Finding and deleting particular cookies???

Mitch Drumm · From: Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake

My online bank refuses to recognize me without asking my security questions. Their customer service tells me to delete all cookies. I'll do that only as a last resort.

I seem to remember there is a way to locate, ID, and delete specific cookies, but I can't find any control other than delete all cookies.

Can anyone give me specifics? This is on Vista.

Another peculiarity. I assumed I had hundreds if not thousands of cookies, but a file search only turned up twenty or so, none related to my bank. What gives with that? Maybe I'm too dim to find them.

Cal Sharp · From: the farm in Kornfield Kounty, TN

I'm guessing you're using some version of Internet Explorer. Basically, in this browser click on Tools/Internet Options/ Browsing History - Settings/ View Files... Whence you can see your cookies, which are named as such. You can delete them individually. It's much easier on other browsers.
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Mitch Drumm · From: Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake

Cal:

Thanks for that.

In that folder, I have 26 files that begin with the word cookie.

None of them appear to be related to my bank.

Do you know if cookies can reside elsewhere or if it is possible they do not necessarily begin with "cookie"?

Cal Sharp · From: the farm in Kornfield Kounty, TN

As far as I know cookies are always named cookie, and they're all in the same place. You could select them all and move them to another folder (in case you want to put them back) and then restart your browser and see if the bank likes that. You could also try connecting to your bank with another browser, like Firefox or Opera; in either case the bank should give you a new cookie.
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Mitch Drumm · From: Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake

Well, I am even more faked out.

That folder you pointed me to does not reside on my C drive, if you believe my folder tree. It resides under desktop, above the C drive.

Maybe that explains why a dir /s cooki*.* command finds only 9 files, none of them matching what is in the folder you gave directions to??!! None of the 9 files found are cookies as you and I mean them.

I will try your suggestion of moving those 26 files temporarily to another location.

Cal Sharp · From: the farm in Kornfield Kounty, TN

Everything, including your desktop, is on your C drive, unless you have another partition on it or another drive.
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Mitch Drumm · From: Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake

Cal:

I agree with you, but:

Take a look at this pic of my Explorer folder tree. The cookie files in the right side of the pane are in the folder you pointed me to.

The directory you pointed me to resides under desktop/mitch, well above C: and D:

I am sure there is a simple explanation for this, but my brain is cloudy.

Here is what I did since my prior post:

When you move the cookies to another location they arrive without the “cookie” phrase at the beginning of the file name.

For instance, cookie.mitch@secunia dot com in the temp internet files directory becomes mitch@secunia[1].txt when moved to another folder.

When you go back to the temp internet folder, explorer still shows them, as if they hadn’t been moved.

But when you try again to move one, you get an error message that the file can’t be found in the directory, even though it is shown in the folder tree??!!?

With all of the cookies files supposedly (?) moved out of the temporary internet files folder, I attempted to log in to the bank. I was challenged as expected. I answered the security question, logged in, logged out, shut down the browser, restarted the browser, and attempted to log in again—thinking I might have received a fresh cookie.

No dice—challenged again.

Multiple WTF.

Cal Sharp · From: the farm in Kornfield Kounty, TN

The Desktop can show up at the top of the tree, but if you click the + sign next to Local Disk C the desktop will appear under it. There's an option in IE to move the temporary internet folder - maybe that happened at one point and it got moved to the desktop. Oddly, enough I find that I can't copy anything into the temporary internet folder. And, as you say, when you move something out of it the name gets changed. Weird. You can always go back to a restore point if you get things messed up too badly. I would try another browser. http://www.mozilla.org/
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Mitch Drumm · From: Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake

Cal Sharp · From: the farm in Kornfield Kounty, TN

At one time my wife could only connect to her bank from one computer. If you delete all your cookies it shouldn't cause any problems. I delete mine sometimes when I'm testing web sites and never noticed any problems. Any sites you visit again will just set a new cookie. This computer here has several desktops.

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Mitch Drumm · From: Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake

Cal

Yeah, I have also deleted all temp internet files several times without any issues. I just thought this time I would delete just that one cookie, but now I can't even locate it. I didn't expect an ordeal.

And I am surprised I apparently have fewer than 30 cookies, unless they hang out in other folders or are invisible.

I would have bet that there was some way to get at cookies through a dialog box or dropdown--something other than Explorer. I certainly thought so in XP at least, unless my memory is completely shot.

Maybe Wiz has some insight into this. He claims to like cookies.

Thanks for your ideas.

Cal Sharp · From: the farm in Kornfield Kounty, TN

I don't use Internet Explorer unless I have to in my work, but I'm having a slow day here at the office and I like to try to figure out computer problems. On Firefox this would have been a really simple thing. Good luck!

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Mitch Drumm · From: Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake

Cal:

I am certainly not wedded to Internet Explorer. I tried Firefox briefly 4 or 5 years ago and gave it up in a day or two because I did not like the way it handled bookmarks. I have about 3500 of them which I use constantly, so that is quite important.

Maybe I will take another look at it.

