You can disable third party cookies in browser settings. You can also tell your browser to delete cookies on closing and what websites not to delete cookies when closing the browser so you don't have to keep signing in on your favorite sites. You should do a video on this subject. you can just delete cookies every so often because your browser will remember the passwords so you can log in again with very little hassle.
I watch everyone of your videos, but on this one I strongly dissagree. To me, it's a way for "big brother" to keep tabs on where I go on the web and what I'm doing. These cookies are also sold so that advertisers can bug me. Most of the time, all I want to do is simply inquire about an idea ... NOW everywhere I look, that idea (item) is being shown as an ad built in to where I'm at out there. Example, look for something that you want to find out about, now when you go to Facebook or TH-cam, those items are shown to you over and over. I DON'T like it.
Many times I am surprised to see reference to something I have done elsewhere. Once I look for widgets it seems everyone is offering widgets! No matter how obscure widgets are!
Pah! No free info from me. If I will use the site frequently and indepth, I click 'Manage Cookies' and select 'Necessary Cookies Only' or something like that. It's usually easy to do and they often have all the ad cookies already deselected. If I just looking at one page from the site , I'll just ignore the cookie message or click it away, if possible.
Something like that. When possible, I try to select "necessary" or "functional" cookies and try to deny everything else. Once in a while I may be on a site that I really, really want to use and if I do not accept all cookies, then the site does not work. Choice is then to simply accept all the cookies.
Thanks Leo for the video explanation. I have a few questions: What type of files are cookies? Do they have a special file extension? Where are they kept on my computer. I have a desktop PC running windows 10, and I use the Brave browser mostly, and sometimes Firefox.
For people who care about privacy. There's a debloated fork of that extension called "I still don't care about". This is because the original one was sold to Avast which doesn't have a good reputation for user privacy.
This is a rare case but I have to disagree with some of your comments and your initial statement - not all websites use cookies, there is no requirement or necessity to use cookies, their use is purely an option for the website owner/designer. Cookies *may* be beneficial to the user experience but are *always* beneficial to the site owner or affiliates - usually, as you say, advertising companies. Perhaps your comments about the difficulty and frustration of users deciding which cookies are relevant actually demonstrates the fundamental problem with cookies that initially led to the EU ruling?
Both you and Leo have valid points. IMHO it is much more complicated. I'm from the EU and thus subject to GDPR rules and I admit it sometimes looks a bit like rather generic overkill. But at the end of the day it just says that users must consent to the use of personal information by (unknown) third parties. That seems reasonable... But there's another side to this. A lot of "free" services (Facebook, Google Search, ...) are actually funded by reselling your information. You could actually set this op for your own website in about 2 minutes. They main issue is not the actors like cookies or GDPR. It is how the (commercial) internet works these days... All my (custom design) web apps use at most one cookie ;-). If you are a bit into web design: load a popular site in you browser with "developer mode" (Cntrl-Shift-I) activated and look at the html and network tab...It might open your eyes...
@@askleonotenboom I agree that the inherent complexity of cookies is in itself part of the issue. However, accepting something blindly or agreeing to something just because you don't understand it is not a good approach to life in any way. The cookie (and thus the preference agreement system) has been fundamentally broken by commercial interests. Since when do 31 advertising companies sharing information about a web site visit have "legitimate interest" such that they need to record data about that visit? It is legitimate to feel that cookies generated by a single site visit would not liberate 'private data', however it has been clearly shown that aggregating data from relatively few different sites will build a personal profile such that individual user identification is possible. Whether that data is being used in a nefarious manner is up for debate but at least users should be aware of the possibilities and abilities of big data ...
GPDR irritations are not confined to cookies. Web sites have to have privacy declarations (which no one reads) covering all the issues. Just another piece of tick-boxing to complete.
