A cookie is a small piece of text stored on your computer by a web browser. A cookie can be used for authentication, storing site preferences, shopping cart contents, the identifier for a server-based session, or anything else that can be accomplished through storing text data. A cookie consists of one or more name-value pairs containing bits of information.

Most modern browsers allow you to decide whether to accept cookies, and the time frame to keep them, but rejecting cookies makes some websites unusable. You can also set your browser to prompt you each time a cookie is offered. The main browser types are listed below.

Google Chrome

1. Go to the Tools menu and select Options. The Google Chrome Options window appears.
2. Select the Under the Hood tab and then click Content settings. The Content Settings window appears.
3. Click Cookies and choose your preferred settings. Google Chrome allows all cookies by default.
4. To block first-party and third-party cookies, enable the Block all third-party cookies without exception checkbox.
5. To delete all cookies when you close your browser, enable the Clear cookies and other sight data when I close my browser checkbox.
6. Click Close, and then Close again.

Firefox

1. From Firefox, go to Tools > Options. The Options window appears.
2. In the History section, select Never remember history from the drop-down menu if you want to delete cookies every time you close your browser.
3. However, if you want to manage your cookie settings, select Use custom settings for history from the drop-down menu.
4. To accept cookies from all websites, enable the Accept cookies from sites checkbox.
5. To add specific websites that you do not want to allow cookies from, click Exceptions and enter the URL of all these websites, and then click Close.
6. To accept cookies from third-party websites but limit how long they are active, enable the Accept third-party cookies checkbox and then choose one of the options from the Keep until drop-down menu: they expire, I close Firefox, or ask me every time.
7. To view all cookies, click Show Cookies. The Cookies window appears. From here you can search for and remove certain cookies, or remove all cookies from your system. Click Close when you are finished.
8. Click OK.

Internet Explorer

1. Go to Tools > Internet Options. The Internet Options window appears.
2. Click the Privacy tab
3. Move the slider to choose your preferred cookie settings. The default setting is medium and the menu allows you to select the level of filtering on the basis of (a) the source of the cookie and (b) whether the source has a privacy policy.
4. For more specialized cookie settings, click Advanced and enable the Override automatic cookie handling checkbox.
5. Then enable the Prompt radio button for both first and third-party cookies. This prompts you each time a site tries to place a cookie on your machine. If the number of cookie prompts is too excessive, you can select the option to Always allow session cookies. This allows non-persistent cookies to be accepted without user interaction.
6. Click OK, and then OK again.

Safari

1. Go to Safari > Preferences.
2. Click the Security icon.
3. From the Accept cookies section, you can disable cookies and also view cookies that have been set by clicking Show Cookies.
   Note: In general, you should disable cookies and enable them only when you visit a site that requires their use. You can choose to only accept cookies from the sites that you visit by selecting the Only from sites I visit option. This permits sites that you visit to set cookies, but not third-party sites.

Opera

If you want to enable or disable cookies quickly, go to Settings > Quick Preferences > Enable/Disable Cookies.

To manage your cookie settings in Opera:

1. Go to Menu > Settings > Preferences. The Preferences window appears.
2. Click the Advanced tab, and then click Cookies.
   Note: Select Manage Cookies to add new domains, delete cookies, and edit cookie settings specifically for each server. The Cookie Manager appears which lists all the domains from which you currently have cookies.
3. Select any of the following options:
   • Accept cookies: Allows all cookies to be stored on your computer.
   • Accept cookies only from the site I visit: Allows only cookies that are set by the website you are visiting to be stored, not those set by any other sites whose content is displayed in frames or via images on the current page.
   • Never accept cookies: Refuses all cookies to be stored and refuses to use existing cookies; by checking this option, you may have difficulties logging on to a significant number of websites.
   • Delete new cookies when exiting Opera: Deletes cookies that have been added after this preference was enabled when closing the browser.
   • Ask me before accepting cookies: Provides a prompt every time you receive a cookie, allowing you to decide on each one individually.
4. Note: You can also configure cookie settings when you are viewing any site by going to Settings > Quick Preferences > Edit site preferences > Cookies.
5. Click OK.