Cookies vs. privacy
A cookie is essentially a text string that is created by most websites and advertisements for tracking and persistency reasons. They are automatically downloaded and saved on your computer by the default configuration of all major web browsers. When you re-visit a website or load an advertisement from an ad network, the cookie can be read and modified normally without any indication to you that you are being recognized and tracked. Cookies are very common to the web due to the practicalities offered by the technology. They are used for authentication purposes, storing the settings and preferences you've made, keeping track of your shopping cart, and many more legitimate purposes.
Some people believe that their computer can be infected by virus tainted cookies. This is simply not the case. The small file that is stored on your hard drive is a text file and can not execute a program or any commands. In order for a virus to infect your computer, the file has to be executable and contain commands programmed to spread contents throughout your computer.
While cookies are not a virus concern, they are a prime target for unethical spyware vendors and corporations without scrouples. Cookies can essentially track your movement across the internet, and enable corporations running big ad networks to build extensive consumer profiles cataloguing your favorite sites and spending habits. From this your likes, dislikes and political views can quite easily be inferred, and then exploited commercially or used against you.
There are a two main ways of avoiding these privacy risks associated with cookies. The most obvious way is to simply disable cookies entirely in your favorite web browser. To disable cookies, load your web browser's settings and look for anything named "Privacy," "Cookies," "Cache" or "Security,". All the major web browsers allow you to decide if and how cookies will be used. Unfortunately, by disabling cookies you'll run into some issues and inconveniences. For instance, many sites will not let you conduct an online transaction without a cookie enabled browser. You will also have to constantly log into your favorite forums or other membership sites each time you visit rather than staying logged in.
The other way to address the cookie privacy concern is by using specialized privacy software with a good cookie management mode. There are many of these utilities and in general they allow you a great deal of control over what is stored and cached on your computer, not just through web browsers. Most offer a one-click inspection feature that can show you what risks you are currently subjected to, and an easy way to then either delete the caches and/or change the settings that are allowing them to build up.
PrivacyControl is one of the more powerful amongst these types of privacy tools. It allows you to easily delete all traces of computer and internet activity from your PC. PrivacyControl can also delete sensitive material from Instant Messengers, multimedia applications, emails and file sharing software.
EvidenceSmart is a similar privacy tool with cookie management, but this one offers a free initial scan of your computer. You simply download a small program which analyzes your web browser cache and stored files and it will identify and detail any current privacy vulnerabilities. EvidenceSmart can easily empty your web browser cache, delete cookies and erase all kinds of histories and privacy risks off your computer. It's very easy to setup exclusions in the software so you can control what information is wiped at any time.