If your computer has enough RAM, then I suggest you run a virtual machine (VM). Oracle offers a free and open source version named Virtual Box. There are other companies that offer virtual machines. But Virtual Box is noted to be the easiest one to use. On your VM, you can visit any site you want, and accept any cookies. When you are done, you can have your VM reset to before you did your browsing. Your VM will be returned to exactly how it was before you just used it. And Virtual Box makes it simple to revert back to its previous status. You can take a snapshot of any given moment and restore that snapshot. You can even take a snapshot of your VM while it is running. Later, when you start up your VM, it will be in its still-running state, exactly how you left it when you took your snapshot. The hardest part is setting up the VM. It is not that difficult. But it is the most involved part of the process. You will have to have a Windows 10 (or XP, or 7, or 8, or 11 -- your choice) ISO file of Windows. You can download, for free, a Windows 10 and / or a Windows 11 ISO from Microsoft. So no problem there. But you have to have the ISO file to feed into Virtual Box. It is a one-time process. Once you have your VM ready, you should take a snapshot (a simple menu item choice). Now you can return to that snapshot whenever you want. No matter how royally you might screw up your VM with malware, etc, you simply tell Virtual Box to restore your saved image (snapshot). That takes less than 2 seconds, and you are good to go. Download Virtual Box from Oracle's web site. Nowhere else. The same goes for any other company's VM offerings. Download the ISO file from Microsoft. Nowhere else. You will need a minimum of 4GB of free RAM to run a VM. I suggest devoting at least 8 GB of free RAM to your VM. If your computer has only 8GB of RAM, then you will need more RAM.
This is largely a myth. GDPR doesn't allow _tracking_ cookies without users' consent, but cookies needed for the function of a website ("necessary cookies") don't require any sort of notification to the user at all. It's website maintainers that have chosen to present those obnoxious banners; the alternative would be to simply not try to use tracking cookies. So in a way, yes, GDPR is "bad" legislation, but only in the sense that it allows a serious loophole to its intended purpose. And GDPR isn't driving those "accept cookies" banners so much as targeted advertising (the usual source of tracking cookies) butting heads with (one might say maliciously complying with) GDPR requirements.
Bypass? No. But after signing in to an account using 2FA once, and saying "remember this device" cookies are used to remember you and avoid you having to use 2FA on that machine every time you sign in.
Sorry Leo, this time I dissagree with you. On many websites when you are asked to accept cookies there are several options you may select. I only select the one labled "necessary cookies".
So you are telling your audience, that auto login saved in cookies is not a concern. That's what gets stolen first, when a system gets intruded. You tell your audience, they should accept all cookies and the ones, which are tagged with legitimate interest? 😂 6:11 A great picture to show after that statement. That's the data shared when visiting 1 website, that uses those business practices. The Web works great without them. You should use browser add ons to specifically allow them if needed and decline any, that you don't need. Maybe should stop rolling out that bs in public.
Cleaning up some cookie crumbs.
You can disable third party cookies in browser settings. You can also tell your browser to delete cookies on closing and what websites not to delete cookies when closing the browser so you don't have to keep signing in on your favorite sites. You should do a video on this subject. you can just delete cookies every so often because your browser will remember the passwords so you can log in again with very little hassle.
I watch everyone of your videos, but on this one I strongly dissagree. To me, it's a way for "big brother" to keep tabs on where I go on the web and what I'm doing. These cookies are also sold so that advertisers can bug me. Most of the time, all I want to do is simply inquire about an idea ... NOW everywhere I look, that idea (item) is being shown as an ad built in to where I'm at out there. Example, look for something that you want to find out about, now when you go to Facebook or TH-cam, those items are shown to you over and over. I DON'T like it.
You are on TH-cam you idiot lmaoo you failed before you even typed
Many times I am surprised to see reference to something I have done elsewhere. Once I look for widgets it seems everyone is offering widgets! No matter how obscure widgets are!
Pah! No free info from me.
If I will use the site frequently and indepth, I click 'Manage Cookies' and select 'Necessary Cookies Only' or something like that. It's usually easy to do and they often have all the ad cookies already deselected.
If I just looking at one page from the site , I'll just ignore the cookie message or click it away, if possible.
