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Computer Support For Individuals And Small Business |
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7/16/10 |
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Flash Cookies |
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Most computer users have heard about cookies as they relate to web browsing. But are you familiar with Flash cookies? These are completely separate from browser-based cookies.
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Flash Cookies, more formally known as Local Shared Objects or LSO's, track your web usage when using Adobe Flash Player. They are stored on your computer and are not erased when you delete regular cookies through your browser.
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So, as an example, every time you view a Youtube video your activity is tracked. Can you remove these cookies or prevent them from being stored on your computer?
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Yes, using the Flash Player Help Website Storage Settings panel. You will see a list of cookies currently on your computer (it may be quite a bit longer than you would suspect). From here you can remove cookies that are currently stored on your computer one by one, or all of them at once.
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Click on the "Global Storage Settings panel" option. From here you can prevent them from being downloaded to your machine by moving the storage space slider to 0. We recommend not selecting "Never Ask Again" as there are some websites that won't work correctly without this functionality. On the other hand, we recommend unchecking "Allow third-party Flash content to store data on your computer" as this refers primarily to ads. Once you make changes to any settings check the websites you frequent to be sure they are still working correctly.
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Note that if you leave a particular cookie on your computer on the Website Storage Settings panel they will not be affected by settings in the Global Storage Settings panel. We recommend you check back occasionally to be sure these settings are still in effect.
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Keep in mind this is specific to an individual computer. If you use more than one you should go through this process with each.
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