Why are Cookies needed - how to enable, disable or clear them. Cookies: what are they and how do they work? Learning to use cookies correctly

First of all, you should not confuse cookies with history and cache.

What are cookies?

These are text files that are stored on your computer in a hidden browser folder. IN cookies are contained data that you entered on all sites. Usually these are logins and passwords. They also contain various settings for sites (themes, widgets, saves, past search queries, etc.). They are also sometimes used to collect statistics by all kinds of toolbars like Yandex bar.

For example, you log into a social network and immediately get to a page with news (you used to get to your page when you logged in) without even entering your Login and Password. And they did this because they once clicked on the pop-up button at the top in the browser Save.
This also happens when visiting other sites, such as mail or a torrent tracker.
A reasonable question - how does the site know your password and login (as well as settings) to log in? Yes, because they are on your computer and, when you access the site, the site sends a request to your browser for information in cookies and the browser gives them to the site. This kind of interaction is imperceptible, and in the end you end up on the site as an authorized user without even entering anything.

On some sites there is this, invisible to some, checkbox that says “Someone else’s computer” or “Not for this computer” or something like that. So this is exactly what is needed for cookies. If you select this checkbox, enter your password and login, and go to the site, cookies will not be saved.

On the one hand, it’s very convenient - you don’t need to enter passwords every time and remember them for sites. By the way, cookies do not always work correctly. More precisely, they seem to “become attached” to. And if you use a browser, for example, Firefox for one site as one user, then by accessing the same site through Opera you will no longer have user data saved.
This is usually used when several people use a computer and access the same site. In this case, you also do not need to enter your data each time, because each browser has its own cookies.

Cookies are also called sessions. A session is a visit to a site. Basically the same as cookies. Typically, sites themselves set how long the session will last.
So, in order to clear cookies on the site, just press the button Log out(Exit) on the website.
However, after this, sometimes your data still remains in the login and password fields, but this is the tricks of the browser, which helps save it through itself, and not cookies.

Sometimes the antivirus swears at them, but this happens because all sorts of malicious sites try to “shove” any advertising or viruses into cookies.
Therefore, the presence of an antivirus and firewall when surfing the Internet.

Now a little about saving your data.
Yes, cookies store your passwords and logins for authorization on sites, and often it is this data that is the object of the theft of all cookies. To obtain cookies, viruses and malicious programs are used, which you can install on your computer, or they will be installed unnoticed by you when you visit a harmful site.
But there is another side to the coin - the information in cookies is stored in encrypted form. And if you have a really complex password, then it is very difficult (almost impossible) to decipher it.

Where are cookies located on your computer?

As I wrote above, they are located in the browser folder, which is .

Google Chrome I don't have it, I tested it on SPWare Iron

Windows XP C:\Documents and Settings\(Your_profile)\Application Data\Chromium\
Windows 7 C:\Users\(Your_profile)\AppData\Local\Chromium\User Data\Default\Cache\

Opera

Windows XP C:\Documents and Settings\(Your_profile)\Application Data\Opera\
Windows 7 C:\Users\(Your_profile)\AppData\Local\Opera\Opera\cache\

Firefox

Windows XP C:\Documents and Settings\(Your_profile)\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\\
Windows 7 C:\Users\(Your_profile)\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\\

Internet Explorer

Windows XP C:\Documents and Settings\Cookies\\
Windows 7 C:\Users\(Your_profile)\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies\\

In general, the meaning is clear - in the Application Data folders for Windows XP and Roaming and Local for Windows 7

Where are cookies located and how to delete cookies in the browser?
A much more interesting option.

Where are cookies located and how to delete cookies in Mozilla Firefox
Settings -> Settings

Select the link that you highlighted on the screen. A window will appear asking you to select your actions.