Something like that. When possible, I try to select "necessary" or "functional" cookies and try to deny everything else. Once in a while I may be on a site that I really, really want to use and if I do not accept all cookies, then the site does not work. Choice is then to simply accept all the cookies.
Thank you Leo! Your presentations are clear and concise!
Great site. I like how you inform about security without instilling fear and paranoia. :-)
Thanks Leo for the video explanation. I have a few questions: What type of files are cookies? Do they have a special file extension? Where are they kept on my computer. I have a desktop PC running windows 10, and I use the Brave browser mostly, and sometimes Firefox.
Very interesting. I've always wondered about this. Thanks.
Hi. I am the Cookie Monster and here to delete your cookies! 🤣
This is such a great explanation, Leo.
Thx for the great viseo as always. Is there ever a time to delete cookies?
The only time I do so is when I'm trying to solve a particularly stubborn website or browser problem.
Thx
@@askleonotenboom
Well said Leo, useful info, thanks.
I find that a browser extension called "I don't care about cookies" helps to eliminate this annoying prompt on almost every web site.
For people who care about privacy. There's a debloated fork of that extension called "I still don't care about". This is because the original one was sold to Avast which doesn't have a good reputation for user privacy.
What happens if you accept cookies on a shady website that you don't know is shady?
Nothing much.
Thanks Leo, good explanation.
Thanks for covering this topic Leo. Lately the prompts for cookies are going crazy and very annoying. What a stupid law from EU.
This is a rare case but I have to disagree with some of your comments and your initial statement - not all websites use cookies, there is no requirement or necessity to use cookies, their use is purely an option for the website owner/designer. Cookies *may* be beneficial to the user experience but are *always* beneficial to the site owner or affiliates - usually, as you say, advertising companies. Perhaps your comments about the difficulty and frustration of users deciding which cookies are relevant actually demonstrates the fundamental problem with cookies that initially led to the EU ruling?
Both you and Leo have valid points. IMHO it is much more complicated.
I'm from the EU and thus subject to GDPR rules and I admit it sometimes looks a bit like rather generic overkill. But at the end of the day it just says that users must consent to the use of personal information by (unknown) third parties. That seems reasonable...
But there's another side to this. A lot of "free" services (Facebook, Google Search, ...) are actually funded by reselling your information. You could actually set this op for your own website in about 2 minutes.
They main issue is not the actors like cookies or GDPR. It is how the (commercial) internet works these days...
All my (custom design) web apps use at most one cookie ;-).
If you are a bit into web design: load a popular site in you browser with "developer mode" (Cntrl-Shift-I) activated and look at the html and network tab...It might open your eyes...
"Consent" is a nice idea, but the general public has no idea what it is they're consenting too. Hence the uselessness of the request.
I didn't say all sites HAD to use cookies. It's jut that almost all do.
@@askleonotenboom I agree that the inherent complexity of cookies is in itself part of the issue. However, accepting something blindly or agreeing to something just because you don't understand it is not a good approach to life in any way. The cookie (and thus the preference agreement system) has been fundamentally broken by commercial interests. Since when do 31 advertising companies sharing information about a web site visit have "legitimate interest" such that they need to record data about that visit? It is legitimate to feel that cookies generated by a single site visit would not liberate 'private data', however it has been clearly shown that aggregating data from relatively few different sites will build a personal profile such that individual user identification is possible. Whether that data is being used in a nefarious manner is up for debate but at least users should be aware of the possibilities and abilities of big data ...
@@andygardiner6526I don't really disagree, I just don't see how the GDPR requirement helps. People have no way to make an informed decision.
In Feb 2024: Only 42.4% of websites worldwide use cookies. Most people choose not to accept cookies.
Can you provide the source for that number? It's very interesting, if true, and counter to my experience.
GPDR irritations are not confined to cookies. Web sites have to have privacy declarations (which no one reads) covering all the issues. Just another piece of tick-boxing to complete.
So is it ok for me to accept cookies because I use an ad blocker.
What do you do when the site doesn't seem to give you the option to not accept cookies? A lot seem like that, which seems insidious and suspicious.
