Most internet users have heard of the concept of “cookies” that store information about websites they’ve visited. On the other hand, many people don’t realize the scope of information that these cookies capture and how they can be used to monitor your behavior. In recent years, the usage and complexity of browser cookies has increased significantly. This largely went unnoticed by most users. To be sure, minimize this invasive monitoring by reading on. In this post we’ll summarize how Cookies gather information about you. Learn how to manage web cookies to protect your online privacy.
What is the Purpose of Browser Cookies?
Cookies are a tool website owners use to track your behavior on their site. They store this information about you for future visits. Information contained in these cookies could e.g. include:
We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. Manage your passwords responsibly. Do not use the same password among all websites you join. Make sure that the password you use for encrypted or secure sites are different from less secure sites you visit. Don't use the same password you use for your credit cards or bank accounts for your online accounts and vice versa.
your IP address,
browser version information,
user ID assigned by the site owner,
the dates you visited the site,
what pages you viewed or
which actions you took on the site.
They combine this information into an unique profile assigned to you. Cookies usually don’t contain any personal information about you, e.g. your name or phone number. Instead, marketers use these hardware details and build a “profile” on you they can study and analyze.
One of the most common examples of cookie monitoring is “retargeting” advertising. In short, a business will continue advertising to you long after you’ve left their website. Ever notice how you’ve visited a site and then something from that website (or closely related to it) starts showing up in your Facebook ads? Facebook partners with a massive number of web service providers. They allow them to continue advertising to you on social media after you visit their website. This is just one example – most social media platforms and large websites employ this method of advertising.
How to Manage Web Cookies
This invasive tracking should be concerning to privacy-minded users. The most effective way to prevent cookie usage on your PC is to simply turn them off. But note that this may break some functionality of certain websites.
An acceptable compromise may be to enable cookie deletion upon closing the browsing session – most modern browsers have this ability. You can take this a step further and use the various private-browsing modes available on your browser.
Learn hear how to use:
Incognito mode in Chrome
Private mode in Firefox
In short, prevent cookies by using these modes. These modes delete the activities you perform during these session. They also delete any temporary files created during the session.
Each OS stores them in a different location. Research where the directory is located on your PC and review the files before deleting or keeping them.
How Do I Manage Cookies?
You can usually delete cookies from the Privacy or History area, available from the Settings or Options menu in the browser. In most browsers, the same menu can be reached through:
Ctrl+Shift+Del keyboard shortcut for Windows or
Command+Shift+Del if you’re on a Mac.
To emphasize, the steps involved in deleting cookies can differ depending on what web browser we’re talking about.
Implement a VPN System for an Added Layer of Protection
There are steps you can take on your local PC to minimize the impact of web cookies. In addition, use hide.me VPN to mask your computer’s details. In doing that, you will supply a false IP address to the marketers that use cookies. One of the most concerning data points contained in a web cookie is the IP address of the user it belongs to. An IP address contains sensitive geographic information. They use this to pinpoint your exact location. By using cookies web site owners can even pull up your personal information via your internet service provider.
Use hide.me VPN and your true IP address will stay masked from the website you’re communicating with. The website sees only the VPN server’s IP. That is because all traffic goes through hide.me VPN servers. That way your IP stays hidden. This creates an effective diversion that prevents your geographic location being revealed to the website owner. Paired with the practices mentioned in the second section of this post, a VPN will create an airtight seal against the invasive monitoring by cookie owners.
Summary
In conclusion, most users don’t realize the extent to which they are being tracked and monitored by web cookies. Addressing cookies is an effective way to limit the information you provide. But, there are many other methods to be vary of. These are outside the scope of this post. At last, utilize the recommendations in this post. Prevent cookies on your PC. In addition, use hide.me VPN to enjoy the peace of mind of your activity remaining private.
You can prevent cookies from being used on your computer at all, or manage them with a custom application. You can set your browser to reject cookies as follows.
Cookie 5 7 6 – Protect Your Online Privacy Protections
Internet Explorer: Tools / Internet Options / Security – Set security level to “High”, or Custom level / Cookies / Disable
Note that some web sites won’t let you visit unless you accept their cookies. If you want to go to the trouble, you can turn cookies on to visit them, turn them off when you leave, and then turn them back on when you return, whereupon you may have to re-enter information not saved in the cookie.
Resources. Various applications provide various levels of cookie protection. Many virus protection programs also provide other Internet protection features including cookie controls. Some applications let you block cookies selectively without erasing the ones you want. Some let you turn on anonymous surfing mode to prevent cookie usage, turn the feature off to use sites that require cookies, and then turn the feature back on without erasing useful cookies that you want to use later.
BOClean, formerly NSClean
One of the early cookie control applications was called simply “The Cookie Jar”. Another historical cookie control application was called the “APK Cookie Killing Engine”.