Cookie and Do not track

coffeehound

If you have a super-smashing-great PC then perhaps that takes up the slack.  On humble machines though, it can certainly be noticeable

forgotmyname

Same here this PC was built last year and never deleted a single cookie.   Same with the previous PC was built in 2017.

Before that I had a dual core system built many years before and I didnt notice any browser slowdown with something
like 8 years worth of cookies.

They are mostly just 1kb files and usually only opened when you visit the site. Having prefetch on will have
a much larger performance impact.

LightKnow

Cookies may not take up much space... But I have mix feelings about cookies from everything I read and heard but I get why they there but still... It's like leaving a trail of breadcrumbs to each Area you visit so someone can gather your habits... Data be it small or big, It's information after all.. be for good or bad ... Sorry I ranted on 🤣 

Laz123

Some sites are sneaky and unless you open up options they default to accepting 3rd party cookies too so it's always best to check. I use the free version of Wise Care 365 and scan daily when I'm done surfing and it deletes Privacy Traces, useless files, invalid registry entries, browsing history and tunes up the system.

[Deleted User]

Laz123 said:

Some sites are sneaky and unless you open up options they default to accepting 3rd party cookies too so it's always best to check. I use the free version of Wise Care 365 and scan daily when I'm done surfing and it deletes Privacy Traces, useless files, invalid registry entries, browsing history and tunes up the system.

Concerned about privacy and you allow a piece of software on your PC that runs with elevated privileges from start up and runs in the background, has access to your registry and browsing history? And it also adds a firewall exception so it can phone home.

I'm always suspicious of adding software under the "PC Optimiser" umbrella, especially with the "upgrade to Pro version" options you don't really know what it is doing - especially with the "tune up the system" description - do you know what it is really doing? You can do all the cookies and browsing history removal natively in your browser, delete temporary files from the Windows built in clean up. Registry clean up is not necessary and is a gimmick added to many similar clean up software applications.

As for tune ups - if you want a fast, clean and secure system as possible system, first step is getting rid of unnecessary applications that are running in the background like this one which are using CPU cycles and memory, running with admin permissions and messing with critical files - a real risk for being hijacked one day without you realising.

If you really must use software like this, use something like BleachBit which is open source and therefore you can be sure nothing nasty is hiding in the code because the developer community all have access to it so it can be trusted.

Laz123

[Deleted User] said:

Laz123 said:

Some sites are sneaky and unless you open up options they default to accepting 3rd party cookies too so it's always best to check. I use the free version of Wise Care 365 and scan daily when I'm done surfing and it deletes Privacy Traces, useless files, invalid registry entries, browsing history and tunes up the system.

Concerned about privacy and you allow a piece of software on your PC that runs with elevated privileges from start up and runs in the background, has access to your registry and browsing history? And it also adds a firewall exception so it can phone home.

I'm always suspicious of adding software under the "PC Optimiser" umbrella, especially with the "upgrade to Pro version" options you don't really know what it is doing - especially with the "tune up the system" description - do you know what it is really doing? You can do all the cookies and browsing history removal natively in your browser, delete temporary files from the Windows built in clean up. Registry clean up is not necessary and is a gimmick added to many similar clean up software applications.

As for tune ups - if you want a fast, clean and secure system as possible system, first step is getting rid of unnecessary applications that are running in the background like this one which are using CPU cycles and memory, running with admin permissions and messing with critical files - a real risk for being hijacked one day without you realising.

If you really must use software like this, use something like BleachBit which is open source and therefore you can be sure nothing nasty is hiding in the code because the developer community all have access to it so it can be trusted.

Well, I know some people don't like 3rd party software but I've used this kit for about 2 years with no problems. I'd be interested to see if you're suspicious of the highly regarded Glary Utilities too.

LightKnow

Wouldn't you technically get increase in spam mail if cookies are being shared across?
Cookies are saving or storing .. personal information... is not abit contradictory the internet ? If a person privacy is there own or what they want to share... Yet were still forced into a corner. Not like it's something new and am sure things will get more complex. 
I don't think cookies a just something basic ( Those cookies are worth money) 
I rather clear cookies than use a software to do it for me, They could use it them self for marketing purposes or potentially do more harm than good 

Lastly on browsers there option to disable cookies ? If I accept cookies does it not get accepted cuz I disabled it ? 

coffeehound

If you disable cookies altogether, it will seriously limit what you can actually do on the web.  Another option is to delete them every time you close the browser, but you'll probably soon get fed up with having to sign-in to every site every time

LightKnow

coffeehound said:

If you disable cookies altogether, it will seriously limit what you can actually do on the web.  Another option is to delete them every time you close the browser, but you'll probably soon get fed up with having to sign-in to every site every time

I actually already clear them ... I think it's become OCD ... I visit 3 sites then clear .. if I come of I clear .. if I use social media I clear .. if I log on , I clear and then use another site  😅 Yes am addicted to clearing those cookies 

[Deleted User]

Biil said:

coffeehound said:

If you disable cookies altogether, it will seriously limit what you can actually do on the web.  Another option is to delete them every time you close the browser, but you'll probably soon get fed up with having to sign-in to every site every time

I actually already clear them ... I think it's become OCD ... I visit 3 sites then clear .. if I come of I clear .. if I use social media I clear .. if I log on , I clear and then use another site  😅 Yes am addicted to clearing those cookies 

I'm confused about how contradictory you are about privacy - you clear cookies after 3 websites but then log into social media which in itself is more a privacy issue than cookies. Social media sites know more about your personal information than a cookie does. Once you are logged into social media, cookies don't matter that much, all your usage is tracked against your username anyway and can be used in exactly the same way as cookies are and cannot be deleted. In fact any site you log into such as this one can track all your usage, searches etc and will use that data for marketing purposes.

Your search engine logs your searches against your IP address. Your DNS provider knows exactly what websites you visited and this data is often sold depending on your provider. Your ISP knows exactly who you are and what websites you visit - have you read their privacy policy? They can sell your data to advertisers.

Cookies are old school and the third party tracking cookies are on their way out, Safari and Firefox already block them, Chrome will from next year. Cookies rarely identify you as an individual either.

Your browser itself or anti-virus solutions often refers URL's back to mothership so they can see where you have been on the web.

Advertisers and tracking companies are already many steps ahead of your cookie deletion after 3 websites, all you are doing is making your browsing experience more painful by having to always log on, clicking on cookie notifications, filling out "are you a robot" captcha forms etc without much gain because I assume you already block 3rd party cookies and advertisers and trackers through a browser add-on. So it is just 1st party ones that you accept which are mostly for you benefit and you are deleting those when you have already left a footprint behind bigger than any cookie.