Microsoft KB Archive/283185

= How to Manage Cookies in Internet Explorer 6 =

Article ID: 283185

Article Last Modified on 12/18/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0
 * Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0
 * Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0
 * Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0
 * Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0
 * Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0
 * Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0

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This article was previously published under Q283185



Notice
This article is intended for home users. If you are not comfortable with this information, you might want to ask someone for help or contact support. For information about how to contact support, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/



For a Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 version of this article, see 196955.



SUMMARY
Internet Explorer 6 implements advanced cookie filtering based on the Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P) specification. The P3P specification, developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), enables you to express your privacy preferences while helping Web sites in clearly describing, in a computer-readable format, how they will use your data. For information about P3P, please see the following Web site:

http://www.w3.org/P3P/

Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

Internet Explorer 6 will notify you of Web sites that do not satisfy your privacy settings. This article describes how to manage your privacy (or cookie) settings in Internet Explorer 6. For information about the default privacy settings in Internet Explorer 6, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

293222 The Default Privacy Settings for Internet Explorer 6



MORE INFORMATION
You can configure your privacy settings in Internet Explorer 6 by clicking Internet Options on the Tools menu, and then clicking the Privacy tab.

NOTE: An administrator can customize your privacy settings and remove the Privacy tab from the interface in the Internet Options dialog box. If the Privacy tab is not available, contact your administrator, or see the &quot;Information for Advanced Users and IT Professionals&quot; section.

These settings replace the cookies settings on the Security tab in Internet Explorer 4 and 5 (and the Advanced tab in Internet Explorer 3). The Privacy settings slider has six settings: Block All Cookies, High, Medium High, Medium (default level), Low, and Accept All Cookies.

The following Privacy settings are available with the slider:
 * Block All Cookies: Cookies from all Web sites will be blocked, and existing cookies on your computer cannot be read by the Web sites that created them. Per-site privacy actions do not override these settings.
 * High: Blocks cookies that do not have a compact privacy policy or that have a compact privacy policy which specifies that personally identifiable information is used without your explicit consent. Cookies that were already on your computer before you installed Internet Explorer 6 are leashed (restricted so that they can only be read in the first-party context). Per-site privacy actions override these settings.
 * Medium High: Blocks third-party cookies that do not have a compact privacy policy or that use personally identifiable information without your explicit consent. Blocks first-party cookies that have a compact privacy policy which specifies that personally identifiable information is used without your implicit consent. First-party cookies that do not have a compact privacy policy and cookies that were already on your computer before you installed Internet Explorer 6 are leashed (restricted so that they can only be read in the first-party context). Per-site privacy actions override these settings.
 * Medium (default level): Blocks third-party cookies that do not have a compact privacy policy or that have a compact privacy policy which specifies that personally identifiable information is used without your implicit consent. First-party cookies that have a compact privacy policy which specifies that personally identifiable information is used without your implicit consent are downgraded (deleted when you close Internet Explorer). First-party cookies that do not have a compact privacy policy are leashed (restricted so that they can only be read in the first-party context). Cookies that were already on your computer before you installed Internet Explorer 6 are also leashed. Per-site privacy actions override these settings.
 * Low: First-party cookies that do not have a compact privacy policy are leashed (restricted so that they can only be read in the first-party context). Cookies that were already on your computer before you installed Internet Explorer 6 are also leashed. Third-party cookies that do not have a compact privacy policy or that have a compact privacy policy which specifies that personally identifiable information is used without your implicit consent are downgraded (deleted when you close Internet Explorer). Per-site privacy actions override these settings.
 * Accept All Cookies: All cookies will be saved on your computer, and existing cookies on your computer can be read by the Web sites that created them. Per-site privacy actions do not override these settings.

NOTE: Changing your privacy preferences does not affect the cookie acceptance policy for cookies that have already been set unless you move the slider to Accept All Cookies or Block All Cookies.

Internet Explorer displays a Privacy dialog box the first time that a cookie is restricted based on your privacy preferences. This dialog box appears only one time, unless you clear the Don't show this message again check box. The Privacy dialog box explains that a new status icon (the Privacy Report icon) is added to the status bar when you visit a Web site that does not meet your privacy preferences. You can double-click this icon to view a privacy report that explains how the Web site either has privacy practices that conflict with your preferences or has no published privacy policy. You can also view a privacy report for any site by clicking Privacy Report on the View menu.

NOTE: The Privacy slider works only in the Internet zone. All cookies are automatically accepted from Web sites in both the Local Intranet and Trusted zones, and all cookies are automatically blocked from Web sites in the Restricted zone.

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

282846 Privacy Tab Settings Only Affect Internet Zone

Per-Site Privacy Actions
You also have the option to define cookie management practices on a per-site basis. This overrides your default privacy preferences set with the slider for any sites that you add to the Per Site Privacy Actions dialog box, unless you move the slider to Accept All Cookies or Block All Cookies (in which case per-site privacy actions are ignored).

To override cookie handling for individual Web sites, click Edit on the Privacy tab to open the Per Site Privacy Actions dialog box. You can enter individual domains in the Per Site Privacy Actions dialog box by using a policy of either Block or Allow. Existing cookies from sites that you decide to block will be deleted. NOTE: If you move the slider on the Privacy tab to Accept All Cookies or Block All Cookies, the Edit button becomes unavailable because per-site privacy actions are ignored in these cases.