Where are cookies located and how to delete them in Opera?
Settings -> General settings (or keyboard shortcut ctrl + f12)

Where are cookies located and how to delete cookies in Google Chrome
Select the wrench icon in the upper right corner

Cookies(in English Cookies) are small files that your browser writes to your computer when you visit sites. These files store information about logins and passwords that you entered when visiting the site. Accordingly, the next time you return to the site, you do not need to enter your login and password again, your browser already remembers your data and takes the information from cookies.

By default, cookies are enabled in browsers, including Yandex Browser. However, if you forcibly disabled them and now do not know how to enable cookies in the Yandex browser, our article will be useful to you. After all, you must admit that entering the login and password for the site every time is very tiring. Also, in the article you will learn how to clear cookies in the Yandex browser.

Enabling cookies in Yandex browser

In order to enable cookies in the Yandex Browser, click in the upper right corner on the three lines indicating the Yandex browser settings, as shown in the picture below.

In the window that opens, scroll to the very bottom of the page and click on the “show additional settings” link.

Find the section " Personal information" and in it go to the menu " Content Settings«.

So we found the settings section responsible for supporting cookies in the Yandex browser. You can choose to save all cookies, allow saving only for the current session, or not allow cookies to be saved on your computer.

To enable cookies in the Yandex browser, select the first item. In the second case, your site data will be saved, but only until the browser is restarted. In the third case, cookie data will never be saved.

Cookie exceptions

Also, you can fine-tune cookies by setting exceptions. To do this, in the “content settings” section, click on “exceptions”.

In this menu you can set individual settings for sites. For example, you want your cookies to be saved on all sites except one, which you share with your wife, for example, the social network VKontakte.

In the “content settings” section, specify “save all cookies”, but in the “exceptions” section, indicate the name of the site vk.com and specify “block”.

Thus, the Yandex browser will save cookies from all sites except blocked ones, in our case this is only one site vk.com.

Cleaning cookies in Yandex browser

Cookies need to be cleared periodically. To do this, in the Yandex browser, click on the settings menu and go to the section Story. Or just press the key combination on your keyboard Ctrl+H.

In the center you will see a list of your visited sites. To clear cookies, click on the top right " clear history«.

In the window that opens, you can select what exactly you want to delete and for what period.

After this, you will erase from your computer all data about your browsing history and entered passwords in Yandex Browser. And by the way, by doing this you will free up some free space on your hard drive, since these files can take up an impressive amount of space.

You can read more detailed information on how to clear cookies and cache in Yandex, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Opera browsers in our previous article

What are cookies and what are they for?

Date: 2010-11-26

Where are cookies located on a computer?

Very often we hear the word “cookies”, which is incomprehensible to many. In common parlance “cookies”. We hear what we hear, but what are “cookies”?, not many people know. Moreover, many do not know what depends on them and what they are needed for in general. Let's find out this question.

Cookies are special small files that are located on your computer's hard drive. These files are stored in Windows XP here: C:\Documents and Settings\...\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files. Instead of the ellipsis... substitute the name of your computer.

Cookies are placed in this folder by a server over the Internet, or more precisely by various servers that you visit while “walking” on the Internet on different sites. They store text information that the server(s) need for the functioning of a website.

Cookies store your login and password when you visit a particular site while you navigate through the pages of that site. Your personal nickname and e-mail that you entered into the form windows are stored here and the next time you open the form, you no longer need to fill out these fields, they are filled in automatically from cookies.

Those. Cookies are used to store personal data about the user visiting various web pages of the site or returning to the site after some time. Please note Personal Data!

Permanent and temporary cookies

Cookies come in several types: permanent and temporary.

We have already talked about permanent ones; they are stored here: C:\Documents and Settings\...\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files.

You can allow all types of cookies to be stored on your computer, only some types, or prohibit their storage at all. This is done simply.

For example in the browser Internet Explorer, go to the tab Tools / Internet Options / Privacy tab. By moving the slider, select the desired mode: Low (accept all cookies), Medium (accept cookies only from this server) High (block all cookies). After changing the parameters, do not forget to press the buttons Apply And OK.

