Cookies

[RonH]

I seem to have a lot of Cookies on my system when I check using CCleaner. Is it OK to remove these and does removal cause any problems.
I should add that I regularly delete cookies etc in IE8 using the Safety/Delete Browsing feature but this still leaves a lot of 'other' Cookies.

[HansV]

Cookies are used by websites to store information between visits. That can be useful.

For example, if you tick the check box "Remember me" or "Log me on automatically each visit" when you log in to Eileen's Lounge, and don't log out at the end of your visit, you won't have to log in the next time you visit Eileen's Lounge.

And Google stores your search preferences in its cookie, so that you don't have to set these preferences each time you search.

So you should not let CCleaner remove cookies for websites that (a) you visit regularly and (b) that you would like to keep your settings/preferences. For other websites, it shouldn't be a problem if you delete their cookies.

You can specify which cookies should be kept by CCleaner in Options > Cookies. If a cookie you'd like to keep is in the list on the left (Cookies to Delete), select it and click the -> button to move to to the list on the right (Cookies to Keep).

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CCleaner will use these lists next time you run the Cleaner.

[RonH]

Whoops ... hit the wrong buttons! All gone, but I guess those I need will come back or prompt me to do something when next I go to the page? The reason I asked about this is that there many different views about all this ...
Fixed up Eileen first! Thanks Hans

[HansV]

If you delete cookies from a website, they'll be created anew the next time you visit it, unless you block cookies in general or from that site specifically.
But for example if you set Google search preferences, then delete the Google.com cookies, Google will use the default settings again next time you search.

[RonH]

Phew! I thought that my access to netbanking might also be stuffed ... but all is OK. But I suppose banks don't keep cookies for security reasons.
Interestingly, when one deletes all cookies using the IE8 Safety/delete browsing etc, many cookies still show up in CCleaner. Is the MS delete cookies so selective?

[HansV]

CCleaner lists cookies from all browsers - do you occasionally user other browsers than Internet Explorer?
And the Remove browsing history dialog in IE has an option to keep settings from sites in your Favorites list.

[BobH]

I don't mean to hijack Ron's thread, but I seem to have an anomaly with CCleaner and the Cookies Options.

I have http://www.eileenslounge.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; in my list of cookies not to be deleted; yet after running CCleaner, I have to login again even though I always log in with the Remember Me box checked. I note that the URL at the top of this page uses "http://eileenslounge.com/..." instead of the "www. " form. Is this the problem? I thought that I had copied and pasted the URL's instead of typing them (but at my age memory is not a strong suit).

UPDATE: ************************************
I gave this a test after posting the above. I ensured that both forms of the URL were in the right side of the cookies options for Eileen's Lounge then ran CCleaner. I then reopened my browser (Firefox 4.0 Beta) and when navigating to the Lounge using bookmarked tabs, I had to log in again. After login, I checked Firefox Tools/Options/Privacy/Show_Cookies and found 8 cookies from eileenslounge.com with differing suffixes (utmz, etc) but no prefix (http: vs www.) shows up with those listings. My other privacy options wrt cookies include: Accept Cookies from Sites; Accept Third-Party Cookies and keep until I close Firefox; and Clear History when Firefox Closes. Do I need to include all 8 cookies in the CCleaner do-not-delete list?

I can't figure this out. The only time I have to login is after running CCleaner; so I don't think the Firefox options are in play. I can close Firefox and return to any of the sites I had open in tabs when I closed it. I don't log out of those sites. It seems to me that for some reason CCleaner is not recognizing the provision to not erase the cookie from Eileen's Lounge.

What more can I do to root this out? If I knew more about which directory(s) CCleaner operates upon wrt Cookies, I could check before and after running CCleaner to see if the cookie(s) remain.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm/

[HansV]

Try adding the eileenslounge.com cookie (without www.) to the "Cookies to Keep" list (see my screenshot higher up in this thread)

[BobH]

Thanks, Hans!

Will do and will report, when I have time.

[RonH]

CCleaner lists cookies from all browsers - do you occasionally user other browsers than Internet Explorer?
And the Remove browsing history dialog in IE has an option to keep settings from sites in your Favorites list.

Hei again Hans,
No, I only use the IE8 which I find quite OK. With sooooo many diferent software products on the market for so many applications I try to stick with what I know best!
Yes I understand what you are saying about the 'delete browsing' facility of IE8. I regularly use it with all 'ticked' except Preserve Favorites and InPrivate Filtering Data. I know that this means for the sites which I need to enter my details that I have to start over but this is a small price to pay (say once a week when I 'delete') for the added safety that I get. Just yesterday I had one of the 'will save you from these infections you have if you will use our AV' web pages lock up my pc. Fortunately I was able to close the browser using Task Manager etc.

[BobH]

Try adding the eileenslounge.com cookie (without www.) to the "Cookies to Keep" list (see my screenshot higher up in this thread)

I gave that a try, the cookies option of CCleaner, but after running CCleaner I had to log in to eileenslounge.com with username and password; so I conclude that the CCleaner option to protect and preserve cookies does not work under some (unknown to me) conditions.

I made no changes in my Firefox settings.

[HansV]

CCleaner has never caused problems for me in this respect, but if it does for you, I'd set it not to clean cookies:

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Or stop using CCleaner...

[BobH]

CCleaner has never caused problems for me in this respect, but if it does for you, I'd set it not to clean cookies:

I think I'll just live with the inconvenience. I'm using KeePass to generate and store secure passwords; so it really isn't any problem. I'm more curious to find out what the combination of factors is that makes CCleaner perform as it does on my system.

Thanks for the help, Hans!