What are cookies?
A cookie is a simple text file that is stored on your computer or mobile device by a website’s server and only that server will be able to retrieve or read the contents of that cookie. Each cookie is unique to your web browser. It will contain some anonymous information such as a unique identifier and the site name and some digits and numbers. It allows a website to remember things like your preferences or what’s in your shopping basket.
Cookie Name | Purpose |
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ASP.NET_SessionId | When a user first opens their Web browser and then goes to a Web site that implements ASP.NET session state, a cookie is sent to the browser with the name “ASP.NET_SessionId” and a 20-character value. When the user browses within the same DNS domain, the Web browser continues to send this cookie to the domain for which it was sourced. |
Google Analytics | This is a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. Google Analytics sets a cookie in order to evaluate your use and compile meaningful site traffic reports. http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/concepts/gaConceptsCookies.html |
__utma | __utma keeps track of the number of times a visitor has been to the site pertaining to the cookie, when their first visit was, and when their last visit occurred |
__utmb | __utmb takes a timestamp of the exact moment in time when a visitor enters a site |
__utmc | __utmc takes a timestamp of the exact moment in time when a visitor leaves a site |
__utmz | __utmz keeps track of where the visitor came from, what search engine you used, what link you clicked on, what keyword you used, and where they were in the world when you accessed a website. |
Goolge Plus One | These Google cookies are all typically written to the browser upon the loading of Google Plus One social media buttons. |
PREF | This is a standard Google ‘preferences’ cookie See http://googleblog.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/cookies-expiring-sooner-to-improve.html |
How to enable and disable cookies using your browser?
Google Chrome
- Click on the ‘wrench’ icon on the browser (usually found top-right corner) to open the tools menu
- From the tools menu select ‘Options’
- Click the ‘Under the Hood’ tab from the menu on the left.
- In the ‘Privacy’ section, select the ‘Content settings’ button
- To enable cookies: select ‘Allow local data to be set’ option
- To disable cookies: select ‘Block all cookies’ option
- Note there are various levels of cookie enablement and disablement in Chrome. For more information on other cookie settings offered in Chrome, refer to the following page from Google: http://support.google.com/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=95647
Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0, 7.0, 8.0
- Click on ‘Tools’ at the top of your browser window and select ‘Internet Options’
- In the options window navigate to the ‘Privacy’ tab
- To enable cookies: Set the slider to ‘Medium’ or below
- To disable cookies: Move the slider to the top to block all cookies
- Note there are various levels of cookie enablement and disablement in Explorer. For more information on other cookie settings offered in Internet Explorer, refer to the following page from Microsoft: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows-vista/Block-or-allow-cookies
Mozilla Firefox
- Click on ‘Tools’ at the browser menu and select ‘Options’
- Select the Privacy panel
- To enable cookies: Check ‘Accept cookies for sites’
- To disable cookies: Uncheck at ‘Accept cookies for sites’
- Note there are various levels of cookie enablement and disablement in Firefox. For more information, refer to the following page from Mozilla: http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/Enabling%20and%20disabling%20cookies
Opera
- Click on ‘Setting’ at the browser menu and select ‘Settings’
- Select ‘Quick Preferences’
- To enable cookies: check “Enable Cookies”
- To disable cookies: uncheck “Enable Cookies”
- Note there are various levels of cookie enablement and disablement in Opera. For more information on other cookie settings offered in Opera, refer to the following page from Opera Software: http://www.opera.com/browser/tutorials/security/privacy/
Safari on OSX
- Click on ‘Safari’ at the menu bar and select the ‘Preferences’ option
- Click on ‘Security’
- To enable cookies: In the ‘Accept cookies’ section select ‘Only from site you navigate to’
- To disable cookies: In the ‘Accept cookies’ section select ‘Never’
- Note there are various levels of cookie enablement and disablement in Safari. For more information on other cookie settings offered in Safari, refer to the following page from Apple: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Safari/3.0/en/9277.html
All other browsers
Please look for a “help” function in the browser or contact the browser provider. You can also find more information on following page :http://www.allaboutcookies.org/manage-cookies/