Cookies (again)
 

I get what appears to be self replicating cookie folders/files in my ‘Explorer’ program (not Internet Explorer). Here is how they are listed ….

C:\windows\localsettings\Temporary Internet files\content IE.5\


The following folders branch from “\content IE.5\” file ……

8ly7olyz[lists cookies]
Ggbz77jx ditto
L2flhyo4 ditto
Q9jomj9k ditto

Each folder has the same identical list of cookies
When I delete each one, I get informed “This folder is a system folder and windows or another program may no longer work correctly. I usually delete back to [not including] the IE.5 file without any problems.

The frustrating part is that these “deleted” folders reappear in my ‘Explorer program after I use Internet Explorer.

How can I stop these folders from reappearing? And/or why do they appear?

Any advice or comments would be appreciated.

[ 18 August 2001: Message edited by: sprocket ]

This sounds like you've stored web pages in your favourites and asked Explorer to check for updates as and when you're on line. Cookies are needed for this, so check your Favourites folder. I marked a couple of news pages like this and the site insists on loading cookies. After I removed the sites, the problem went away

A while back I was hit by an e-mail bug that fried my security by inserting self-replicating spyware into my system, cunningly disguised as cookies. All attempts to delete these "cookies" failed, and they continually reappeared after deletion until I tried an AdWare deletion programm obtainable for free from ZD Net. You may like to try it. Go to ZDNet's site and look for "spyware detection".

One thing that puzzles me. Since getting this software I find that I pick up spyware from banner adverts all the time. There are four particularly annoying ones that are there nearly every internet session. PPRuNe is one source, as I've detected spyware after logging on and only visiting PPRuNe. The Java script behind the banner adverts can penetrate a firewall and commercial firms spy all the time, searching for e-mail addresses. Now, if some spotty faced kid hacks into a commercial computer for kicks from his bedroom, heavily armed thought police raid the house, kick down the doors and cart the poor brat off in chains. They then confiscate and dismantle his PC and some cyber-dud judge hands down stern sentence for threatening the very existance of the human race. Hacking is a serious crime.

Unless you're a commercial firm. Then hacking into someone's computer and stealing private data is simply good business practice.

**********************************
Through difficulties to the cinema

Carpet Rodent, thanks for your suggestion I have just tried, and succeeded, in deleting my offline settings for the applicable “Favourites” (I didn’t need them anyway). I also deleted the folders as mentioned in my first post. But as soon as I go online again, the folders reappear in my Explorer program. :(
The folders contain exact copies of the cookies already in my IE contents folder, so there does not seem to be anything sinister about them except they are duplicated fourfold by these extra folders. If I’ve been online for a while, that can amass to a lot of space being taken up on my 2 gig hard drive and may account for a slowdown that I get after a period of time.

Blacksheep, I’ll steer clear of the spyware program for the time being, thanks for the info.

Blacksheep, you wrote :

You can examine the JavaScript on our web pages, just click on the View/Source menu item. If you find any spyware in our JavaScript then let me know. [email protected]

JavaScript embedded in HTML and executed by your browser has :
No capability to read or write files on your PC, except for Cookies from the site the JavaScript came from.
No access to file system information.
It can't execute programs or system commands on your PC.
It can't make network connections to other computers except to the machine from which it was downloaded.

BTW, there is no such thing as "Java Script". Java and JavaScript are two very different programming languages. Java was developed by Sun Microsystems, JavaScript was originally developed by Netscape.

---Mik

[ 20 August 2001: Message edited by: PPRuNe Dispatcher ]

Mik, the stuff that's on your pages is fine, but what about the stuff that comes from the banner adverts.
I have recently been experimenting with IE6, and one of the facilities it has is to monitor cookies. Go into Privacy settings and to prompt for 3rd party cookies.
The list of stuff that comes up is amazing, even from Pprune.
Cheers

Sprocket, something else you might want to try here... It might not stop the replication of the cookies, but it could tell you what the offending application / website is:

In Internet Explorer (this is where you set it, even though you're using Explorer), click Tools -> Internet Options. Select the Security Tab. Click Custom Level and scroll down until you come to the Cookies option. Set these to "Prompt" and delete the stuff you did previously. Also ensure the Cookies folder is empty.

It might not get rid of the problem, but it should give you some idea as to what's causing it, as you should be prompted to load up cookies etc.

Hope this helps

Carpet Rodent:
Good idea, I wondered where those settings were. I did not find cookies coming in that I didn’t want so reset back to original.
I deleted the offending folders again and with Explorer still open, went online for a while and monitored the “Content IE5” folder.
No folders appeared or branched off from the “Content IE5” folder and the cookies just increased normally while online.
I then went offline with still no change in the content folder. I was thinking I had it beat at this stage. I closed Internet Explorer, still no change. But I then closed Explorer and reopened it straight away, and there were those extra folders coming off the Content IE 5 folder again.

There must be a setting for it somewhere.
:confused:

Just a couple of ideas.

1. have a PPRuNE mail account as the email account set up in your profile here on PPRuNE. When I first signed-up here I used my regular AOL email addy and was (relatively speaking) bombarded with spam!
2. In Start-Settings-Control Panel-Internet Settings use the Delete History option on a daily basis and set Clear History to zero;
3. Regularly Scandisk/Defrag puter so that space is maintained in healthy fashion;
4. Regularly go to C:\Windows and delete ALL contents of Temp Files and Temporary Internet Files.

With the circular "you cannot delete this" I can't help ...consider, however, getting a good virus-scan system (like McAfee's Clinic) and use it!!!

Hope this helps, even a little!

JC :D