Browser recommendations & flash cookies

Hi,

I have used Firefox for years but am considering using other browsers. I got a new pc recently and have not been quite as happy with FF in its latest version at seems somewhat slower. I have heard that Chrome is very fast so am interested in that and may also try Safari for windows also. I was wondering what recommendations users here may have. Actually now that I have started looking into it I am likely to go with the Iron browser as it seems that is the same as Chrome only without all feedback sent to Google, is that correct?

Related to this I have only recently come to know about flash cookies. I have removed my cookies after each surfing session for years but did not know about the flash ones. It seems private browsing in FF or Chrome should prevent those but in some places I read they do and in others it says they don't so I am not sure. Also, is private browsing mode basically the same thing as manually clearing all history, cache, cookies etc only all the time? And do the extentions that claim to remove flash cookies like click & clean for Chrome completely remove everything? Is there an extention similar to click & clean in Iron? Lastly are the safety and security features of Safari for windows good as well? And would anyone recommend that browser in terms of security and speed?

I know these are a lot of questions but I am trying to learn and understand all these issues better and although I have tried to research it I am often finding conflicting info and know there are many experts here so am looking for any advice. Thank you.

roark

 

I don't have any specific answers but if you do decide to go down the Chrome road, I'd suggest you use the regular Chrome and not any of its derivatives if you want to use extensions without too much head-scratching. The regular Chrome has built-in options if you want to turn off feedback to Google during browsing.

 

Couple of links for you:

http://support.mozilla.com/en-us/kb/private browsing

http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager02.html#118539

You can easily create a desktop shortcut to the Macromedia/Flash folders located on your machine.
Then you can pick and choose which ones you want to remove, and simply remove them manually.

I selectively remove mine every so often, but find no need to remove any of them after every single browsing session.

'Allow third-party content' in the Settings Manager means you'll be able to see videos being fed from a site different from the one you're viewing them on.
And selecting 'none' for the amount of data storage space a website can use doesn't really mean 'none'-- it just means the minimum of 10kb.
That will allow for the requisite .sol settings storage, but will prevent those folders from continuing to grow in size and store large amounts of data in between removals.

Flash, Flash settings, and Flash storage are not the Devil incarnate.
As long as you're aware of how Flash goes about its business and take a few steps to exert some control over it (which, obviously, is what you're inquiring about), there's not much to it.

Just keep in mind that these .sol files are the settings you've made for individual websites-- so removing them means that the Settings Manager may revert back to the default for that website.

Personally, I'd rather leave the Flash folders on my machine for a while than go through the pop-up questionnaire routine every time I watch an online embedded video, or to be constantly rechecking my Manager settings.
But to each their own.

 

Okay thanks for the replies. If I do remove the flash cookies manually it seems the .sol files can all be removed if I choose but can I also safely delete the settings file too? I thought even I did remove it would come back when using flash again, does that sound right? Thanks.

roark

 

One of the listed add-ons at FF is Better Privacy - it handles flash cookies. Check the developers web page for more info on the cookies.
http://netticat.ath.cx/BetterPrivacy/BPHelp.html
Also note if you use CCleaner, it will clear them if you select Adobe Flash Player.

 

The .sol file *is* the settings file.
Yes, they return-- the next time you use a website that has Flash video on it and without a folder currently on your machine. That's what the pop-up questionnaire is all about.

When you remove those folders and .sol files, the Settings Manager goes back to default until you take action to make different preference.
This is why removing them constantly can put you in 'ping-pong mode' between that and the Settings Manager.
Not worth it, imo. Clean them out once in a while, recheck/re-establish your preferences once in a while.

 

Do consider ChromePlus too.

 

Thanks for mentioning ChromePlus as I was not aware of it before. I spent some of the weekend looking into Iron, Chrome+, and Chrome and in some ways I may be even more confused now. I think I am most interested in Chrome itself as I like many of its features but there are two big things that make me hesitant to install it. One is the auto updater which from the best I can tell cannot be changed to manual. I don't understand why there is no option as it seems Google has adjusted some of the other privacy concerns but not this one. That being said as much as I hate to I am considering using trying Chrome anyway and letting it update this way but I don't really like it. The other problem is I have read on this board that it is not so simple to uninstall Chrome and I don't want to have problems if I want to remove it. I think Chrome+ may be a better choice and are there any here that use it and really like it? It and Iron do not seem to be as updated or have the latest features but maybe they do it is just harder for me to find out about them. Also does Chrome+ uninstall easily and completely?

Anyway thanks again.

roark

 

I'm a bleeding edge kind of guy so I use the latest Chromium builds, via Chromium Updater.