clearing cookies and temp. files - necessary?

Richard93102 · 03-18-2006, 10:26 PM

Every time I do a cleanup, I lose information, such as the settings of my Google preferences, log-in names and passwords etc.
Can I clean my PC (Windows XP) without losing that info, website icons etc?
I have Spybot S & D, Ad-Aware, Norton Internet Security 2005, HiJackThis, and BitDefender.
Surely with all that protection I shouldn't need to clear cookies, temporary internet files and history too often?
Thanks for any help,
Richard

hammer1 · 03-19-2006, 05:37 AM

Cookies.History & Cache files are created by you and have nothing to do with Spybot S & E or your anti virus pograms.
Clearing cookies,history,cache should not interfere or cause problems
I do mine everyday, since several years, alongwith some other cleaners.

By simply surfing the net for an hours, you create hundreds of temp files on something you may never look at again. Cookies are not serving you any benefit whatsoever, but if yo're a cookie collector ??

**koala** · 03-19-2006, 10:14 AM

Disable all cookies and use the Manage Sites area in Internet Options > Privacy to allow only the cookies you want to keep (google prefs, login names etc). Then set your cleanup software to ignore cookies when cleaning.

Richard93102 · 03-19-2006, 01:54 PM

Hi,
(I have Int. Explorer 6.0)
I set up managed sites to allow my.yahoo and google preferences, then I went to Tools, Int. Options, and cleared cookies, temp. int. files and history... and it has lost the cookies, so I have to sign-in to yahoo again, and reset google preferences.
Help please!
Thanks,
Richard

**koala** · 03-19-2006, 02:52 PM

When you disable cookies and use Managed Sites to allow cookies from my.yahoo and google preferences, you don't need to delete ANY cookies in Internet Options because no unwanted ones are being created.

Go back into Yahoo and Google to allow them to create cookies for these 2 sites only, then don't delete them again. You won't get any more cookies from any other sites so you don't need to keep deleting or using cleanup. All you're doing at the moment is deleting the ones you want to keep.

MicroBell · 03-19-2006, 03:02 PM

Richard,

In todays world clearing cookies, Temp Internet files..etc is a nessary step as many virus, trojans, and spyware hide in these folders. While this doesn't need to be done every day..once a week is good practice. I would suggest you use a program called CCleaner

Download and install CCleaner..http://www.ccleaner.com/ccdownload.asp

By Default many of the options of "What" to clean are checked. If you want to keep certain items (Like History, recently typed urls..etc) uncheck that item. That said...TEMP folders and cookies MUST be cleaned on a regular basis. You have a bare minimum of protection with the programs you listed so I'll list part of my Clean speech that we use on users that have had infections.

Recommended Protection Programs

Now that you are clean, to help protect your computer in the future I recommend that you get the following free programs:

SpywareBlaster to help prevent spyware from installing in the first place.
SpywareGuard to catch and block spyware before it can execute.
IESpy-Ad to block access to malicious websites so you cannot be redirected to them from an infected site or email.
WinPatrol to monitor any changes that programs make to the registry.

If you do not have a firewall, here are 4 free ones available for personal use:

In today’s world you MUST have an Antivirus program. If you do not have one, here are 3 FREE ones available for personal use:

In light of your recent issue, I'm sure you'll like to avoid any future infections. Please take a look at these well written articles

Richard93102 · 03-20-2006, 12:55 PM

Many thanks for your postings and advice

I followed the instructions, and now my PC feels very well covered... but I'm still not sure whether I should have cookies enabled or not.
If I block cookies, won't I have problems, or at least prompts, every time I search online websites?
What sounds better to me is to exclude certain sites from having their cookies cleared... so I can keep my google preferences settings, log-in and password info etc.
What I'm not clear on is exactly how to do that.
And if possible, I'd like to retain website icons in my list of Favorites)
Thanks for your patience!
Richard

tetonbob · 03-21-2006, 05:55 AM

See if this helps you....

http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/cookies.htm

Richard93102 · 03-21-2006, 10:39 AM

Hi, and thanks for the link...

I followed the advice in the article, and set up to prompt first party cookies and block third party cookies... but, as I suspected, being prompted every time I visit a website is going to drive me (even more) nuts.

