CAN I GET RID OF THIS LATEST VERSION OF IE?

hi…… total computer moron here. i've just discovered i can stop the nine million people who are tracking every move i make on this machiine i was totally shocked. really, had no idea the scores of companies out there who seem to have a right to spy on where I go and what I do what I buy on the web. I HATE IT It feels like someone dropped me into some Orwellian nightmare and Big Brother is an o amateur compared to this scenario. t So I discovered that I can change the way i can handle cookies. unfortunately, i seemed to knock out my capacity to use my msn. hotmail and facebook…… i refused access by the 10 companies tracking me on both sites and now i can't access hotmail or facebook…. of course i went back up to tools and ie options and then went back to the same ole same ole, but no dice….. whatever i refused seems to be undoable. any suggestions? It's just a pain having to let all these idiots track me, i hate it and i think it is wrong wrong wrong, but i guess this is the price you pay for "FREE" websites. so anyway, this is my lap top I am using right now….. i downloaded that newest version of IE a couple of weeks ago…..and i really don't like it….i only did it because the BLURB said it was safer… yeah, right, like one week later i got another stupid virus infection…..and I don't like the newer format…i liked the old arrangement of toolbars and i liked the way downloads are handled on the older version….. hate the newer version where the download screen is just a thin bar on the bottom….i liked the old version where it popped up nice and big in a window in the middle of your screen. PLUS….. i pretty much did the same denying of cookies on my old desk top computer, and yet I can still access my facebook and hotmail there…why is that? That's why i am thinking it's the difference between the versions of IE I am using….. the older version must be less sensitive or something. What do you think? How do I tell what version of IE i am using on my desktop ? Cause i'd like my lap top to go back to that version if that is the case, that the way IE handles cookies is different in the two versions. Or is there a way to get the blockages i created undone? because this machine seems to remember them and even if i totally allow complete access to every cookie in the world, it still won''t let me open my hotmail or facebook because it remembers I previously denied those specific cookies. This hasn't happened on the old desk top version of IE. Any way of knowing what cookies are absolutely necessary to running hotmail and facebook? I tried going to the websites of these companies, tried to see just what they were all about, but i didn't get much insight to them.

Hello compudodo,

To answer your last question ; No, cookies are not absolutely necessary for accessing Hotmail or Facebook.

Cookies are usually very small files with a few bits of information. Both Hotmail and Facebook use cookies to store login details. If you choose to be "remembered" by Hotmail, the website automatically creates a cookie with the required login information. Whenever you visit the site, it automatically checks whether you have any applicable information and then uses it.

These types of cookies are called "Persistent Cookies" because they last longer than your visit on the site. In contrast, your site visit is usually managed as a "session", which lasts a little longer than your visit, but not by much.

What you're referring to is "Tracking Cookies". These cookies do track your behavior and helps Google, Amazon and even Facebook in targeting advertising. In most cases you'll find that these companies are completely within their right to tailor their content based on your behavior, usually because it says so in the Terms & Conditions when you create an account.

There is, however, a nice way to block all cookies except the ones you want in IE9 :

1. Open up IE9 and click on the "cog".
2. Click on Internet Options and click on the Privacy tab.
3. Move the slider up to "High" to block all cookies.
4. Click on "sites" and type "facebook.com" in the text box. Then click "Allow".
5. Do the same for "hotmail.com" and any other sites you want to allow.

This site list operates separately from the wider privacy policy.

The other option is to employ IE9's inbuilt Tracking Cookie filter :

1. Open up IE9 and click on the "cog".
2. Click "Safety" and then "Tracking Protection…"
3. Now click on "Get Tracking Protection List online…"
4. You will get redirected to a new page with a comprehensive collection of Tracking Protection lists.
5. Just click on the "Add" button next to any lists you want to install.

This feature is designed to stop Tracking Cookies. Whether this works or not is still up for debate, but it's a feature exclusive to IE9. You will not have access to this if you revert back to IE8.

For more information on cookies:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_cookie


I hope that helps,
Nahumi

Hi compudodo. Nahumi has supplied you with some excellent advice regarding handling cookies. If however you decide you really do want to return to IE8, here is how. [attachment removed] Make sure you have Admin. privileges. 1. Click on the Windows Start button and type into the search bar "view installed updates". 2. Highlight IE9 3. Click on the uninstall Tab. 4. After you restart your computer, open Internet Explorer. 5. Open the Help menu and click on 'About Internet Explorer'. 6. If Internet Explorer 8 appears in the About Internet Explorer dialog box, then you have successfully completed the uninstall. Cheers, Lee