In your experience, how often do you have any sort of a problem with a website purely because you are using Firefox? I wouldn't doubt that Firefox is more standards-compliant than IE, but I am wondering if certain websites don't comply with IE rather than the standards because it is the dominant browser in the market?

One website in 500? Once every month? Never has happened?

Perhaps most importantly, can both Firefox and IE co-exist on the same PC without any issues, during an evaluation period of say a month or so?

I am wondering if synchronizing bookmarks between 2 browsers on a PC might be a pain? You go to a new website using Firefox and bookmark it. The bookmark doesn't exist in IE. I would guess you have to re-import periodically as you switch between the two.

Are there any migration issues? Can settings from one (particularly bookmarks) be imported to the other flawlessly?

I just switched from Windows Mail to Thunderbird. It wasn't problem free, but I got through it. Thunderbird cannot import directly from Windows Mail and Windows Mail export capability is a laughing stock.

Chip Fossa · From: Monson, MA, USA (deceased)

Mitch,

I don't have the answer about the 'cookies fiasco', but this thread interests me, anyway.

But I do know this: I have both IE and FF on my PC, and switch back and forth often.

I've actually used both at once, when I wanted to copy a Youtube address. Especially to the forum, cuz, I still get goofed-up on pasting.

It's easier to have the forum open on one browser and Youtube on the other. Typing the URL without having to switch pages, as would be the case with only 1 browser.

FWIW
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Cal Sharp · From: the farm in Kornfield Kounty, TN

Chip's right, it can be very convenient to have more than one browser running. You can have as many as you like on the same comp. As for synchronizing bookmarks, check http://tinyurl.com/lhv6v7 and http://tinyurl.com/2gr4kv

FF crashes once or twice a month, but you can relaunch it with the same tabs/pages that were there when it crashed. I don't have any problems with it rendering any pages. There are tons of way cool add-ons you can get for it.

Without wishing to sound snobbish, the only people, for the most part, who use IE do it because they don't know any better, because it came with Windows, which is the dominant OS. Which is fine for most people, who just want to read the news and blogs etc., although there are constant security issues with IE. But serious internet users should, and do, use FF or Chrome or Opera.

And, BTW, IE's market share has been dropping steadily the last couple of years, possible even to under 50% according to speculation on some tech blogs.
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Wiz Feinberg · From: Mid-Michigan, USA

Mitch Drumm · From: Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake

Chip:

How do you synchronize your bookmarks between Firefox and IE?

Cal:

I just spent 3 or 4 hours using Firefox 3.5. It seems to work fine, but one question and one issue:

Question: as noted earlier in this thread, that temporary internet files folder held I think 26 files beginning with "cookie"; none of them remotely connected to my bank--leading me to think maybe I didn't have a cookie at all, despite having logged in successfully for months. When I imported cookies to Firefox, the Firefox folder showed at least 100 cookies, including one from my bank--meaning that they must exist in other locations within IE. I was able to delate that specific cookie and re-establish a new one with the bank, and log in successfully. Any idea where the other hiding place is?

Issue: IE has a Microsoft add-on that lets you download stock quotes directly into Excel. I absolutely gotta have this or it's no go for Firefox. Are you aware of anything like that for Firefox? I am wondering if an add-on called "I-Macros" is what I need?

Wiz:

Re your suggestions, here is what I did:

Moved privacy slider to bottom; I have no idea what effect this has on cookies.

Added banks https login URL to trusted sites.

Rooted around in IE re forbidden sites. I found the list populated by stuff from anti-spyware programs and I found an empty list elsewhere. No sign of anything related to my bank.

None of the above helped.

You state:

If your bank is excepted from setting cookies due to a privacy policy problem, override that setting and allow the cookie to be set for that URL.

Verify that your bank's Certificate is still valid and has been accepted by IE.

Not sure what you mean by the first paragraph other than what I specified that I have already done. I did not find my bank (or anyone else) on a prohibited list.

Regarding certificates, how specifically would I check my bank's certificate?

This bank has a history of log in issues from time to time. I have resolved this by deleting all cookies in the past.

I could likely resolve this the same way, but don't want to other than as a last resort.

Wiz--is their no way to delete specific cookies in IE and is there one location where they can all be found??

I had a login issue with Fidelity Investments maybe 3 years ago and I thought their phone tech rep walked me through deletion of the Fidelity cookie (I was using XP at the time). Do I have a faulty memory or is that NOT possible in Vista?

Cal Sharp · From: the farm in Kornfield Kounty, TN

Yeah, I would give iMacros a try, looks good. But don't think that you have to use one browser exclusively; you can use different ones for different tasks if you find that one will do something better than another one.

I found some stray cookies in the Spybot folder, and maybe there could be some in another user account or in some files left over from an earlier installation of IE.
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Mitch Drumm · From: Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake

Cal:

I looked at iMacros. If all I needed from a macro was to record a few keystrokes so as to, say, open 3 web pages with a single click, I could use it. But I don’t have the programming skills (screen-scraping) required to extract the stock quotes from a web site. I looked through their forums and help files and found nothing on point. Nor is there anything prepackaged anywhere that I can find—something like what Microsoft has available for download.

Most families are involved with the stock market, so I would have expected something like this would have been developed by now for Firefox, but I guess not.