Could you please tell me how to exclude certain sites from having their cookies cleared? (e.g.techsupportfurum log-in and password info., google, etc).

Many thanks

Richard

cool9 · 03-28-2006, 02:10 PM

Absolutely, you have no idea what's inside those cookies or temp files. They could be anything. I use Regseeker to clean my Registry which is excellent and I've found that Spybot is good but misses some dangerous adware now and then so I've added Ad-Aware and Spywareblaster. I also use EasyCleaner to help me clean my Temp files (if you use IE the Tools->Options will delete them for you; for Firefox->Preferences will clear your "cache"). Easycleaner also also clears my most recent files. Regcleaner will clean your old registry program files that you don't need.

Richard93102 · 04-10-2006, 02:58 PM

thanks for the info, but I don't want to do clear everything... when I do that I'm clearing the bad and the good...

Could you please tell me how to exclude certain sites from having their cookies cleared? (e.g.techsupportfurum log-in and password info., google, etc).

thanks,
Richard

Richard93102 · 04-14-2006, 03:51 PM

problem sorted, now, thanks!
I installed RegistryFix :)
Richard

03-18-2006, 10:26 PM	#1 (permalink)
Richard93102 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 37 OS: xp	clearing cookies and temp. files - necessary? Every time I do a cleanup, I lose information, such as the settings of my Google preferences, log-in names and passwords etc. Can I clean my PC (Windows XP) without losing that info, website icons etc? I have Spybot S & D, Ad-Aware, Norton Internet Security 2005, HiJackThis, and BitDefender. Surely with all that protection I shouldn't need to clear cookies, temporary internet files and history too often? Thanks for any help, Richard

03-19-2006, 10:14 AM	#3 (permalink)
koala Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UK Posts: 12,350 OS: XP/7/Ubuntu My System	Disable all cookies and use the Manage Sites area in Internet Options > Privacy to allow only the cookies you want to keep (google prefs, login names etc). Then set your cleanup software to ignore cookies when cleaning. __________________ New members: Subscribe to your thread (Thread Tools) to receive an instant email notification when you get a reply. TSF Folding@Home Team 85015 - details here

03-19-2006, 01:54 PM	#4 (permalink)
Richard93102 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 37 OS: xp	still problems Hi, (I have Int. Explorer 6.0) I set up managed sites to allow my.yahoo and google preferences, then I went to Tools, Int. Options, and cleared cookies, temp. int. files and history... and it has lost the cookies, so I have to sign-in to yahoo again, and reset google preferences. Help please! Thanks, Richard

03-19-2006, 02:52 PM	#5 (permalink)
koala Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UK Posts: 12,350 OS: XP/7/Ubuntu My System	When you disable cookies and use Managed Sites to allow cookies from my.yahoo and google preferences, you don't need to delete ANY cookies in Internet Options because no unwanted ones are being created. Go back into Yahoo and Google to allow them to create cookies for these 2 sites only, then don't delete them again. You won't get any more cookies from any other sites so you don't need to keep deleting or using cleanup. All you're doing at the moment is deleting the ones you want to keep. __________________ New members: Subscribe to your thread (Thread Tools) to receive an instant email notification when you get a reply. TSF Folding@Home Team 85015 - details here

