Removing and Blocking Cookies: Cookies and Privacy threats
Odds are, you are reading this publication using a mobile device, but few are, with a computer. There is also a very high chance that you have visited other sites before coming to this site. So, we are all consumers of several websites on a daily basis. With this, you probably have countless cookies on your mobile device or computer. Therefore, discussing cookies should not be too difficult to understand.
Let's say you are a vendor dealing on books. You open a shop to sell to people and give a parting gift to anyone who so much as come say ,"Hello". Unfortunately the gift is a kind that benefits you more than it does the receiver. It literally tracks and monitor the receiver, and study their habits on the internet. Your aim for giving this gift is to serve the receiver better whenever you have an encounter with them again. Sounds creepy right!!!! This is exactly what cookies are. Cookies was first used in web communication by a man named Lou Montuilli in June 1994. The idea was to retain partial transaction states of customers, but not on the website servers. So Lou found a way to help companies to track and store users behaviour on a website in each user's computer instead without their permission of course. It's the same as saying; Oh I love you and want to keep my eyes forever on you so I can treat you like an angel, but i won't do it myself, you will have to do it for me, and yes I won't be needing your permission. It worked!! That was how cookies in websites came into being.
In this post, we would answer salient questions about cookies, such as
- What are cookies
- What is it uses
- How it works
- Why it can be dangerous
- How to remove and block cookies (i.e ensuring your privacy)
WHAT ARE COOKIES
HTTP cookies (also called web cookies, internet cookies, browser cookies, or simply cookies) are small blocks of data created by a website while a user is browsing and it's placed on the users computer or mobile device by the users web browser. And more than one cookie may be placed on a user's device during a session.
Cookies serve useful and sometimes essential functions on the web. They enable servers to store stately information (for example, items added in a shopping cart in an online store) on the user's device or to track the user's browsing activity (logging in, recording which pages were visited in the past, etc.) They may also be used to save for subsequent use information that the user previously entered in to form fields, e.g. names, addresses, passwords and payment card numbers, etc.
WHAT IS IT USES
Cookies actually serve a lot of purpose to the website, these include
1. Session Management: Cookies were originally introduced to provide a way for users to record items they want to purchase as they navigate throughout a website. This also helps in logging in to website. The server sends the client a cookie that when the user logs in, the server remembers that that particular session identifier has been authenticatedand, grant the user access to it server.
2. Personalization: cookies can be used to remember information about the user in order to show relevant content to that user over time. This way every time the user access a page on the website, the server can personalize the page according to the user's preference.
3. Tracking: This can be used to track user's web browsing habits. Corporations exploit users web habits by tracking cookies to collect information about buying habits. The Wall Street Journal found that America's top 50 websites installed an average of 64 pieces of tracking tech into computers, resulting in a total of 3,180 tracking files. The data can then be collected and sold to building corporations. That is a lot!!!
HOW IT WORKS
Cookies are arbitrary pieces of data, usually chosen and first sent by the web server, and stored on the user computer by the web browser. The browser then sends them back to the server with every request, introducing states (memory of previous events) into otherwise stated less HTTP transactions. Without cookies each retrieval of a web page, or components of a web page would be an isolated event, largely unrelated to all other page views made by the user on the websites.
WHY COOKIES CAN BE DANGEROUS
1. Cookies themselves aren't harmful. However, some cyber attacks can hijack cookies and enable access to your browsing sessions. This is done especially in authentication cookie. Security vulnerabilities may allow cookie data to be read by an attacker, used to gain access to user data, or used to gain access to the website to which the cookie belongs.
2. Third-party Cookie: cookies are usually sent only to the servers setting them or a server in the same internet domain, However, a webpage may contain images or other components stored on servers in other domains. Such cookies are called third-party cookies. Here, an advertiser on a web page sends cookie to your browser to track user's across multiple sites, this happens whether you click on it or not. As of 2014, some websites were setting cookies readable for over 100 third-party domains. On average, a single website was setting cookie, with maximum number of cookies reaching over 800. Most browser such as Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera and Google Chrome, do allow third party cookies by default. This is by far the most dangerous of all the cookies. It's literally "having all eyes on you".
3. Zombie Cookies: This behave like virus in terms of it addictive nature to your phone and computer. It installed permanently on users computer or mobile device, even when they opt not to install cookies. They also reappear after they have been deleted. Sometimes called flash Cookies and extremely difficult to remove.
4. Besides privacy concerns, cookies can be used for security attacks. So ,we really need to watch out for them.
HOW TO REMOVE AND BLOCK COOKIES
This is what we are all waiting for. Lucky for you I have got you covered. Let's discuss this under two headings.
A. Removing Cookies: Cookies can be an optional part of your internet experience. If you so choose, you can limit what cookies end up on your computer or mobile device. Removing normal cookies is easy, but it could make certain websites harder to navigate. It may also make users to have to re-entry their data for each visit.
To do this, (1)find the "settings", privacy section- sometimes listed under "Tools", internet options, or Advanced. (2) follow the prompts on the available options to manage or remove cookies. What are you waiting for. Below are steps to clearing cookies on specific sites
1. CHrome: Under the chrome tab at the top left of your screen, click "Settings > privacy > clear browsing data".
2. Firefox: Under the Firefox tab at the upper left of your screen, go to "Preference > privacy & security > show cookies > Remove all"
3. Safari: Under the Safari tab at the upper right of your screen, go to "Preference > privacy > manage website data > Remove all
4. Opera; Under the opera tab go to "settings > clear browsing data > clear cookies
The final step is to instruct your browser to allow first party cookies while blocking third-party cookies. This is explained below
B. Stop Receiving Cookies: This especially work for third-party cookies. The first step may be to make sure you have a record of all the passwords for sites that require login(a password manager can help with that). Once you do this, then go to the settings to clear cookies as explained above. Steps on how to block third-party cookies for major sites
1. CHrome: Settings > site settings > cookies > Block third party cookies
For computer go to "preference > privacy > content settings > cookie > block third-party cookies
2. Firefox: Go to "preference > privacy > history ( the default setting is "remember history" , change it to "use custom settings for history" to reveal your cookies option.
3. Safari: Apple's browser features the same cookie compromise- "Allow (cookies) from websites I visit" - which can be found at preference > privacy
4. Opera: Settings > advanced > cookies (disabled and click save password)
"Managing cookies is just one component of Protecting your privacy."Companies may use non-cookie technology to track you across website, and clearing cookies won't address that..... But, cookies are still the most common way companies track you on the web"- stated by Justine Brookman, Privacy Director for Consumers Union, the Policy and Mobilization division of Consumer Reports. In conclusion, just like we take our car to the mechanics for service once in a while, to clear the air, we need to do same with our mobile devices and computer.
It's about time to clear that cookies. Except you are comfortable having millions of companies watching and monitoring you on the net. In which case, you are literally, a "public" private person.
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