Advanced Privacy Settings
You can override automatic cookie handling for all Web sites in the Internet zone by clicking Advanced on the Privacy tab. You can use the Advanced Privacy Settings dialog box to configure first-party and third-party cookies to Accept, Block, or Prompt, with a check box to always allow session cookies.

NOTE: Existing cookies on your computer can still be read by the Web sites that created them even if you specify to block cookies in the Advanced Privacy Settings dialog box.

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

298780 Any Existing Cookies Can Still Be Read by a Web Site Even When the 'Block' Option Is Selected

NOTE: Per-site privacy actions override Advanced Privacy Settings dialog box settings.

Importing Custom Privacy Preferences
You can use the Import button to import a custom privacy preferences file. For information about how to create a customized privacy import file, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms537344.aspx

Any privacy settings not overridden by the imported custom privacy settings remain unchanged when you import. For example, if the imported custom settings do not define privacy settings for the Internet zone, the existing privacy settings for this zone are retained. Per-site rules may be removed when you import custom privacy settings, and if you import custom privacy settings, you cannot change the default privacy preferences for the Internet security zone without disabling the custom settings for that zone (clicking Advanced or Default on the Privacy tab removes imported privacy settings for the Internet zone). For additional information about removing customized privacy settings that were imported, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

301689 How to Restore Default Settings After Importing Custom Privacy Preferences

How to View and Delete Cookies
For more information about how to view the cookies that you have accepted or how to delete cookies, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

278835 How to delete cookie files in Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 7

Additional Information for Advanced Users and IT Professionals
If you are an administrator, you can customize privacy settings for all users and prevent users (including administrators) from viewing or changing their privacy settings. To do this, use the Group Policy snap-in in Microsoft Management Console (MMC) for Windows 2000-based or Windows XP-based computers or use the Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK) for any supported Windows platform. Be aware that the computer on which you run the Group Policy snap-in or IEAK must be running Internet Explorer 6 to configure privacy settings.

Customize Privacy (and Security) Settings

 * 1) At Stage 4 - Customizing the Browser of the Internet Explorer Customization Wizard (IEAK), click Import the current security zones and privacy settings in the Security and Privacy Settings dialog box.
 * 2) If you are using the Group Policy snap-in, double-click the Security Zones and Content Ratings policy under User Configuration\Windows Settings\Internet Explorer Maintenance\Security, and then click Import the current security zones and privacy settings.
 * 3) Click Modify Settings to modify the current privacy settings.
 * 4) Click OK.

Your current security and privacy settings are written to the selected Group Policy object or your IEAK installation package. If you use the IEAK, you must install your installation package on each computer on which you want to have these customized privacy settings.

Disable User Access to All Privacy Settings
To remove the Privacy tab from the interface in the Internet Options dialog box and to prevent users from viewing or changing privacy settings, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Use the Group Policy Snap-In (Windows 2000 and Windows XP)
To disable the Privacy tab by using the Group Policy snap-in in Windows 2000 or Windows XP:  Start the Group Policy snap-in (Gpedit.msc). Double-click the Disable the Privacy tab policy under User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Internet Explorer\Internet Control Panel.

If this policy is not available on a Windows 2000-based computer that is running Internet Explorer 6, obtain IEAK 6 Service Pack 1 (SP1). For additional information about this issue, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

316116 You Cannot Manage Internet Explorer 6 Group Policies on a Windows 2000-based Computer

 Click Enabled, and then click OK.

The policy is applied to the selected Group Policy object and a **del.PrivacyTab String value is created in the following registry key:

Method 2: IEAK Profile Manager (All Platforms)
To disable the Privacy tab for all Windows 98 and Windows Millennium Edition (Me) users or Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, or Windows XP administrators by using the IEAK Profile Manager, follow these steps.

NOTE: To apply this policy to users who have a limited user account (non-administrators) on a Windows NT 4.0-based, a Windows 2000-based, or a Windows XP-based computer, you must use the Windows NT Policy Editor (Windows NT 4.0) or the Group Policy snap-in (Windows 2000 and Windows XP).
 * 1) Create an Internet Explorer installation package by using the Internet Explorer Customization Wizard, and then start the IEAK Profile Manager.
 * 2) On the File menu, click New or open an existing .ins file that you want to modify.
 * 3) On the Manage menu, click to select the All Policies check box (if this check box is not already selected).
 * 4) Click Internet Property Pages under Policies and Restrictions\Corporate Restrictions.
 * 5) Click to select the Disable viewing the Privacy Page policy.
 * 6) On the File menu, click Save. Or, click Save As, and then type the path of your .ins file, the URL where your .cab files are stored, and the names of your .cab files if they differ from the defaults that are provided.

The policy is applied to users who install your Internet Explorer installation package. When this policy is applied, a PrivacyTab DWORD value is created and its value data set to 1 in the following registry key:

Disable User Access to Per-Site Privacy Actions
For additional information about how to disable access to only the Per Site Privacy Actions dialog box,, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

301524 How to Disable Access to the &quot;Per Site Privacy Actions&quot; Dialog Box