03-19-2006, 03:02 PM	#6 (permalink)
MicroBell Manager Emeritus - Security Center, Expert Analyst, Moderator - Security Team; Rangemaster, TSF Academy & Supporter Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Carmichaels, PA-USA Posts: 6,963 OS: Windows 7	Richard, In todays world clearing cookies, Temp Internet files..etc is a nessary step as many virus, trojans, and spyware hide in these folders. While this doesn't need to be done every day..once a week is good practice. I would suggest you use a program called CCleaner Download and install CCleaner..http://www.ccleaner.com/ccdownload.asp By Default many of the options of "What" to clean are checked. If you want to keep certain items (Like History, recently typed urls..etc) uncheck that item. That said...TEMP folders and cookies MUST be cleaned on a regular basis. You have a bare minimum of protection with the programs you listed so I'll list part of my Clean speech that we use on users that have had infections. Recommended Protection Programs Now that you are clean, to help protect your computer in the future I recommend that you get the following free programs: SpywareBlaster to help prevent spyware from installing in the first place. SpywareGuard to catch and block spyware before it can execute. IESpy-Ad to block access to malicious websites so you cannot be redirected to them from an infected site or email. WinPatrol to monitor any changes that programs make to the registry. If you do not have a firewall, here are 4 free ones available for personal use: ZoneAlarm Avast Antivirus/firewall Tiny Personal Firewall OutPost Firewall In today’s world you MUST have an Antivirus program. If you do not have one, here are 3 FREE ones available for personal use: Grisoft AVG Anti-Virus System Alwil Avast 4 Home Edition Softwin BitDefender Free Edition Version 8 In light of your recent issue, I'm sure you'll like to avoid any future infections. Please take a look at these well written articles HOW DID I GET INFECTED IN THE FIRST PLACE? THE ANTI-SPYWARE TUTORIAL MAKING INTERNET EXPLORER SAFER __________________ We Are The BORG Spyware KILLER and Adware Destroyer! Spyware/Adware Removal Tools Hijackthis Ad-aware SE Spybot Search&Destroy SpywareBlaster CWShredder

03-19-2006, 05:37 AM	#2 (permalink)
hammer1 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 71 OS: XP	Cookies.History & Cache files are created by you and have nothing to do with Spybot S & E or your anti virus pograms. Clearing cookies,history,cache should not interfere or cause problems I do mine everyday, since several years, alongwith some other cleaners. By simply surfing the net for an hours, you create hundreds of temp files on something you may never look at again. Cookies are not serving you any benefit whatsoever, but if yo're a cookie collector ??

03-20-2006, 12:55 PM	#7 (permalink)
Richard93102 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 37 OS: xp	nearly there, but... Many thanks for your postings and advice I followed the instructions, and now my PC feels very well covered... but I'm still not sure whether I should have cookies enabled or not. If I block cookies, won't I have problems, or at least prompts, every time I search online websites? What sounds better to me is to exclude certain sites from having their cookies cleared... so I can keep my google preferences settings, log-in and password info etc. What I'm not clear on is exactly how to do that. And if possible, I'd like to retain website icons in my list of Favorites) Thanks for your patience! Richard

03-21-2006, 05:55 AM	#8 (permalink)
tetonbob Manager, Security Center, TSF Academy; Analyst, Security Team Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Transylvania County, North Carolina, USA Posts: 35,580 OS: 2000 Pro; XP Pro; XP Home	See if this helps you.... http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/cookies.htm __________________ Practice Safe Surfing PC Safety and Security--What Do I Need? Because what you don't know, CAN hurt you. Proud Member of ASAP since 2005 Proud Member of UNITE since 2006 Microsoft MVP - Consumer Security 2009

03-21-2006, 10:39 AM	#9 (permalink)
Richard93102 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 37 OS: xp	Hi, and thanks for the link... I followed the advice in the article, and set up to prompt first party cookies and block third party cookies... but, as I suspected, being prompted every time I visit a website is going to drive me (even more) nuts. Could you please tell me how to exclude certain sites from having their cookies cleared? (e.g.techsupportfurum log-in and password info., google, etc). Many thanks Richard

03-28-2006, 02:10 PM	#10 (permalink)
cool9 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 4 OS: XP	Absolutely, you have no idea what's inside those cookies or temp files. They could be anything. I use Regseeker to clean my Registry which is excellent and I've found that Spybot is good but misses some dangerous adware now and then so I've added Ad-Aware and Spywareblaster. I also use EasyCleaner to help me clean my Temp files (if you use IE the Tools->Options will delete them for you; for Firefox->Preferences will clear your "cache"). Easycleaner also also clears my most recent files. Regcleaner will clean your old registry program files that you don't need.

04-10-2006, 02:58 PM	#11 (permalink)
Richard93102 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 37 OS: xp	thanks for the info, but I don't want to do clear everything... when I do that I'm clearing the bad and the good... Could you please tell me how to exclude certain sites from having their cookies cleared? (e.g.techsupportfurum log-in and password info., google, etc). thanks, Richard

04-14-2006, 03:51 PM	#12 (permalink)
Richard93102 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 37 OS: xp	problem sorted, now, thanks! I installed RegistryFix :) Richard