Internet Explorer v.6

Enable/Disable Cookies

In Internet Explorer 6, go to TOOLS - INTERNET OPTIONS. Click the Privacy tab and you should see something similar to the screen shot below.

Now click the Advanced button (circled above). A new dialog box (below) will pop up.

Let's look at the options in the dialog box above:

• Override Automatic Cookie Handling. Keep this box UNchecked to enable cookies. However, if you want more control over which cookies you accept, go ahead and check the box; the following options are available only if you do so.
• First Party Cookies are cookies that come from the website you're currently looking at. For instance, if you're on CNN.com, a cookie from CNN.com is considered a First Party Cookie. It's not a bad idea to accept First Party Cookies.
• Third Party Cookies are cookies that come from a website other than the one you're currently on. For example, if you're reading an article at CNN.com, a cookie that comes to your computer from DoubleClick.com is considered a Third Party Cookie. Third Party Cookies are usually from advertisers who may be tracking your movements through the Web so they can target advertising to you. You probably won't lose any functionality by blocking Third Party Cookies.
• A Session Cookie lasts only until you close your browser. In other words, it lasts as long as you're on the Web at any given time, and no longer. So when you check the box that says Always allow session cookies, you're telling the computer that it's fine to accept any cookie -- as long as it won't last after you get off the Web that day.
• A Persistent Cookie, on the other hand, is stored on your computer for an amount of time determined by the cookie itself. In fact, persistent cookies can be stored for years!
• Last but not least is the Prompt option. In previous versions of Internet Explorer, this was the option that gave you, the user, the most control -- but also virtually guaranteed lunacy within a few hours. This was because Internet Explorer would ask you whether you wanted to accept a cookie every single time someone tried to send one to your computer. Happily, Internet Explorer has introduced a new feature whereby the prompt allows you to either accept or block a cookie -- and to apply the results of that decision to all future cookies from the same website (below).