I was wondering. Is there a way to pinpoint a cookie in IE. My home page unfortunately is TVguide.com. Since I can configure it to show only the channels I watch, it does the trick. However, when I clean my pc weekly of temp files and cookies I have to reset my favorite stations again. I wouldn't mind except my list is extensive and the sites process takes forever
That is one of - maybe the primary reasons I use CCleaner to clean out the clutter on my computers. You can tell CCleaner which cookies you want to keep and let it clean out all the rest. For example, I have told it to keep Techie7 cookies so I don't have to re-enter my username and password every time I visit the site after I clean out all the temp and cookies files . I do this for all the sites I visit regularly (except my banking and insurance sites).
As Digerati says above, CCleaner is one of the best for the job. The link he gives there is still valid. For home use the Free version is usually all you need. (Although if you have multiple user accounts on a computer then you may want to upgrade to the Pro version which will clean them all when run from an Admin account). 3 things to note with CCleaner: Be careful when first installing it, the installer offers a 'bundle' of Avast anti-virus which is pre-selected - you have to untick this if you don't want it to install Avast. DON'T use the registry cleaner unless you know what you are doing. It's a specialist tool and you could 'break' your computer if it's not used carefully. Password cleaning has changed a bit from what Digirati said back in 2015, passwords are now kept seperate from cookies and saved by your browser, they have their own cleaning options in CCleaner. (You can still tell it to save cookies for sites that you use regularly, so that the appearance of those sites is just how you like them everytime you visit). If you don't want to use a 3rd party cleaning programme then use your browser settings to clear cookies. Which browser(s) are you using?
No, nothing has changed in that area. It has been working the exact same way since long before that 2015 post, and works the same today. Cookies and saving passwords in your browser are two totally different features. Depending on the specific site, if you simply exit a site by closing your browser, cookies let you access the site again, and it is the site that lets you in without entering your username and password when you return. This is regardless if you saved your password in your browser or not. HOWEVER, if you "sign-out" of that site, the cookies are cleared and you will have to enter your credentials (username and password) next time you visit that site. Forums like Techie7 typically let you return without re-entering your password, - again, unless you actually signed out when ending your last sessions. Banks typically automatically sign you out when exiting or when idle for some time so you always have to sign back in. If you have allowed your browser to save your passwords, you do not have to enter the password again next time you visit the site because the browser does that for you - NOT because of cookies, but because the browser is acting as your password manager and automatically entering it for you. Note I have NEVER EVER allowed any of my browsers to save passwords. If someone steals my computer, I don't want them to easily access any of my accounts. I use a separate password manager/safe for that, and it takes a separate "master" password to open. That said, I believe all browsers let you set a master password for that feature so if you do allow your browser to save passwords, make sure you tell it to use a master password, and set a strong one. @Mahima Rai - are you trying to clear all cookies, or just one? Note every browser has the option to clear cookies. But the steps are different so we would need to know the browser to help you there. Or as noted, you can use CCleaner. Or, you can use Windows Disk Cleanup which is already built into Windows.
Indeed, But if you are going to the trouble of clearing cookies, encrypting your passwords, and/or using a master password, then you are hardly going to leave a site without logging off first. That would defeat the object of having secure passwords (or any password) in the first place. CCleaner does have the option to clear any passwords that have been saved to each browser you use. (So for example you could clear any that have been saved in Chrome, but keep the ones saved in Firefox).
Oh bullfeathers! I never signout of this site or any other forum I visit every day. I just close the browser. No. That's totally wrong and makes no sense at all. I don't even know what that means. Every user needs to store their passwords in a secure password manager or password safe and that manager needs to encrypt the passwords. The key to decrypt them is the master password the user enters whey they need to look up a password to access some account. Users need to do this instead of writing passwords down on piece of paper "hidden" under their keyboard.
If you have not logged out of a forum, or any other site, then anyone stealing your computer just has to open the webpage (stored in your bookmarks?) and they are logged in as you. Eg. I could steal your computer, visit this forum, be automatically logged in as you, and use your supermod access to delete all threads and ban users. Not catastrophic as they could all be recovered, but a definite PITA. TBH you are much more likely to be hacked online rather than have your house burgled and your computer (or a bit of paper with your passwords on) stolen. And NIST no longer consider the use of password managers necessary, useful yes, necessary for security no: https://www.npr.org/sections/alltec...tough-passwords-new-guidelines-make-it-simple
Yes, you might be able to log into the site as me (but maybe not since your IP will be different). But you could not use my Mod status because that requires an additional level of security. I don't necessarily agree with that either. This is really more a "case-by-case" issue that depends more on where you live (your actual neighborhood), if you keep Windows and your security updated, and whether or not you are "click-happy" on unsolicited downloads, attachments, links, and popups. But people seem to forget about "physical" security. A badguy breaking into your home most likely is going to be in a hurry. And most probably is just looking for drug money. But those who are a little more sophisticated hoping to steal more than just the hardware are going to search within arm's reach of your computer chair. I do this every time I make house calls to prove a point to my clients. Many times I have found their password list under the keyboard or in the computer desk drawer. A common place is an index/recipe card box sitting on the desk. And in some households, you may have a house-guest that is not the most trustworthy like a nosy nephew, or one of your children's friends who are not stealing the computer, just sitting down to use it when you are not looking. And of course, physical security is not just about bad guys stealing your stuff. It also deals with where you physically keep the backups for your computer. If you keep your only backup on an external drive next to your computer, for example, and a fire, flood, or tornado take out your home, there goes your backup too. But that's for another discussion. NO!!!!! That is NOT the conclusion of that NIST article! Nor is it the conclusion of the new NIST guidelines. You did yourself (and readers here ) a disservice by taking that one minor statement totally out of context! That article, in reference to password managers, was about the old recommendation to use super strong, complex passwords that would be "cryptographically" harder to break than shorter ones. The point about password managers was not about having a secure place to store your passwords (which was my point above), but about using the manager to randomly select characters to create those "hard to guess/crack" passwords. To illustrate, the new NIST standards now say you don't need to use ^HGre&*kk3456%@# as your password as was once recommended. Instead, now they say to use, I love the spot on Buddy's paw instead because that is something you can picture in your head but a badguy could not easily guess or crack. It is easy to remember and easy to type but has almost twice as many characters making it much much harder and time consuming to crack. HOWEVER, the NIST standard still recommends using unique passwords for all your important accounts. If you have a bank, credit union, broker, PayPal, Amazon, Gas, water and electric companies, 3 credit cards, health insurance, car insurance, work, and a 1-800-Flowers account, that's 15 accounts already you should have unique passwords for. If you have an infallible memory, you don't need a password manager. But if you cannot remember 15 unique passwords (and who can?), then you need a password "safe" to securely store them in where you only need to remember the combination (master password) to the safe. And please note, I said above, "password manager/safe". Now lets back to the OP's topic, and stick to the topic of managing cookies.
