Many web sites you visit have arrangements with their advertisers and web analytic firms to place “tracking cookies” on your computer. I don’t like them, because it lets advertisers build up a history of where and when you surf. On the other hand, these companies say they use this data to try and match ads to a user’s interests. Personally, I think marketing people already know enough about us, so here’s some information on how to get rid of these tracking cookies if you like.
Tracking cookies are small text files that can tell advertisers and Web analytics firms what you (or your computer or your IP address) are doing online, even though they usually don’t record your name or other identifiable information. They are used all over the Web, but in most cases, their presence is only disclosed deep inside privacy policies.
If the majority of the sites you vist are customers of the same one or two advertising companies, this would be useful in that you should only be served ads that have relevance to you. If you find this to be the case, then by all means keep the tracking cookies, if you wish. However, if you do want to know how to get rid of these tracking cookies, read on.
First of all, here are links to pages where you can opt out of the cookies set by double-click (probably the most common source of tracking cookies):
I’d prefer a totally opt-in system, but obviously, it’s much more useful for the ad industry to require the opposite.
If you want to clean out all tracking cookies from all your Web sites, here are links where you can download three programs that can clean out tracking cookies:
- http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad-aware_se_personal.php
- http://www.spybot.info/en/download/index.html
- http://www.webroot.com/consumer/products/spysweeper/
You can also change the preferences or settings in your Web browser to control cookies. In some cases, you can choose to accept cookies from the primary site, but block them from third parties. In others, you can block cookies from specific sites or advertisers, or clear out all cookies.
Remember: Not all cookies are tracking cookies. For example, many Web sites place cookies on your computer to save information like your registration information or preferences for that site. They aren’t read by third parties (like advertisers) and can not tell the owning site about where you go online.