Easter Cookies

If April Showers Bring May Flowers, what do May Flowers Bring?
Pilgrims!

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Happy April, Happy Easter!  Easter goodies are everywhere and I think this would be a good time to review goodies on your computer.  Specifically, I would like to review “Cookies”. 

More and more websites have pop-ups requesting acceptance of cookies.  It’s easy to hit the accept all button, but should you?  Here is some info to help you decide whether or not this is a good idea.

What is a cookie? Cookies are small files saved to your computer to remember information about you and your preferences.  They store things like login credentials, shopping cart contents, and browsing history.

They can’t be used to spread viruses or malware, and they do not give websites access to your computer or personal information.

Cookies typically fall into three categories.  There are the required cookies, advertising cookies, and analytic cookies.

Required Cookies are just that.  You can’t opt out of them, they are required to make the web site function.

Advertising Cookies, also called tracking cookies, track browsing habits with the intent to show ads based on your interests.  Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Twitter all have tracking platforms tailored to feeding relevant ads to end users.

Analytic Cookies collect information about how visitors use a website.  This information is funnelled to the website owner to help them better understand how users interact with their website and to improve the website’s performance.

They generally collect data such as the number of visitors to a website, the pages they visit, the duration of their visit and did they get here via social media, ad, or search engine.

How do you control cookies?

In Google Chrome:

1. Click on the three dots in the upper-right corner of the browser window.

2. Click on “Settings”

3. In the Left Menu, click on  “Privacy and Security” and click on “Cookies and other site data”

4. Choose between Allow All, Block 3rd Party, or Block All.  You can also clear cookies and browsing data, and send “Do Not Track” requests.

In Microsoft Edge:

1. Click on the three dots in the upper-right corner of the browser window

2. Click on “Settings”

3. Click on “Cookies and site permissions” in the left-hand menu.

4. Click on Manage and delete cookies and site data at top of the right pane.

5. Set your preferences for Allowing, blocking third-party and preloading.  If you want to scare yourself, click the see all cookies and site data options.

It is important to note that disabling cookies entirely may affect the functionality of some websites.  And it may hamper your ability to login to website accounts.

In summary:  I prefer Chocolate Chip Cookies and blocking all 3rd party/advertising cookies.  Your preferences may vary.

Stay Safe, Stay Healthy,

Janet

Because It Made Me Laugh!