What do you know about cookies? Well, I'm not talking about those delicious sweet you eat, but rather those that track your online activities. Cookies are what makes your personalized online experience, but at the same time, some people feel that cookies are invading their privacy. Some people think that cookies are malicious software - the good news is that they are not, but the bad news is that there are some security risks with cookies, I'll cover. Let's put the record straight once and for all with this guide on everything you need to know about cookies!
In SaferVPN we say we protect your privacy, and it is true. That said, there are some things that are beyond our control for any VPN vendor to protect, it is yours. I thought it would be a good idea to clarify once and for all what can be done to protect your privacy online. For this, you need to understand some basics about the cookies, because that's how Web sites track your activities, and also how other people who share your computer can see what you've been up to on the web .
In this article, I will describe:
- An introduction to cookies
- The different uses cookies
- How cookies affect the security and privacy
- What your cookies
An introduction to tracking cookies
browser cookies the tracking cookies or just cookies are small plain text files that are stored in your browser when you are surfing the web. The main use is to customize your browsing experience by monitoring and storing some of your activities. By uniquely identifying you, the idea is that you will have a richer, more personalized experience. Have you ever searched for something on Google and noticed suddenly that all online ads trying to sell you products related to your search? It is because of these cookies. Some people like it, some do not. For one, you get ads that match your requirements better and sometimes a discount if advertisers are quite nice. Moreover, it can give you a creepy feeling as if Big Brother is watching you. When you read this guide, you will be ready to judge for yourself.
So you may be wondering where do the cookies come from? They are simply created once you access a website that uses cookies - essentially a website nowadays. The cookie is created by your browser once it receives the guidelines on the website that you visit. Each time you return to the same site, your browser sends cookies to your server and in turn you get a personalized browsing experience.
There is also what is called cookies from , which explains perfectly Mozilla:
"third-party cookies are cookies that are defined by a site other than the one you're currently on. for example, cnn.com might have a Facebook like button on their website. This button as set a cookie that can be read by Facebook. This would be considered a cookie third. "
Blocking third-party cookies means that the web browser will not let websites set cookies that are not part of the domain (web address) where you go. Fortunately, you can block these in all major browsers. Blocking third-party cookies, you prevent sites on other areas to put a cookie in your browser. This will stop advertising networks to follow you and to serve you these ads "personalized". Here's how to block third-party cookies in Google Chrome , Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer . Safari blocks third cookies by default. Kudos to Apple
How to block third-party cookies in Firefox :!
1. Go to the Options menu.
2. Go to the Privacy tab, and then under Tracking, choose Tell websites I do not want to be followed . " Under History, select Firefox Use custom settings for history . " Next, select what you want Firefox to remember, if you want Firefox to accept third-party cookies or not, and if so, for how long they should be kept. You also have the option to let all Firefox clear your history every time you close your browser
How to block third-party cookies in Google Chrome :.
1. Go to the Settings menu.
2. Scroll down and click "Show advanced settings." In the Privacy section, click the "Content Settings":
Then, in the next window you can "websites Prohibit all data" and "Block third-party cookies and site data ". Further down, there are more options if you really want to go!
The various uses of cookies
authentication: when you connect to a secure area of a website, for example Facebook or Gmail, their server will save a cookie to authenticate. Without cookies from your browser can not remember your login information. For example, you would have to connect to your email every time you open a new e-mail, even if you are already logged. Indeed, any new e-mail or page you open in this web site are separated from each other and can not know what you've been up to the last page. Thank you to cookies, the site can authenticate you everywhere you go over it
Sessions: This is like "bookmarks" for websites, because the servers of the website have rarely any sort of "memory." - each time you transfer over to another page, the server simply forgets all the information from the previous. Caddies on e-tailers are a great example. For example, if you add an item to your cart and continue browsing, it is through the session cookie that the site knows what you have added to your cart. Do not worry, these cookies are usually valid until the end of your browsing session
Preferences :. Notice how some websites allows you to choose different models and other ways to customize your use of the site? It is through tracking cookies, which stores all your settings. These cookies can also be used to track your behavior on a site like Amazon: notice how you always get product suggestions that follow, you ALLOVER their site, but also on the web. Every time you look at a product they inject your browser with a cookie even if you are not connected to Amazon. Tracking cookies track your over browsing habits of the time and can be configured to be valid for any amount of time: weeks, months or even more
How cookies affect my security !?
some people mistakenly believe that cookies are a sort of malware. They are not. They are simply text files that can not be executed or self-executed. There is no way for them to reproduce themselves and spread to other networks or computers. However, having said that, they could be used to average fine if used as spyware. That's why your anti-malware software may warn you against the use of cookies from certain sites
WARNING There is a risk if your cookies are sent over the web in the form of clear text without encryption. Keep in mind that all staff could be saved in cookies, such as your SSN, credit card details, email address and more. This means that if cookies are not sent over HTTPS, they are readable by everyone on the network. Any pirate connected to the same network can then use a sniffing tool (software that intercepts all traffic on a network) and steal all your sensitive data. Read our guide on public WiFi security to learn how to encrypt your data safe when you're on a shared network
... and what about privacy
If you are worried about your privacy, we recommend using the privacy mode in your browser . This way, your browser does not read or store cookies for this session. Also, you can simply delete your cookies, or just change the settings for them.
If you are concerned about getting others' access to your private information when using a shared computer, then the private browsing mode is even more important. Of course you can simply delete the data from your session when finished or configure your browser to do this automatically for you. Unless you want someone else to know what Fish sites you looked at your choice!
What to do with tracking cookies
So what can you do to reduce your use of cookies in addition to block third-party cookies as shown above
first of all, you can start using your private browser mode to disable cookies and prevent your browser from storing your web history. Very simple and direct
Another option is to go to Google for search engine focused on privacy DuckDuckGo which does not store cookies, user logs, or IP addresses. If your major concern is that Google knows everything about your preferences and your research, this is an excellent option.
You could also surf as you normally would, then delete your cookies and history after each session. However, it is easy to forget to delete them, unless you configure your browser to do so, and worse, you will have to reconnect to one of the sites that normally remember your login. The advantage of course is that advertisers know less about you and your online activities.
More than just the cookie aspect in online privacy, read our complete guide on how to browse anonymously
Bonus: Sometimes a VPN is not enough ...
on top of that, I. 'D also like to talk about the issue of keeping your identity private line. As TorrentFreak reports, no VPN protect you if you are careless with your online identity. The article describes how a hacker nicknamed TheCod3r was jailed for movie piracy while he was using a VPN to stay private (no, I swear, he did not use SaferVPN!). You might ask how? Simple. The guy was - sorry to say - not very smart about the way he used his alias Online CoD3r. First, he had the same nickname on the dating site PlentyOfFish (which featured his age and name). In addition, he openly sold pirated copies of the latest movies on Facebook. It was not a difficult puzzle to solve for the authorities once they could join all points, resulting in 33 months of jail time. Moral of the story: use a VPN to remain anonymous, but do your part and beware how you use your nicknames and act on social media. That said, we do not encourage piracy.
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