Tracking Cookies - Should They Be Banned Or Even Outlawed?
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
United States
April 11, 2007 5:47pm CST
Today I signed on to my computer and began checking my email and surfing the internet.
I noticed that my computer was moving rather slow . I went into my tools and deleted all my temporary internet files.
That didn't solve the problem. So I clicked on my Anti-Virus program and ran a scan for adware/spyware.
To my surprise there were 34 tracking cookies monitoring my computer. I removed them all and my pc began running fast again.
This is what these tracking cookies do.
They help a Web site "remember" who you are and set preferences accordingly when you return.
They eliminate the need to repeatedly fill out order forms or re-register on Web sites.
They allow Web sites or advertising companies to track your Web surfing behavior or patterns.
Since these adware/spyware tracking cookies affect the speed of your pc and diminish your surfing experience, do you think they should be banned or even outlawed?
I believe to a degree it is an invasion of your privacy. If a website or advertising company wants to track your Web surfing behavior, they should at least ask permission to do so.
What do you think?
Lloyd
2 people like this
18 responses
@kpfingaz (1027)
• Saint Vincent And The Grenadines
12 Apr 07
Well I guess, no one who thinks that tracking cookies should be banned are actually looking forward to getting more referrals for myLot. And as far as making money online they really should forget all that too. That also means that they are logging in to myLot everyday instead of staying logged in like I am so that everytime I visit myLot my homepage is the first thing I see and not myLots general homepage and I can just start responding to questions.
I don't think that tracking cookies should be banned although they could probably come up with an alternative way to do what tracking cookies do in a less obtrusive way.
Jay - An Internet Marketer
@kpfingaz (1027)
• Saint Vincent And The Grenadines
12 Apr 07
Unfortunately, some very innocent tracking cookies get labled as spyware. But considering what you now know about tracking cookies, do you think its all bad after all? And again, its a good practice to scan and clean your computer.
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
12 Apr 07
I'm a little confused by your reply. Are you saying that tracking cookies are a good thing?
I feel they are very intrusive and I think they should ask for your permission before tracking your we browsing.
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
12 Apr 07
So what is it that made my pc move so slow? As soon as I ran the scan, things returned to normal.
Lloyd
@Idlewild (6090)
• United States
12 Apr 07
Cookies are very small files, they shouldn't slow down your computer at all. Spyware, though, is a totally different matter. I don't mind if my bank or Amazon.com uses a cookie so I don't have to enter my info every time I shop. But adware/spyware should be banned, if it isn't already.
I use a Mac, so fortunately I don't have problems with viruses, spyware, etc. In my old job we had PCs and once in a while spyware would literally bring the machine to a halt.
1 person likes this
@Idlewild (6090)
• United States
12 Apr 07
Right, it's not regular cookies causing the problem, it's the spyware/adware/malware. Software shouldn't be allowed to install stuff on your system without at least letting you know about it, to me.
There was a problem a couple of years back with some recorded music CDs that screwed up PCs with the anti-piracy software that was installed on them.
1 person likes this
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
12 Apr 07
Thanks for that clarification. It's amazing the things people will do to get your information.
Lloyd
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
12 Apr 07
All I know is that after I deleted the spyware/adware, my pc went back to normal. So it did have an effect on the speed of my computer.
Lloyd
@LittleMel (8742)
• Canada
10 May 07
I experienced this last night and gosh I hate it! I always clear cookies and temporary files, history etc, but my husband is always lazy to do this, annoying :) I don't like them and I don't use that pre registered forms either. I agree with you, they could ask us first about installing cookies, some sites actually don't allow us to browse without installing cookies, it's ridiculous :(
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
10 May 07
I also clear my temporary files and history often. I just don't understand why they would take it upon themselves to invade our privacy this way.
Lloyd
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
9 May 07
they should be outlawed.that's collecting information without individual consent.
all of them should be made to at least ask first,then you can have a choice.
1 person likes this
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
10 May 07
I agree with you. They should at least ask for our permission before secretly tracking our online information.
Thanks for your reply.
Lloyd
@wachit14 (3595)
• United States
12 Apr 07
I couldn't agree with you more about what you say. I have my spyware software running all day and all night and as soon as it picks up one of these little buggers, it notifies me and I delete them immediately. As to whether or not they should be banned or outlawed, I'm not quite sure how that could happen effectively. The internet is like a never-ending galaxy and even if there were a way to ban or outlaw them, they would mutate and find their way in somehow. There are many wonderful things about the internet and they far outweigh bad things, but these are definitely one of the most annoying.
1 person likes this
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
13 Apr 07
I find it very annoying too. There's nothing worse than your pc slowing down to a snails pace.
Lloyd
@BAD_VLAD (107)
• United States
12 Apr 07
They are in your computer to record your passwords, user names and credit card informations. I'm without Kaspersky for only 2 days, and Norton didn't protect me. I found Tracking cookie and 90$ desapeard from my Pay pal account same day.You had 34 of them, WOW, some people out there in the cyber space know all about you until now.
1 person likes this
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
12 Apr 07
That is what frightens me about these so called tracking cookies. The fact that someone in cyber space knows who I am, but I don't know them.
That's just not right.
Lloyd
@BAD_VLAD (107)
• United States
12 Apr 07
I'm also concerned like you are.In my case, I do not know how much of my private info do they have . When they were able to obtain my pay pal password, then they probably have my credit cards info, and my cheeking account also.I've changed all passwords, I will replace all credit and debit cards. I pay my car insurance ,my electric bill, cell phone, regular phone online. If they have all that info, they can destroy my life in 24 hours. My car payment and my rent are auto deductabile, and if my checking account is empty, I'm going down, on the street and my car will be reposesed.
