Did you know that when browsing the Internet, so-called “cookies” can collect so much information from us that they can invade our privacy? Quiet.! Although the risk is always latent, we teach you how to prevent websites from saving user preferences.
This information is important, because when we connect to insecure networks, a hacker could capture the “cookie” that identifies us and impersonate us. There is also the risk that browsers leak our personal data. Clear.! the “cookies” also have a very positive purpose. Let’s see which ones.
It is a file or folder that the browser saves, there it stores small data of our preferences or our habits of use. Said data is used by the servers of the websites that we visit to archive different types of information that identifies us when we visit them again.
The translation of cookie is cookie, and the term is very appropriate, because as we visit websites, we leave bits of information about us.
What kind of information? Hours of connection, websites visited, articles viewed, configuration preference such as language, among others.
This allows websites to know precisely what we have seen, what we like. This, in turn, has benefits because when you enter a website you experience personalized navigation.
For example, if you search YouTube for cooking videos, the next time you log in, it will show you videos related to your culinary preferences in the first row. Let’s see how to avoid saving user preferences.
How to prevent websites from saving user preferences
For this you must make sure that the browser is updated. Then we will start to configure it. Google Chrome, one of the most popular and that makes it easier for us to manage the permissions related to cookies.
- We open the browser and go to the upper right to press about 3 vertical points and click on settings .
- In the left column we click on Privacy and Security.
- We will find a box with several options that will make it easier for you to delete, activate and deactivate cookies and other site data. Even block cookies and more.
Mozilla Firefox. Steps to avoid saving user preferences
- Open your browser.
- We click on the menu button in the upper right, identified with 3 horizontal stripes.
- Then we click on options.
- A window will open and click on Privacy and Security, it is located on the left side.
- Several options will be reflected.
- We go to the cookies and data section of the site.
- We click on Manage permissions.
Firefox helps us use custom settings for history. It makes it easier for us to block pop-up windows as well as consult the list of blocked sites that we have prevented from storing cookies on our PC.
Internet explorer
- Open your browser.
- Click on the tools button (identified with a gear wheel), located in the upper right.
- Click on Internet options.
- Then we touch the Privacy tab, click on settings and select advanced options.
- This window is where we will choose whether we want to allow or block first-party and third-party cookies. At the end we click OK to accept the changes. Close the window.
Among the cookies we also have our own cookies. They are necessary for web pages to load well in your browser, while they were designed to provide a more personalized experience from the web to the user. Its objective is to improve the service provided by the sites you visit.
They are usually very useful in those sites that involve online purchases, since if you have problems finishing the purchase process, your own cookies make it easier for you to remember the things you had in the cart, preventing you from repeating the process.
On the internet we will find all kinds of risk. However, we will always have tools that will allow us to protect ourselves against the threats that we may occasionally encounter.
Being informed and configuring what personal data I can prevent from saving a website and being up to date is what will help you protect your privacy and enjoy navigating this great information highway. And if you have any concerns related to the subject, you can make them in the comments.