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Crush the Internet Cookie Monster

The $15 Cookie Crusher 2.0 lets you see what each incoming cookie means to do.

By Stan Miastkowski, PCWorld   

If you object to cookies on general principles, it's easy enough to set up your browser to not accept them, or sweep them away them by simply deleting the cookie.txt file in your browser subdirectory each time you log off. Some shareware packages (see the links at right) automate the process.

But Cookie Crusher 2,0, a $15 utility from The Limit Software, lets you handle cookies in real time from within your browser. A free evaluation version of the program is available on the company's Web site.

What's This Cookie For?
Although you can set up the utility to accept or reject all cookies, it's handiest in its full-interactive mode. When a Web site sends a cookie, Cookie Crusher pops up a screen that displays the cookie contents.

New in version 2.0, Cookie Crusher shows the function of the cookie (site tracking, ad tracking, or online shopping), which aids you in deciding what to do with it. You can accept or reject the cookie for the current session only, or tell the program to always accept or always reject it. If you usually visit a handful of favorite sites and use the "always" choices, Cookie Crusher builds a database of how to handle cookies from specific sites, and will only pop up as you visit new sites.

The program also lets you manually enter sites from which you want to accept or reject cookies every time they're accessed. And it lets you view a list of cookies that are stored on your PC, with detailed information on the Web site that sent them, what they're for, and when they expire. Armed with this information, you can then decide whether to keep or delete each one.

Cookie Crusher 2.0 works with Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.x and above and Netscape Navigator 3.x and above, running on Windows 9x and NT. It starts when you open your browser and unloads itself when you exit.

After using Cookie Crusher for a week, I was surprised by how pervasive Web cookies are. If you're concerned about the flood, Cookie Cruncher 2.0 is an inexpensive and effective way to insure basic Web privacy.