Clearing your Internet browser's cookies can help by deleting the information that websites have gathered about you and stored on your computer as small text files. Most of these files are completely harmless, but others store where you went, what you did, and any personal information you gave. Web sites may also allow other websites (their advertisers, for example) to put cookies, known as third-party cookies, on your computer. This is a simple guide to clear your browser's cookies to ensure that companies are not keeping tabs on what you do online.
Internet Explorer 6
1. Once your browser is open, select the Tools menu and click Internet Options and select the General tab.
2. To delete all cookies, in the Temporary Internet Files section, click Delete Cookies and press OK.
3. If you wish to delete only specific cookies and keep others, instead of Step 2:
- Click the Settings button, then click View Files.
- Scroll through the list and select the cookies you want to delete.
- Multiple cookies can be selected by holding down the CTRL key while clicking.
- Press the Delete key.
- Press OK on any dialog boxes that appear.
Internet Explorer 7
1. Once your browser is open, select the Tools menu and click Internet Options and select the General tab.
2. To delete all cookies, in the Browsing History section, click Delete....
3. Then click Delete cookies....
4. Click Yes.
5. If you wish to delete only specific cookies and keep others, instead of Step 2:
- Click the Settings button, then click View Files.
- Scroll through the list and select the cookies you want to delete.
- Multiple cookies can be selected by holding down the CTRL key while clicking.
- Press the Delete key.
- Press OK on any dialog boxes that appear.
Internet Explorer 8
1. Once your browser is open, select the Tools menu and click Internet Options and select the General tab.
2. To delete all cookies, in the Browsing History section, click Delete....
3. Uncheck the top Preserve Favorite Website Data box.
4. Then check the box next to Cookies.... Check the other boxes at your own discretion.
5. Click Delete.
6. If you wish to delete only specific cookies and keep others, instead of Step 2:
- Click the Settings button, then click View Files.
- Scroll through the list and select the cookies you want to delete.
- Multiple cookies can be selected by holding down the CTRL key while clicking.
- Press the Delete key.
- Press OK on any dialog boxes that appear.
Or
- Hit Ctrl + Shift + Delete.
- Click Delete.
Firefox 3.0
1. Once your browser is open, select the Tools menu and click Options... and select the Privacy tab.
2. Click the Show Cookies... button.
3. To delete all cookies click the Remove All Cookies button.
4. To delete specific cookies, click View Cookies and look through the list of the sites you wish to delete the cookies for, and press Remove Cookies. You can even expand each site to delete specific cookies from each site.
Firefox 3.5 & 3.6
1. Once your browser is open, select the Tools menu and click Clear Recent History.
2. Select a timeframe from the Time Range to Clear dropdown menu. It is generally best to select Everything.
3. In the details list, make sure Cookies are selected. If you also want to clear your cache, make sure that is selected as well.
4. Click Clear Now.
5. To delete specific cookies, you will need to go to the Tools menu and click Page Info, then click the Security tab. Click View Cookies and look through the list of the sites you wish to delete the cookies for (you may have to remove the text in the Search field for this), and press Remove Cookies. You can even expand each site to delete specific cookies from each site.
Opera
1. Once your browser is open, select the Tools menu and click Delete Private Data and click the Details button.
2. If you wish to keep things such as history, saved passwords, cache, etc., uncheck those items and click Delete. You may get a dialog that says Active transfer has not been removed if you are currently downloading a file.
3. If you want to only delete certain cookies, click Tools and hover Advanced and click Cookies. From this screen, you can search for and select cookies to be deleted. To do so, select the site or the individual cookie and click Delete.
Konqueror
1. Once your browser is open, select the Settings menu and click Configure Konqueror.
2. Scroll down and select Cookies.
3. Click the Management tab.
4. Select the cookies you wish to delete and click Delete, or click Delete All to delete all cookies.
Google Chrome
1. Once your browser is open, press Control + Shift + Delete.
2. Ensure that Delete cookies and other site data is selected.
3. Click Clear browsing data. Alternatively you can click the spanner icon in the top left, then select Clear browsing data and repeat steps 2 and 3.
For Mac Users, click Chrome in the top menu and choose Clear Browsing Data... or press Command + Shift + Delete. Then check Delete cookies and other site data and press the Clear browsing data button.
Safari
1. Go to the menu labeled Safari
2. Select the sub-menu Preferences ...
3. Select the Show Cookies button.
4. Select all the remaining cookies showing in the window and click Remove All.
Tips
* It is a good idea to clear your browser's cookies on a regular basis.
* You can disable or restrict cookies through the sections above. This is recommended for security reasons, but will render some sites inoperable. It is possible to only allow cookies for sites that you specify.
* It is a good time to clear your browser's cache while you are clearing the cookies. The cache stores information, images, and web pages on your computer for quick and easy access. Hackers can obtain crippling financial information from your cache if you're not careful.
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