Let's say you set the level to High and disable all cookies, but do not forget that almost all servers, and therefore all sites, use cookies in their work to identify visitors/

For example, all affiliate programs in which you participate are required to leave their cookies.

After changing the parameters, some servers may not work correctly. This especially applies to online stores. When placing an order you will receive a message similar to this: "Service is impossible! Your browser does not support cookies". Or something like that.

In everyday work, it is enough to set the Medium level, and it is usually set by default, and sometimes the Low level is sufficient.

Temporary cookies are usually stored in the computer's RAM or hard drive, and may be replaced by permanent cookies. Temporary cookies are automatically deleted when you exit the browser.

How to delete cookies?

You can delete all cookies by going to Internet Explorer to the tab: Tools / Internet Options / General Tab. Nothing bad will happen; all sites have worked and will continue to open. Some conveniences in work will disappear. Namely, personal data: passwords, logins, nicknames, e-mail addresses will need to be entered again when entering a specific site. In this case, new Cookies are automatically written in which this data is stored.

But if you are working on someone else’s computer, it happens that you ran into an Internet cafe, checked your email and “crackled” in ICQ, or went to see a work friend, you urgently need to look up something on the Internet, in this case you just need to delete all cookies so that other comrades cannot use your account after you.

Take care of your cookies and don’t let just anyone use them!

Removing Cookies in the Firefox browser:

Menu Tools at the top of the browser / item Remove private information (Clear Private Data)/ select item Cookies/Clear Private Data Now.

The full functioning of websites is determined by many parameters. One of them is support for cookies, or the ability to use data generated by web pages that is stored in the computer's memory. In other words, cookies are text files containing information about the personal settings made on various types of Internet resources (design, time zone, city, etc.), as well as about the user’s activity and authentication (logging into an account ). They greatly simplify entering information when registering on websites or filling out other forms.

Among users of the World Wide Web, there is an opinion that activating cookies can harm the computer, like a virus, spyware or malware. This is wrong. By themselves, these files cannot perform any actions, being simple text data. They do not slow down the system and do not require systematic removal; they are stored in the PC memory until they expire.

Often, cookies are enabled by default in browsers. If they are disabled, then you need to know how to enable cookies yourself in a particular browser. Enabling cookie support is easy for both beginners and experienced users. Let's take a closer look at the features of their activation in the most popular browsers.

Cookie support in Internet Explorer browser

Many users use the traditional Internet Explorer browser to view pages. For this program, from version 6 and higher, cookies can be enabled as follows:

• on the top panel find the “Service” menu section;
• click on the line “Internet Options”;
• switch to the “Privacy” tab;
• click on the “Advanced” line;
• check the box next to “Override automatic processing of cookies”;
• select the “Accept” option in the “Essential cookies” and “Third-party cookies” groups;
• confirm the changes made by clicking the “Ok” button.

There is an easier way to enable cookies in Internet Explorer. Just drag the slider located in the same “Privacy” tab, showing the level of security when working on the network, and set it to medium or low.

Enabling cookies in the Mozilla Firefox browser

One of the popular browsers is Mozilla Firefox. Users using it to surf the web must know how to enable cookies in it. To do this you will need:

Open the “Tools” section;
. go to the “Settings” subsection;
. in the “Privacy” tab, find the Firefox line;
. in the pop-up menu, click on the item “Will remember history”;
. save the changes by clicking the “Ok” button.

There is another way to enable cookies in the Mozilla Firefox browser. To do this you need:

In the “Settings” window, click on the “Privacy” tab;
. in the “History” block find the Firefox option;
. in the pop-up menu from the proposed list, select the item “Will use your history storage settings”;
. put a tick in the checkbox of the line “Accept cookies from sites”;
. set the value “Always” for the “Accept cookies from third-party sites” parameter;
. in the “Save cookies” item, select the line “Until they expire”;
. confirm the changes made.

