Windows Firewall

[mladner]

Is there anyway to configure Windows Firewall to stop spyware cookies from
web pages?

Thank you;
David

 

[Ted Zieglar]

Cookies are not spyware. Cookies are text files, so they contain no
executable code. Spyware is software that contains executable code.

If you want to exercise control over what cookies are stored on your
computer, you are free to do so and I will show you how. But before I do, I
need to point out that the vast majority of cookies are utterly harmless;
and most of the paranoia about cookies was created to help sell software.

If you have IE6, open it up and go to Tools > Internet Options > Privacy
tab, where you can configure IE's cookie handling. If you find that you
require even more control than that, there is no end of software available
in stores and through the internet for you to choose from.

By far the best way to keep spyware off your computer is to exercise a
discerning attitude about what you click on and what you download while on
the internet. The phrase "think before you click" sums it up best. Because
even the best of us can be fooled sometimes, it's also wise to install
software that can detect and hopefully remove spyware that has already
gortten onto your computer. But don't rely on software alone, because
spyware and its many variants can be very difficult to detect and almost
impossible to remove successfully.

A firewall doesn't stop cookies or spyware from reaching your computer.
That's not what firewalls do.

 

[frodo]

"spyware cookies"??? you're mixing your metaphores!

I think what you are looking for is a Proxy.

One of the best is Privoxy, and it's free.

www.privoxy.org

It _CAN_ be very technical, but Privoxy's easy setup w/ its default
settings works very well without any tweaking, and you need not dive into
its technical details if you don't want to. IF you do want to, the
documentation is extensive.

Privoxy will block most ads, banners, popups, and any
"bad" javascript or html behavior. It can block cookies,
and by default does block a few outright (doubleclick); most
others it turns into "session cookies", so that they dissapearas soon as
you end your session.

If you ever have a problem where you think Privoxy has blocked something
it should not have, just click its icon in the Tray and uncheck ENABLE,
then refresh the page.

To Install it:

Just read the ..\doc\user-manual.txt file, jump directly to the
Quick-Start section, then make the (easy) change to IE's options to make
it use the proxy (IE Options, connections tab, highlight the connection,
click the Settings button, fill in the proxy section as described in the
manual for localhost, port 8118) and off you go. Be sure to clear the IE
cache too, so already cached ads don't keep showing up.

It sounds harder than it is! Don't let the mumbo jumbo
in the user-manual.txt's early sections scare you off.
Jump right to the Quick-Start section.

-----------

If you are on a dial-up connection, Privoxy is a MUST,
since it eliminates the fetching of ads, leaving the
bandwidth for use by "real" content. Speeds up browsing
a lot on a dial-up.

Test it yourself: enable Privoxy, flush your cache, go to
a regular site (try a newspaper site, not google!). Time it
and notice the appearence of the finished page (w/o the adds).

Then repeat, but first UNCHECK Privoxy's enabled menu. See how much
longer it takes, and the look of the page, now filled w/ ads? You'll
never go back!

 

[Guest]

Have a look on this:
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

 

[Michael T]

Go to
Tools > Internet Options > General (tab) > Advanced Delete Cookies (button)

Then go to
Tools > Internet Options > Privacy (tab) > Advanced (button)

I prefer the following selections:

Check "Override automatic cookie handling"
Check "Block" First-party Cookies
Check "Block" Third-party Cookies
Click OK

Now (if you installed Sevice Pack 2), you can click the SITES button to
allow URLs and web pages for which you want to allow cookies. Conversely you
can block URLs.

Hope this helps.

Michael