Help! How do I get my name back? -> Firewalls -> Ad blockers

[Ragnarok]

Originally posted by tbontob:
I am surprised no one has asked how I can block third party cookies in Internet Explorer 6! It is somewhat obscure and not readily apparent from the menu.

For those who may want to know:
1) Select Tools/Internet Options from IE6
2) Select Privacy
3) Click the Advanced Button
4) Check "Override automatic cookie handling"
5) Under "First Party Cookies", click "Accept"
6) Under "Third Party Cookies", click "Block"
7) Click "OK" twice

Edit: This may also be available with earlier Versions of Internet Explorer. My experience is only with IE6.

Sweet, I didn't know you could do that at all with IE. Now I know and now I did it. So hopefully that will help block some of those things.

[tbontob]

Ragnarok

The only problem is that you relinquish any control over First Party Cookies. It would be nice if IE would allow us to block third party cookies and still screen first party cookies. But, this is not the case.

Generally it is not a problem as most sites behave properly and use cookies for which they were designed (to personalize the web page to your needs). However, some sites go further and gather unauthorized information on you and thereby create a potential security hazard.

So, if you use IE to block third party cookies, you really should have a firewall which allows you to screen first party cookies.

Hope this clarifies matters.

[Suicide Junkie]

5) Under "First Party Cookies", click "Accept"

I simply used "prompt" instead of
"accept".

[tbontob]

Originally posted by Suicide Junkie:
5) Under "First Party Cookies", click "Accept"

I simply used "prompt" instead of
"accept".

Better than "Accept" without a firewall.

But some of us can be lazy creatures. The potential is there to just automatically accept the cookie whenever we see the prompt.

My feeling is if "prompt" is used, the user should have a clear modus operandi which is followed religiously.

Here is a possible one.

1) If the site is likely to be a responsible one such as Microsoft, allowing the cookie should be no problem as these companies do not "need" money and generally want to avoid the embarrassement of being accused of behaving unethically.
2) If the site is over the borderline of "safe", try rejecting the cookie.
3) If the site requires you take a cookie, you have a decision to make whether to accept it or not and the attendant risks associated with such acceptance.

[Will]

I remember being able to prompt for cookies way back in the IE3 days, and I believe the distinction between first party and third party was made with IE5.
But, my personal method adds something more... I forget what exactly is the name of the dialogue, but the Last tab is entitled "Paranoia"... with subsections named something like "Things That Happen Behind Your Back". Quite useful

[tbontob]

Maybe, I should have mentioned this earlier.

The automatic screening of cookies by IE6 and some firewalls is dependant upon P3P (Platform for Privacy Preferences).

Typically, a web site fills out a multiple-choice form about the information the web site collects. Then it is is coded into their web page. The privacy level selected in IE and/or firewall is then compared to the coded tag on the webpage and either the cookie is accepted or a privacy warning is issued to the viewer.

But it does have some weaknesses.
1) It is voluntary and
2) The information is not verified by any agency.

==============================================

Somewhat off-topic, some sites drop additional programs when we download files. These hog memory, disk space and processing power.

These programs are not considered viruses since they do no damage to your computer. Yet, they can slow your computer to a crawl, hog memory so that some programs will no longer load and use up valuable hard drive space.

For those who haven't done so, I would strongly suggest using Ad-aware found at www.lavasoftusa.com.

There are other sites (I think the home site is in Germany at www.lavasoft.de).

It is free and comes in many Languages.

I cannot recommend it highly enough. I run it every month to clean up my computer.

EDIT For the first time user, do not be surprised if you have a lot of these programs to delete... a 100 is not unusual. I have heard of over 800! It is safe and reliable.

EDIT And it is very easy to use

[ October 25, 2002, 19:36: Message edited by: tbontob ]

[Ragnarok]

Yes, I agree whole heartedly with tbontob. Adaware is a great program. I use it alot and it helps keep my computer running at peak efficiancy. A friend of mine who is a computer technician introduced me to this program and we ran it on my mothers computer. It turned up around 500 or so. we cleaned them up and her computer runs alot better now.
So I, along with tbontob, strongly recommend using that program.