aloha, george!
in order to re-enable cookies, use the ALT plus T key-combo to open
MSIE's "Tools" menu, then type an o, as in "oscar", to open the Internet
Options property sheet. use the CONTROL plus TAB command to switch from
the "General" properties to the property-sheet entitled "Privacy". if you
want to reset IE so that it is a blank slate as far as cookie handling is
concerned, you can either use the TAB key to move to the "Default" button,
or use the Default button's accelerator key, D (type ALT plus D to activate
the Default button) -- this will wipe your cookie jar clean, AND reset IE
to accept ALL cookies. (if you really want to ensure that your cookie jar
is empty, you can use the "Delete cookies" button on the first property
sheet in "Internet Options" (the one entitled, "General") -- this button
has an accelerator key associated with it, i as in indigo)
in this age of pernicious data mining, spyware and other third party
threats, i would strongly advise that if you do wipe your cookie jar clean,
that, after resetting cookie handling to its default settings (which is
pretty much accept all cookies) that, when you are returned to
the "Privacy" property sheet you activate the "Advanced" button (it's
accelerator key is v as in victor) and:
a) check the "Override automatic cookie handling"
b) make sure that the "Always allow session cookies" checkbox is also
checked (it's accelerator is w as in window), before leaving the "Advanced"
property sheet. this will allow you to carry your logged-in identification
with you as you peruse a site, such as a web mail interface, a commercial
site, or even when you read the newspaper online.
c) i would strongly suggest that you select the "Prompt" radio box for
both "First Party Cookies" and "Third Party Cookies" - this will allow you
to decide on a case-by-case basis, which cookies you want to permit a site
to place on your computer, thereby ensuring that you are only accepting
those cookies you need to accept in order to use a site, but that you are
not inadvertantly transmitting your browsing habits, favorite sites, etc.
to third parties -- remember that if you do set either or both type of
cookie collecting to "Prompt", you will initially be swamped with cookie
requests at most commercial sites (and, increasingly, at private ones, as
well, whose owners are attempting to prove to their advertisers that their
adverts are being seen by visitors, in the most benign scenario); to make
acceptance of a cookie permenant, when you are prompted
whether or not you want to accept a cookie and you make a decision whether
or not to accept that cookie, that you also check the checkbox that applies
your decision to all cookies from the requesting domain, so that you won't
have to accept or reject cookies at sites you visit often. i highly
recommend such a subjective and selective approach to handling cookies --
otherwise, you will never know what cookies have been placed on your hard
drive without my composing another long, involved emessage explaining how
to manage cookies in IE. if, when prompted to accept or reject a cookie,
you are not sure whether it is germane or necessary for use of the site you
are attempting to access, use the prompt's "More Info" button (the hotkey
is ALT plus M) to find out the origin of the cookie, to ensure that it is a
first party cookie, and to ascertain the lifespan of the cookie.
as for managing cookies or adding or deleting a domain from your accept or
reject list, you can do this via the "Privacy" property sheet via "Internet
Tools", by selecting the "Sites" button (whose accelerator key is s, as in
sam) - this will open a dialog that allows you to manually set policies for
specific sites using the site's URL: if you know what site or sites you
want to allow or block, the first form field on this property sheet
is "Address of Web Site", which allows you to type in the URL of a site,
such as www.nytimes.com and then choose to either "Block" cookie requests
from this site (the accelerator key for the Block button is b as in boy) or
to "Allow" cookies from the designated site (the accelerator for Allow is a
as in apple). there is also a "list view" of the sites currently being
managed by IE on this property sheet - you can jump to the list of sites
being managed by using the ALT plus S keystroke, which will place you in
the list view of managed sites, then use the up and down arrows to browse
the list of managed sites, which also tells you MSIE's setting for the
listed site (such as, "Always Allow", "Always Block", etc.). note that
when a site is highlighted, you can then change its setting or remove it
from the list, using the buttons associated with the list view.
i hope that this answered your question,
gregory.
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ACCOUNTABILITY, n. The mother of caution.
Ambrose Bierce, _The Devil's Dictionary_
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Gregory J. Rosmaita: [log in to unmask] AND [log in to unmask]
Celebrate The Holy Days of Obfuscation:
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