cookies

[hal4655]

i keep getting cookies from places i do not know some with pass words i delete them and minutes latter they are all back . what can i do thanks!!!!

 

[harryb2448]

G'day and welcome to the forums.

Do you recognise the passwords on the cookies, which is most unusual. Suggest you download and run Scan of Malwarebytes for Mac, and if in Safari go to Preferences > Privacy and choose the selection that best suits you. IE choose download from sites you visit, etc, or allow no cookies.


https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/mac/

 

[hal4655]

li ran malware nothing Preferences > Privacy ignore everything if i clear the 800+ cookies a day all my passwords go with it and i have to go and put in passwords all day. if i choose no cookies i can not lon into anything mail Facebook iTunes!! computer is slow when cookie build up i get european ip address in cookies as well as some kind of amazon cloud with passwords

 

[IWT]

There are several cookie "managers" for want of a better word. They are mostly pay-for. I use Cookie Stumbler. This notes every cookie on your Mac now and as they arrive. It tells you those that are safe and those that track you. You can delete selectively. This means you can agree to keep those like Facebook where deleting them means signing in again with security and passwords. I think this might be a better option for you.

Ian

 

[hal4655]

thanks ian i like that cookie stumbler i'm going to get it!!!

 

[McBie]

Safari / Preferences / Privacy ..... select the cookie settings that suit you most.

I don't know about other browsers, but I am pretty sure they offer similar functionality with regards to managing cookies.

Cheers ... McBie

 

[IWT]

Hi McBie. It's a matter of opinion, of course, but I don't think the privacy settings in Safari or the other browsers give you anything like the flexibility and control you get with a cookie manager. There are are several of these. I just chose Cookie Stumbler on a personal basis. There are numerous sites that many of us use daily where it comes as a real surprise to find they use tracking cookies. Some, like FB, are awkward because if you delete them, then you have to go through a tedious process of logging in with lots of security. The point I was trying to make is that Cookie Stumbler, or similar, gives you choice about what you keep and tolerate and what you delete. Just saying.

Ian

 

[McBie]

No worries Ian.
We all have a favourite way of approaching challenges.
My take on anything OS X related is that I switched to OSX ( from windows ) with the sole reason of having an OS that worked for me and not me working for the OS.
If I can use the built-in OS X functionality to achieve my goals, I will. Problem is that I am still learning the " built in " functionality, even after all those years
It all boils down to the amount of risk .... How important ( no emotions ) is the fact I have cookies on my machine.
My 2 cents

Cheers ... McBie

 

[rainbowcat]

This is making me wonder if I'm being rather naive...I use Firefox, and have it set to delete all cookies and clear the cache every time I log off. Highly secure passwords are remembered for me, so logging in is not much of an issue. Also set to "Do Not Track", which I realize is pretty ineffectual, but every little bit helps. If this is effective, it might be a reasonable, and free, solution for original poster. If I'm deluding myself here, I hope someone will tell me so!

 

[IWT]

Hi rainbowcat,

I'd never say anyone was deluding themselves. It's always personal choice, convenience versus privacy, a difficult balance.

What I can comment is: I too, occasionally use Firefox or Chrome when some site I'm after doesn't recognise or support Safari. Like you, I set FF & Chrome to delete cookies & caches after exiting. But, I use a nice app called "Privacy" (can't recall if it's pay-for or not). This, when run, identifies all potential "threats" in relation to Browsers and Adobe Flash etc. You'd be amazed how much stuff is still retained by all the Browsers (and especially Adobe Flash) even when you think you have emptied the caches and deleted the cookies.

Ian