Flash Cookie Remover - Free

from JoeUser Forums

 

Adobe Flash Player has a property which imo is borderline illegal. So do other programs.

Background – websites and apps can (and do) place cookies on your system which are designed to make loading the website faster. They generally expire after a certain amount of time. Ideally, they aren’t supposed to collect info about you, especially if you gave no consent for them to do so (at least in my opinion) because that is a privacy violation. Usually cookies are just small pieses of text. Flash cookies are way different.

gHacks gives a good explanation of flash cookies and a link back to the original article about them here, as well as four ways to deal with them: A valuable article.

So, back to the topic: it puts a data collecting cookie on your system. Others can then harvest the info from these cookies, and do. Flash Cookies, a.k.a. Local Shared Objects (LSOs), are cookie-like data files that are stored on a computer. Flash Cookies are used by all versions of Adobe Flash Player.

“Cookies by their design constitute privacy concerns because they store data which may be retrieved by people or programs that are up to no good. Ordinary cleaners do remove regular cookies but do not remove these Flash Cookies, giving the user a false sense of security. Several services even use Flash Cookies as a data storage to reinstate traditional cookies that a user deleted, which is called 're-spawning'. So even if a user gets rid of a website’s tracking cookie, that cookie’s unique ID will be assigned back to a new cookie again using the Flash data as the ‘backup’. If you value your privacy these Flash Cookies should be removed.” – Softpedia

The Flash Cookies Cleaner application was developed to be a small tool that has been designed specifically to remove every Flash Cookie from your system.

It’s free, and I use it.

I stopped telling my mom where I went a long time ago.

Download link: http://www.flashcookiecleaner.com/

75,387 views 38 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Hi DrJBHL,

Thanks for the information and the weblink.

Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Welcome, winstar4. :)

WindowBlinds - Free yourself of the default settings, customize your desktop.
Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

DrJBHL, did you just find out about Flash Cookies?  Seems like they are a surreptitious way of gaining information about viewing habits, that normal browser cookie management doesn't protect.

Best regards,
Steven.

Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top

will have to get it

 

Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I use cookienator which also removes flash cookies

Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting StevenAus, reply 3
DrJBHL, did you just find out about Flash Cookies?  Seems like they are a surreptitious way of gaining information about viewing habits, that normal browser cookie management doesn't protect.

Best regards,
Steven.
End of StevenAus's quote

No Steven, but I'm a bit senile and it takes a while to remember all the things I want to write about, sometimes.

Thank G-d there's an app for that, and a cookie. ;)

 

Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top

The Ghostery browser plugin for FF4 has an option to delete Flash & Silverlight cookies on exit. It seems to do a real good job with trackers period.

Reply #8 from Elemental Forums Top

Ah yes, this stuff. I discovered this a while back after reading an article about it and also watching a news broadcast

Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Thanks Doc.

Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting DrJBHL, reply 6
Quoting StevenAus, reply 3DrJBHL, did you just find out about Flash Cookies?  Seems like they are a surreptitious way of gaining information about viewing habits, that normal browser cookie management doesn't protect.

Best regards,
Steven.

No Steven, but I'm a bit senile and it takes a while to remember all the things I want to write about, sometimes.

Thank G-d there's an app for that, and a cookie.

 
End of DrJBHL's quote


 For everyone using FF or Pale Moon, the best way to manage Flash Cookies (LSO's/SuperCookies) is the BetterPrivacy extension (latest version 1.50). I'm using it since long time and it works absolutely fine; besides, is highly configurable and plenty of options.

I know you are using Pale Moon, so just give it a try! 

Reply #11 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Thank you Doc.  That looks like a very worthwhile app!

Reply #12 from Sins Forums Top

this will delete saved flash game data?

I would lose all my progress on gemcraft!

Reply #13 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting Lantec, reply 7
The Ghostery browser plugin for FF4 has an option to delete Flash & Silverlight cookies on exit. It seems to do a real good job with trackers period.
End of Lantec's quote

Some members have reported problems in Galleries with that extension... I think it was Uvah, but there were others as well.

 

Quoting inthebloodofeden, reply 10

Quoting DrJBHL, reply 6Quoting StevenAus, reply 3DrJBHL, did you just find out about Flash Cookies?  Seems like they are a surreptitious way of gaining information about viewing habits, that normal browser cookie management doesn't protect.

Best regards,
Steven.

No Steven, but I'm a bit senile and it takes a while to remember all the things I want to write about, sometimes.

Thank G-d there's an app for that, and a cookie.

