How to Clean Cookies on Vista

Clean cookies for a safe Internet experience.

Cookies are placed in your Internet Explorer or Firefox browser by websites to track your actions while visiting their site. Most cookies are not dangerous and can make using the Internet much easier. They can store log-in information, shopping cart selections, usernames and other data. However, it's always a good idea to clear cookies out of your browser periodically to remove any bad cookies that you may have picked up and clean out your browsing history cache. Windows Vista offers a variety of simple cookie-cleaning methods, depending on browser type.

Instructions

IE 7

1. Click the "Start" button and choose "Control Panel".

2. Select "Network and Internet" and choose "Internet Options".

3. Select the "General" tab and click "Delete" in the browsing history section.

4. Click "Delete Cookies" and confirm your choice by clicking "Yes".

5. Click "Close" and select "OK" to exit the Internet Options menu.

IE 8

1. Click the "Start" button and choose "Internet Explorer".

2. Click "Safety" and choose "Delete Browsing History".

3. Check "Cookies".

4. Check "Preserve Favorites" if you want to save the cookies from the websites on your Favorites list. This will save the passwords, user names and other data that may be stored in IE for the sites that you visit often.

5. Click "Delete".

Firefox

1. Open a Firefox browser.

2. Click "Tools" on the main menu bar. Select "Clear Recent History".

3. Choose "Everything" from the pull-down menu, or else choose a specific time frame.

4. Check "Cookies".

5. Click "Clear Now". Close the "Clear Recent History" options menu.

Tips & Warnings

• While most cookies are safe, some illegitimate websites use cookies to track an individual's Internet usage. If you've recently visited a website that you aren't familiar with or if your web browser has begun to slow down, familiar web pages refuse to load or your browser freezes up, one of the first things you should do is to clean the cookies.

References

• Microsoft Windows Support: Delete your Internet cookies
• Mozilla: Deleting Cookies