Cookies: Are they there or not?

[Les Jackson]

Hi all,

I was idly exploring all the various parts of SpyBot S&D, when I noted that it lists at least 2 dozen Cookies "currently stored in Internet Explorer".
As I religiously remove all Cookies after an Internet session using Privacy Guardian, I am puzzled as to why they should be there.
I checked at C:\Programs\Internet Explorer and can find nothing.
Any ideas anyone please?

Many thanks - eljay.

[MisterW]

Hi,
which version of windows/internet explorer are you using? Maybe the reason could be that cookies are stored in c:\documents and settings\username\cookies

Best regards
Markus :bigthumb:

[Tom.K]

Note:If you are using 95/98/ME (Maybe NT), path for cookies is:
C:\WINDOWS\Cookies
If you are using XP/2000 (Maybe NT), path for cookies is:
C:\Documents and Settings\*User name*\Cookies
*User name* - your User name in computer

[Les Jackson]

Hello again,

I don't see a folder c:\documents and settings\username\cookies.

I am using XP Home with all security patches and service packs current.

[md usa spybot fan]

I don't see a folder c:\documents and settings\username\cookies.service packs current.
Substitute the actual name of the user account (Les, Jackson or whatever) for "username" in the following:
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Cookies
For example:
C:\Documents and Settings\Les\Cookies

[Les Jackson]

Hi,

Yup! I've done that. I've also changed my View settings to "show hidden files".
I'm going to have another thorough trawl through C:\Documents and Settings\username\(all folders), and run another "Search" (did I mis-type the name and so failed to find it?).
Maybe it's of no relevance, but I have my Internet Options locked by both SpyBot S&D and Spyware Blaster.

[Les Jackson]

Hello again,

Well either I mis-typed the word or I didn't use the Search command correctly, but I have now succeeded in locating some Folders named "Cookies".

The first is identified as a "Shortcut" at C:\Documents and Settings\User Name\Application\Data\Microsoft\Office\Recent\Cookies and is 1Kb in size.

The second is at C:\Windows\System32\Config\System Profile\Cookies and has no size (which if all is working correctly and Cookies are being deleted by Privacy Guardian is what I'd hoped to see.

I don't understand why this location and any comment on that would be most welcome.

I guess the only way to find out if this is the actual place any Cookies are being stored is to collect some and look in that location to see if that Folder has a size afterwards?

That still leaves me with the original issue as to why SpyBot says there are Cookies stored on my system, but I can't find them.

There were very many SpyBot references in my latest search for the elusive (or false?) Cookies.

[chciago]

Yeah les I too found cookies with SpyBot and couldn't for the life of me find their damn folder so I downloaded a program called ccleaner and it finds the same cookies and gets rid of them for you. (Manually ofcourse) Good luck.

[Les Jackson]

Hi chciago,

Thanks for your interest - the thread seems to have tailed off otherwise.
I'll take a look at the software you mention.
I wonder otherwise if anyone knows how to purge/delete the list of "stored cookies" that SpyBot mentions, so that I can check if it sees them again after a re-boot?
Alternatively, I'm not entirely happy about all the possible time-wasting and additional work involved in uninstalling SpyBot and downloading it all over again on the chance that this is some kind of bug that took a "snap-shot" of some cookies that were present once and keeps flagging them up despite having been removed?

Best regards.

[Aserone]

I guess the "stored" cookies or references to them might reside in the "index.dat" files located in the cookie dir and/or "Temporary Internet Files", and not as separate files.

[Les Jackson]

Hello again,

After some thorough weekend investigation, I tracked down these "cookies", or references to them in the Internet Options panel, where I had "allowed" cookies from the sites that were referred to in the SpyBot listing.
If I made a deletion from that list, SpyBot no longer reported that cookie as being "stored by Internet Explorer".
Which brings me back to the original question - Cookies: Are they there or not?
I tend to think that my findings suggest not. The reported ones are "allowed", but once Privacy Guardian has done it's job they are no longer present.
Anyone care to support or contradict that theory? Is SpyBot just reading and reporting the Internet Options list?