@maevic (819)
• Bahrain
12 Apr 07
I think not all files that was removed from your computer was "ALL tracking cookies"...there maybe some spyware or malware but most of it on the list that you saw was tracking cookies.
Tracking cookies are tools in the internet and I know there's a little effect on the speed of your browsing. You can disable this on your internet option on the tools menu (control panel).
Do not save your passwords/user ID on your computer (even personal computer), they can track it on the internet and always log out everytime you go to your e-mail and other bank transactions so they cannot track you completely.
1 person likes this
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
12 Apr 07
I don't know if you read my previous post. As soon as I scaned for spyware and adware, then removed them, my pc went back to it's normal speed.
Lloyd
@milott (2646)
• India
12 Apr 07
Yes, i agree with you that tracking cookies are harm to the common users like us where they monitor us and get vital informations for their own purpose and besides that they also occupy a great part of our hard disk and slow down our computer a lot. There should be a law coming into force against this practice.
1 person likes this
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
13 Apr 07
I don't like a lot of regulations, however in this case I'd welcome regulating the use of tracking cookies.
Lloyd
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
12 Apr 07
I'm glad that you have learned some things about these cookies.
Hopefully we will learn even more. MyLot is a very educational forum.
Lloyd
@speakeasy (4171)
• United States
12 Apr 07
I can't even log into my ISP's home page without picking up one or two.
I just dump them every day or two and then I don't have to worry about them.
1 person likes this
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
12 Apr 07
Now that's really ashame. You shouldn't have to do preventative maintenance just to sign in to your own pc.
Could you imagine if someone did that to your car and slowed it down.
All hell would break loose. lol
Lloyd
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
12 Apr 07
I have Norton's spyware and I now have it set to autimatically quarantine all my tracking cookies. I used to have to run quick sweeps all the time because almost every thing I use, TV Guide Listings for example, always showed minimum risk but there were about 5 or 6 of them that appeared everyday now I just do my once a week big sweep.
1 person likes this
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
12 Apr 07
I've heard good things about Norton's spyware. I have Yahoo Verizon's protection, but I don't think it automatically quarantines my tracking cookies.
I think I have to run a scan, then remove them.
Lloyd
@crazynurse (7482)
• United States
12 Apr 07
I absolutely hate knowing that somthing/somebody is tracking my every move! Even more, I hate how these darn things slow down my surfing. Yes, I feel that they whould be banned. However you and I both know the liklihood of that happening is about as much as the sky falling! Ha!
1 person likes this
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
12 Apr 07
It is so intrusive. I don't know why more isn't made of this situation.
Are we just overwhelmed by the advances in technology?
Lloyd
@bigpinkmomma (449)
• Canada
12 Apr 07
I don't that it is necessary for them to be banned or outlawed. I think the settings on your web browser let you decide whether or not you want accept any cookies .
1 person likes this
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
12 Apr 07
Why should I have to react to someone who wants to pry into my personal information?
It sounds like we are giving up to the bad guys.
Why don't they just ask for our permission?
Lloyd
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
12 Apr 07
Do you know that myLot uses a cookie too? Practically every site uses a cookie. If you are paranoid like me, just make sure you set to delete all cookies after you close the browser. Cookies aren't the ones causing problem.. they are the viruses and spywares.
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
12 Apr 07
Why can't we just enjoy our internet experience without worrying about these type of things.
I would gladly sign on to MyLot everytime I wanted to be here.
Lloyd
@jeweledbluerose (3061)
• United States
12 Apr 07
I haven't had much problem with them, since I always do all those scans before getting online. Though I do agree that they are an unnecessary annoyance. I don't see them getting banned anytime soon, so the best we can do is just protect ourselves and continually scan our computers to keep them running accordingly.
1 person likes this
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
12 Apr 07
Don't you hate the fact that you have to run a scan everytime before getting online?
To me it's almost like checking your phone for someone tapping it each time you use it.
I don't like them at all.
Lloyd
@revdauphinee (5703)
• United States
12 Apr 07
I have to delete cookies about twice monthly to keep my system running well!
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
12 Apr 07
I just don't what gives people the right to hide behind the internet and track your web browsing history.
It's just not right to me.
Lloyd
@mymytri (2030)
• India
13 Apr 07
hey.i will tell u one setting use this and tell me how it works.i too had this problem before.goto Internet explorer tools-internet options-privacy-advanced-check the box override automatically cookie handeld -select prompt in both boxes and apply.
u will be prompted whenver any site want save cookie.u can allow or block.suppose when some cookies prompt to save... u can check the more inf tab there and u will be noticed that cookie intended for tracking...simply block that cookie.and one more ususally some cookies request u to store even u wont surf that site...i thnk this help u a lot.i felt it is difficult in beginning....now enjoying...if the cookie is secured like emails cookie check the box allow cookies pemenently frm this site when prompted
if u interested i will tell u more techniques to speed up your PC
@web2samus (255)
• Uruguay
11 Apr 07
yeah its a real problem but you know... marketing is evil and everything the money touches get rotten so I don't think any of this will ever be solved, the better you can do is protect yourselve as much as your technical skills let you!
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
12 Apr 07
It is a real problem, but it's so intrusive. It can be very harmful to someone who doesn't have the necessary technical skills to remove these tracking cookies and protect themselves.
Lloyd
