After everyone started using cookie killers in their web browsers, the advertisers and everyone else who wanted to check up on you and where you have been started using a new method of tracking.

 

…By leaving cookies in Flash.

 

Wired.com reports that over half of the web’s most popular sites are using Flash Cookies to track us…  Unlike traditional browser cookies, Flash cookies are relatively unknown to us, the web users and they are not controlled through the cookie privacy controls in a browser. That means even if a user thinks they have cleared their computer of tracking objects, they most likely have not….

 

Much like regular cookies, Flash cookies do have legitimate uses like saving your progress in that Flash game you’ve nearly finished… Lets get serous! We live in a time when almost everything adobe poses a security threat.

 

You can handle the cookies by going to Adobe’s Settings Manager and work the various tabs it presents you.

 

Otherwise you have to use cleaning programs of which most don’t clean these cookies, so here is a simple way of eradicating all of them.

 

 

How to Remove Flash Cookies using CCleaner

Download CCleaner and install if you have not already installed this great application

 

» Download CCleaner Here

 

To View the cookies along with those pesky flash cookies

 

Run CCleaner and go to

> Options

> Cookies

as shown on the left.

 

 

Below is a flash cookie left by Youtube, Time to rid it!

 

 

Default settings in CCleaner should do the trick, So once you install you are ready to go!  click on Run Cleaner at the bottom right.

 

Lets see if CCleaner has done its work..

To make sure those pesky flash cookies are gone, Run CCleaner and go to

 

> Options  > Cookies

 

As you can see on the right, no more youtube flash cookie.. Done!

 

 

Portable Flash Cookie Cleaners

» Flushflash cookies flash

 

» Flash Cookie Cleaner

 

 

( To run both of the programs in Vista, download and right click and “Run as administrator” as shown right )

 

 

Adobe Flash Cookie Management and Flash Cookie Resources

» View and Remove Macromedia Management Tool

» Wikipedia on Flash Cookies / Local Shared Objects

» You Deleted Your Cookies? Think Again [Wired.com]

 

Do you want to disable Flash Cookies once and for all?

( Warning, most sites for instance twitter.com will not work )

» Go here » Adobe Global Privacy Settings panel