I accept all cookies. It's really nothing I worry about.
If your computer has enough RAM, then I suggest you run a virtual machine (VM). Oracle offers a free and open source version named Virtual Box.
There are other companies that offer virtual machines. But Virtual Box is noted to be the easiest one to use.
On your VM, you can visit any site you want, and accept any cookies. When you are done, you can have your VM reset to before you did your browsing. Your VM will be returned to exactly how it was before you just used it. And Virtual Box makes it simple to revert back to its previous status.
You can take a snapshot of any given moment and restore that snapshot.
You can even take a snapshot of your VM while it is running. Later, when you start up your VM, it will be in its still-running state, exactly how you left it when you took your snapshot.
The hardest part is setting up the VM. It is not that difficult. But it is the most involved part of the process. You will have to have a Windows 10 (or XP, or 7, or 8, or 11 -- your choice) ISO file of Windows. You can download, for free, a Windows 10 and / or a Windows 11 ISO from Microsoft. So no problem there. But you have to have the ISO file to feed into Virtual Box. It is a one-time process.
Once you have your VM ready, you should take a snapshot (a simple menu item choice). Now you can return to that snapshot whenever you want.
No matter how royally you might screw up your VM with malware, etc, you simply tell Virtual Box to restore your saved image (snapshot). That takes less than 2 seconds, and you are good to go.
Download Virtual Box from Oracle's web site. Nowhere else. The same goes for any other company's VM offerings.
Download the ISO file from Microsoft. Nowhere else.
You will need a minimum of 4GB of free RAM to run a VM. I suggest devoting at least 8 GB of free RAM to your VM. If your computer has only 8GB of RAM, then you will need more RAM.
This is largely a myth. GDPR doesn't allow _tracking_ cookies without users' consent, but cookies needed for the function of a website ("necessary cookies") don't require any sort of notification to the user at all. It's website maintainers that have chosen to present those obnoxious banners; the alternative would be to simply not try to use tracking cookies. So in a way, yes, GDPR is "bad" legislation, but only in the sense that it allows a serious loophole to its intended purpose. And GDPR isn't driving those "accept cookies" banners so much as targeted advertising (the usual source of tracking cookies) butting heads with (one might say maliciously complying with) GDPR requirements.
It s more of an imposition really!
Is it possible to bypass 2FA with cookies?
Bypass? No. But after signing in to an account using 2FA once, and saying "remember this device" cookies are used to remember you and avoid you having to use 2FA on that machine every time you sign in.
So how can a cookie from site a be read by site b?
It cannot. More often site a and site b both use advertising network c, which can read its own cookies in both places.
Sorry Leo, this time I dissagree with you. On many websites when you are asked to accept cookies there are several options you may select. I only select the one labled "necessary cookies".
Part of the cost of "free" internet.
is there any virus problems with cookies??
No, not directly. Cookies do not contain viruses.
AVG PC Tune Up
i just ignore them
It sounds like a bad thing.
The life is turning into a nightmaaarrrreeee. Treats because of cookies.
World war 2 cookies, not good to have one in your living room, definitely not a good idea.
So you are telling your audience, that auto login saved in cookies is not a concern.
That's what gets stolen first, when a system gets intruded.
You tell your audience, they should accept all cookies and the ones, which are tagged with legitimate interest? 😂
6:11 A great picture to show after that statement.
That's the data shared when visiting 1 website, that uses those business practices.
The Web works great without them. You should use browser add ons to specifically allow them if needed and decline any, that you don't need.
Maybe should stop rolling out that bs in public.
Completely agree that the EU GPDR law was a disaster. Typical of governments dabbling in things they don't really understand.
Typical EU bureaucracy. Just a shame everyone else is stuck with it.
Did you actually read it? And BTW...the EU is NOT a government but an elected body like Congress (USA) or Parliament (UK)...
@@montebontAnd your point is?
No, the poor thing has diabetes. Just sugar free whole wheat bread. It's a vintage machine...