Activating cookies in the Opera browser

Users often prefer the Opera browser, appreciating its simplicity, convenience, security and twenty-year history. When using it, the question also often arises of how to enable cookies in Opera to store information on a PC.

To do this, you need to perform the following algorithm of actions:

Go to the “Tools” menu;
. find the “Settings” section;
. switch to the “Advanced” tab;
. In the side menu, click on the Cookies line;
. activate the “Accept cookies” item;
. save the changes made to the settings.

Appearing recently, but already gaining popularity among users of the World Wide Web, the Google Chrome browser also comes with support for cookies, activated by default. If there is a need to enable them, you will need:

Go to the main menu of the browser by clicking on the button located next to the address bar;
. open the “Settings” section;
. in the “Settings” tab, click on the line “Show additional settings”;
. find the “Personal Data” block and click on the “Content Settings” button;
. go to “Cookies”;
. select the “Allow saving local data” option;
. Confirm the change by clicking on the “Done” button.

How to activate cookies in Yandex Browser?

Browser settings from the popular Yandex resource allow you to determine the processing parameters for cookies coming from various sites. In order to enable this feature, you will need:

Find the gear icon located in the upper right corner and click on it with the mouse;
. in the window that opens, select the “Settings” section;
. At the bottom, find the line “Show additional settings” and click on it;
. go to the “Personal Data Protection” block;
. click on the “Content settings” button;
. find the item “Cookies”;
. set the necessary parameters or select the “Accept all” action.

Enabling cookies in Safari and Android browsers

Increasingly, users access the Internet using smartphones and tablets based on the Android and iOS operating systems. Their built-in browsers are equipped with support for accepting cookies.

In Safari (iPhone, iPad) to activate cookies you must:

Click on the gear icon located in the upper right corner;
. go to the “Settings” section;
. switch to the “Security” tab;
. In the “Accept Cookies” section, select the “Always” option.

In Android browsers, to enable cookies you need to:

Press the “Menu” button;
. go to the “Settings” section;
. In the “Protection and Security” tab, select “Enable cookies”.

When answering the question of how to enable cookies in your browser, you should first of all take into account the features of the program that is used to access the network. If, after activating cookies, a message still appears that they are disabled, you should try clearing the cache and deleting temporary files on your computer. In most cases, such simple steps help solve the problem. If clearing the cache and temporary files does not help, you should check whether your browser supports cookies using a Java plugin.

Cookies are a necessary element that greatly facilitates the life of an Internet user and makes his work on the Internet as convenient as possible. They ensure the normal functioning of websites and must be enabled in your browser settings.

Cookies in browsers are not cookies at all, as it is literally translated from English! These are text files in which the site stores certain information about the user (settings, country, etc.) I.e. By using cookies, the website makes life easier for us and for ourselves. But using such relief can be fraught with dangers. Find out which ones you can from this article.

How does this work

Cookies store a lot of text information. Essentially these are key-value pairs. Technically it looks like this “cookie1=value1; cookie2=value2;" etc.

Items are stored on the computer's hard drive. The storage location is always different - each browser creates a folder for its data. The lifespan of a file can be from 3 seconds to 4 years, depending on the developers. But cookies do not always live the full lifespan that is allotted to them. Browser settings allow you to set how long cookies will “live” or destroy them all at your first desire.

Why do we need Cookies?

Cookies are almost mandatory for most websites. They store information about settings, authorization form, various information (for example, if you turn them off, then when you go to another page of the online store, the cart will be cleared, because it does not have any data about you.)

Permanent and third-party - what's the difference?

Constants are often called “advertising” or “following”. Mostly them used to collect statistics about the user, his preferences, etc. Then, based on the collected data, advertising that is most suitable for the user’s interests is selected.

Third parties. Installed by third party sites, but can be read by other sites. It could be both visit tracking counters from Google, Yandex and other services, and the “like” buttons at the bottom of the site. Third-party cookies can also lead to unwanted tracking!