 

 For everyone using FF or Pale Moon, the best way to manage Flash Cookies (LSO's/SuperCookies) is the BetterPrivacy extension (latest version 1.50). I'm using it since long time and it works absolutely fine; besides, is highly configurable and plenty of options.

I know you are using Pale Moon, so just give it a try! 
End of inthebloodofeden's quote

Thanks for that info, Steven. inbloodofeden, it might be good as a preventive, but it won't remove the ones already there. I got rid of 11 such cookies with it already.

*edit - fixed. sorry Steven and inbloodofeden, the quoting thing gets us old folks confused.... still stand by the gist of what I wrote in the response to the BetterPrivacy... also there appear to be some extensions which don't play nicely with Forums/Galleries here. 

Reply #14 from Elemental Forums Top

Well, unless inthebloodofeden's name is Steven, that comment was not by a Steven.

Even though I didn't make the comment you were referring to, the BetterPrivacy extension has an option to "Delete Flash cookies by timer".

Best regards,
Steven.

Reply #15 from Elemental Forums Top

Always good to have a second line of defense, I have the BetterPrivacy but the link Dr put up and once I downloaded it it found 3 cookies the BP didn't find and remove as I said before always good to have 2 lines of defense XD

Reply #16 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting DrJBHL, reply 13



Thanks for that info, Steven. inbloodofeden, it might be good as a preventive, but it won't remove the ones already there. I got rid of 11 such cookies with it already.

*edit - fixed. sorry Steven and inbloodofeden, the quoting thing gets us old folks confused.... still stand by the gist of what I wrote in the response to the BetterPrivacy... also there appear to be some extensions which don't play nicely with Forums/Galleries here. 
End of DrJBHL's quote


I'm wondering if we are talking about the same extension (BetterPrivacy) .Did you check BetterPrivacy settings carefully? I NEVER keep Flash cookies in my system. I downloaded falshcookiecleaner, and it always says "No Flash Cookies found" . More, I have no any kind of problem with Forums/Galleries; in that case, however, is suggested to check the box "Delete all flash cookies when exit...". Maybe are you confusing it with Ghostery, or you took the flash cookies surfing the web using some other browsers with no specific protection or right settings??

Reply #17 from WinCustomize Forums Top

No reported issue with BetterPrivacy. There are reports of Gallery problems with Ghostery. Once you're cleaned out with the flash cookie deleter, having the extension makes sense. Before doing the cleaning, all the extension will do is prevent more getting on.

Reply #18 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting DrJBHL, reply 17
No reported issue with BetterPrivacy. There are reports of Gallery problems with Ghostery. Once you're cleaned out with the flash cookie deleter, having the extension makes sense. Before doing the cleaning, all the extension will do is prevent more getting on.
End of DrJBHL's quote


 

Not sure about that, Doc. If the right boxes are checked in BetterPrivacy settings, you can get all Flash cookies deleted, even ones got before extension was installed, if any. BetterPrivacy allows a Complete control about Flash cookies, it doesn't matter when the extension is iinstalled; it detects ALL flash cookies stored in the system (well, that's the way I think it works...) .

Reply #19 from JoeUser Forums Top

I was not aware of Flash cookies!  Thanks for the find.

Reply #20 from Elemental Forums Top

Like most people.  Apparently this fact has been a gold mine for media companies, which have been able to get info on users' browsing habits even when the user did not give permission for these permanent cookies to be collecting and sharing information for any company that had the right connections.

Best regards,
Steven.

Reply #21 from Elemental Forums Top

I once used NEVERCOOKIE but it is not yet compatable with Firefox 4.

Reply #22 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting RogueCaptain, reply 21
I once used NEVERCOOKIE but it is not yet compatable with Firefox 4.
End of RogueCaptain's quote

For Flas cookies use BetterPrivacy on FF4, and flashcookiecleaner as "second opinion" .

Reply #23 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I tried the Flash Cookie Cleaner. It doesn't install. All you do is click and there they are. you can view them, choose what to keep or just click delete and poof! gone. Just like that. Cool.

Reply #24 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting Uvah, reply 23
It doesn't install.
End of Uvah's quote

It installs if you download it.

Reply #25 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Another thanks for the tip, I had no idea those little devils were out there.  Needless to say, I'd accumulated a decent load.  Kind of torques me off.  But they be gone now :grin: .

I'll add a usage note in case anyone else is wondering (I was):

It deletes the cookies and their directories from the user area of the currently logged in user.  So you need to run it from within each user, just running from Admin only cleans out the Admin user.  Since it only affects the user area, runs fine from within a limited user.

Thanks again for this one Doc, earned your pizza \o/ :pizza: :pizza: