FSC Guide to Cookies
November 3, 2011 | Posted by Burke Ingraffia
Cookies. Mmmm. It’s one of those cute names we give things that aren’t so cute, like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I’m not talking about ways to load up on calories; no, I’m talking about those little files that get put on your computer when you visit a website. There are different types of web cookies that you should know about since, after all, they are on your computer.
Types of Web Cookies
Session Cookies
A session cookie is put onto your computer when you are logged onto a website. From the time you log on until the time you log off is called a session.
Persistent Cookies
After a website puts a persistent cookie on your computer it can remember if you have been there before. Generally, you have to manually remove these from your computer.
Whose Party is it Anyway?
The first party is the website, the second party is you, and the third party is a company that asks the first party to put a cookie on your computer.
LSOs / Flash Cookies
Local Shared Object (LSO), also known as a flash cookie, are cookies that stay on your computer even after you clear your cookies from your computer.
HTTP Only Cookies
These are cookies that are used only when transmitting a HTTP request, so that other non-HTTP technologies such as javascript and APIs of other websites cannot use the cookie to manipulate your computer.
Zombie Cookie
This is a cookie that can recreate itself after it is deleted. Scary!
Steps You Can Take
Although many cookies provide some benefit to your online experience, others can be used as spyware or malware. If you don’t like cookies on your computer tacking your activity, there are a few steps you can take:
Opt-out of Advertising Cookies
Visit the Networking Advertising Initiative and Opt-Out of Behavioral Advertising
Clear Cookies / Adjust Browser Settings
Depending on what type of computer and browser you are using, there are different steps to clearing your cookies. Most browsers have a “Tools” section where you can find a way to clear cookies:
- Internet Explorer: On the top menu bar look for Tools >> Internet Options >> Browsing History >> Delete. From there you can choose what you want to remove from you computer. If you are in IE9 and cannot find the menu bar, look for the gear in the top right corner.
- Firefox: On the top menu bar look for Tools >>Clear Recent History. From there you can choose what you want to remove from you computer.
- Chrome: In the top right corner look for the wrench icon >> Tools >> Clear Browsing Data. From there you can choose what you want to remove from your computer.
- Safari: On the top menu bar look for Safari >> Empty Cache.
Each of these browsers have security options that will allow you to permit or restrict cookies on your computer. Some of the browsers will give you the option to allow first-party cookies but not third-party cookies, which might be a good choice to maintain performance on some websites which use a session cookie.
Adjust Your Flash Settings
Get Browser Plugins
- Download Google’s targeted advertising opt-out plugin
- Download Firefox’s TACO plugin
- Download Firefox’s Better Privacy Plugin (removes LSOs)
- Download Chrome’s Click and Clean Plugin (removes LSOs)
Burke Ingraffia is a SEO specialist and creative web developer who works with FSC Inter@ctive to optimize websites from a content and technological perspective.
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