How to find cookies

Such files may be needed for a variety of reasons. Finding them is not difficult. Below is the location of cookies in the most popular browsers on Windows 7, 8, 10.

In all browsers these files are on the way C:\Users\Username\AppData\

The path forward will vary depending on the browser.

Google Chrome:Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default looking for an element called Cookies

Opera:Roaming\Opera Software\Opera Stable. An element called "Cookies"

Mozilla Firefox:Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\qx1fqa6b.Default User. An element called cookies.sqlite

Yandex Browser: Local\Yandex\YandexBrowser\User Data\Default. An element called Cookies

Internet Explorer. There are two ways:

• Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCookies\
• Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies\

Why is it necessary and how to clean it?

Clearing cookies is necessary to prevent unwanted authorizations without the user's knowledge. Therefore, whenever you use a browser anywhere, clear your cookies when finished. This will protect your accounts from unwanted visitors (I think many people forgot to leave the same contact with friends.)

To delete, just go to browser settings and find the treasured button. After which it will be possible to delete at least all the cookies at once, even selectively. How can you do this:

GoogleChrome

In the Google Chrome browser, click settings(located in the upper right corner of the site)

At the bottom of the screen, enable the display of additional settings

In the “Privacy and Security” options, find the ““ tab

Select files cookie

After these manipulations, we can delete cookies that we do not need.

Opera

To clear cookies in Opera, you need to follow steps very similar to the previous ones:

Mozilla Firefox

Click on the me button and select " Settings»

Select panel " Privacy and Security" and select the "history" option

Click on " show cookies«

How to enable or disable Cookies

Disabling cookies in your browser may cause many sites to not work correctly.

But still, if they seem too scary, you can always turn them off. Disabling cookies won't be any more difficult than clearing them.

Use permission can be set in the same manner.

Google Chrome

Go to the same settings block as when cleaning and disable the required element (indicated in the screenshot)

If you disable this option, no cookies will be stored.

Opera

Carry out the same manipulations as during cleaning.

Select the option " Prevent sites from storing data locally«

Mozilla Firefox

Like other browsers, you need to enter the same settings that are required for cleaning. Uncheck " accept cookies from websites«

Myths and reality

There are many myths and misconceptions around such useful files. It should be noted that in some countries they prohibited by privacy policy. Without a clear understanding of what is a myth and what is reality, it is impossible to make a constructive assessment.

Attackers can steal cookies and use them for their own purposes

Alas, This is true. The riskiest ones are public networks. For example: wi-fi network in a cafe. Using specialized software, a hacker can intercept cookies and see the browsing history, as well as gain access to the accounts the user was logged into. But developers are trying to protect their users and are creating more and more advanced protection systems.

These files store important information (logins, passwords)

Misconception. It may have been possible to extract such data previously, but now it is impossible. At least because at the moment almost everyone has switched to a secure connection (https).

Cookies are a type of virus, which means they can harm your computer.

Not true! Because it itself is not a program, but a text file! It simply physically cannot start on its own and perform any actions. This means that he is not able to launch the virus.

For the most part, they are designed to record important information that makes everyday tasks easier for the user.

Precautionary rules

To prevent cookies from causing harm, you should: simple rules when surfing the web:

• Enable protection from third party cookies
• Keep local data before exiting the browser
• Periodically perform cleaning and check the browser folder for hidden threats (additional software such as CCleaner will make the process easier)
• After finishing web surfing from other people's devices, always carry out cleaning!

What to do if there is a problem with your cookie settings

If the error “a problem has been detected in the cookie settings” pops up, don’t be afraid! After performing simple steps, everything should work again, you need to:

• Check whether cookies are enabled.
• If strict site filtering is installed, add google.com or the site you need to exceptions.
• Clear cache and other necessary partitions using CCleaner.

This should help. If the problem persists even after performing the above steps, uninstall the browser, and then install its latest version.