Maybe the best I could do is keep both browsers. I am wary of having to synchronize bookmarks, so it would probably be a situation where I would use Firefox exclusively, except for once a week or so when I need to download new stock prices into Excel. I assume you have never heard of dual browsers causing a problem.

Could you speak to the specific security precautions you use with Firefox—anything that might differ from your approach to IE?

Wiz Feinberg · From: Mid-Michigan, USA

Mitch;
Internet Explorer has a feature since version 6 or 7 that checks to see if the website loading has a valid "privacy policy" file installed. If so, 1st party cookies are allowed, depending on how the user sets the Privacy slider (Low means all cookies are allowed). If an acceptable privacy policy file is not found IE blocks all 1st party cookies issued by that website.

There is an override option available in your Internet Options, on the Privacy tab, using the "Advanced" button, where you can reverse the decisions made by the browser, regarding cookies. If the bank doesn't have an acceptable privacy policy in place its cookies are disallowed by default. You will get a visual indication of this in the browser's Statusbar. The Advanced Privacy Settings allow you to override automatic cookie handling for all websites.

To override specific cookies, right click on the status bar icon about blocked cookies and allow them for the blocked website that is the first party. Apply the override and restart IE. Hopefully, it will allow cookies as per your wishes. You may need to hit F5 to refresh the page to update the settings.
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Mitch Drumm · From: Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake

Wiz:

Not sure I follow your instructions, but I have tried logging into the bank without success with the following settings:

Privacy tab: slider at lowest setting

Privacy tab/advanced: override automatic cookie handling checked (both first and third party cookies accepted)

Always allow session cookies: checked or unchecked, it doesn’t make any difference.

I also tried it with override automatic cookie handling unchecked. No change.

I never saw any icon about blocked cookies. I never saw a visual indication of the bank not having an acceptable privacy policy.

Two specific questions:

Is there any one location in IE where I can view all cookies?

How can I locate and delete the bank’s cookie?

Wiz Feinberg · From: Mid-Michigan, USA

Cal Sharp · From: the farm in Kornfield Kounty, TN

Mitch,

FF's security settings are very simple compared to IE, where you need to be a Wiz to figure it out. Tools/Options/Security - then check the top three boxes. Other than that you just need a router and to follow the above mentioned suggestions. You won't have any problems running multiple browsers at the same time. If you do, then something's wrong with the comp.
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Mitch Drumm · From: Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake

Wiz:

Here is a pic of my folder tree.

As you can see, no “local settings” folder. This is with show operating system files and show hidden files.

For whatever reason, I am denied access to the temporary internet files, history, and application data folders that you can see in the tree.

I do have a local settings folder in c users mitch, but I am denied access there also.

I have a weirdo folder tree—see the pics I posted up near the top of this thread when conversing with Cal. My C, D, and E drives are down below anything you can see in the pic in this particular post.

I ran the command dir /s cookie*.* from a C prompt and got exactly 7 file hits; most of the 7 are in Spybot folders. None of the 7 are for cookies as we are using the term.

I got a single hit for a directory and that was in c users default appdata roaming micrsoft windows. It is empty.

Would you expect a dir /s to find cookies? I obviously have some as I can log in to several other sites.

Looking at my folder tree in the pix higher up in this thread---I have folders not on C, D, or E, which are my 3 hard drives—if you choose to believe the picture of the tree. I realize that is ridiculous, but that’s what the jpeg says.

FYI, if it matters: I don’t log in to anything when I run this PC. I am the sole owner and operator.

FYI, I ran dir /s local settings on C: and found 4 folders with that name—all empty.

Cal:

No gottum router. Never had one, never had any use for one. This is a 1 PC household. Why do I need one for Firefox when I have run successfully for 15 years without one using IE?

Mitch Drumm · From: Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake

Resolved, but with some extreme peculiarities. The bank in question is Compass.

A dir /s *compass*.* command from C: says a folder called c users mitch appdata roaming Microsoft windows cookies has a file called mitch at online.compass.web[2].txt.

When I navigate to that windows folder in explorer, it does not show a cookies subfolder.

The same command also says that in c users mitch appdata roaming Microsoft windows cookies low, I have 4 more txt files with Compass in the name.

As you can guess, since I can’t see a cookies folder, I certainly can’t find cookies low.

When I change directories from a command prompt and go from c: down to c users mitch appdata roaming Microsoft windows, it doesn’t show a cookies subfolder, in spite of the fact that a dir /s *compass*.* from C: does show a cookies subfolder.

So I navigated from a command prompt as far as I could down in the tree to the windows subfolder and then ran del *Compass*.txt. The 5 files were deleted and I was able to log in to the bank.

The only way I knew they were there is via dir /s from C:--even though I couldn’t see them when changing directories down to that level.

Why are the directories in question not viewable in Windows Explorer when show hidden and system files and folders are turned on??

Why couldn’t I see the folders in question even when I navigated toward them from a command prompt??

Why were my cookies in this particular folder??

Why didn’t a dir /s cookie*.* find any cookies? Do only some cookies have cookie in the name? Apparently, mine did not.

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