has been proven incorrect. Online businesses are able to attach your personal information to the profiling information.

Initially browsers were able to block these tracking cookies but the advertisers were quick to overcome this obstacle. Sometimes we very willingly give out personal information online. For example if we are placing an order at a major department store or our favorite online bookstore, we will need to provide our personal information such as name, address, and credit card number, so that they can process our order. The problem is the consumer never knows if their information is sold to another website. We’ve all experienced it to some degree. You purchase something online and next thing you know you are receiving email or snail mail for similar products, yet you’ve never visited their site or shopped with them before.

How to remove the tracking cookies?

There are bills being passed that address how your information is collected, and what can be done with it. The government has new laws to control this type of tracking, but who is going to enforce these new laws? Rather than relying on the government to protect you, I would recommend you take action to protect yourself.

The best solution to keeping your information safe is to use Ad-Aware. It will automatically block and delete cookies that pose a threat to your privacy. You can configure the software to allow cookies from certain sites, or block all cookies. There is plenty of flexibility in the set up. It’s like having your own internet police 24 hours a day.

Published: 18 Dec 2007  by Cristina Mailat, in: Security Tags: , , RSS feed for comments on this post.

8 Responses to “Tracking cookies and how to delete them”

  1. I’m glad that there are programs that will block tracking cookies. If my internet security program does not offer blocking sometime in the near future, I will try Ad-Aware. Thanks.

  2. Thank you for the help My internet is so laggy i deleted all viruses scaned the whole computer 5 times no viruses spyware only 38 tracking cookies now i can delete them thanks for the ad-Aware

  3. I’ve been using Ad-Aware for years now. It is easy and fast. My ISP also provides free access to Live Update which is maybe as good, but Ad-Aware is free for all users, and it doesn’t add any popups or other problems to users’ computers.

  4. I have tried many different version os software to remove my tracking cookies, but with no luck because they just keep popping up again… Can someone help Prease 🙂

  5. MacScan: Is there spyware on my Mac? - MAC.BLORGE

    […] from “clicktorrent.info,” which McAfree says aren’t nasty in their opinion. ID Security, on the other hand, thinks all tracking cookies are bad and should be destroyed. Go […]

  6. I agree, download latest firefox (3.5.1 at time of writing)

    Then go to add ons (just gooogle firefox add ons) and download:
    NoScript (superb and you can block google analytics with it, as well as anything else)
    Bad Privacy (deletes all those super cookies and flash lso’s that doing a normal delete all and cleaning out ya temp files won’t get rid off, nor will even a dedicated program like cc cleaner etc as good as that is, so it’s essential in my own opinion)
    Ad Block Plus (fantastic lil program)

    Hope that helps, adios
    Super Rat

    PS: actually stop using google is another opinion (also entirely mine lol)
    I myself now very happily use Bing http://www.bing.com
    I find there page fresher and nicer to use, its easier to say lol, and most importantly results are easily on a par if not far better IMO, especially image search IMO (please note we do not need a load of google lovers telling me im wrong, i have gone to the trouble of explaining this in my OWWWWWN opinion, after years of using google and months of happily using Bing.

    Be daring, use something different and see for yourself!
    Doesn’t have to be Bing that was an example, many others out there…

    AND BING DOESN’T TRACK YOU LIKE GOOGLE DO – lol yet…
    But the point is they don’t at present where as google blatantly do!

  7. Looks like im years late to this post. But theres a nice addon to firefox called “do not track”, that blocks tracking from tracking companies and others and lets you actually see who they are from web page to page.

  8. Please inform me how to erase tracking bad cookies. If I go to porn site will it track me.Please help me solve this problem.I have BEST NORTON Internet Seurity Software will it ban tracking cookies.
    Thank you.
    Soundarya

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