Windows 7: Adobe tackling 'Flash cookie' privacy issue

Adobe Systems is offering assurances that it's adapting Flash Player to make it easier for people to protect their identities online.

Since time immemorial, browsers have been able to store small text files called cookies that Web sites have been able to use to track people's identity online--for example when Amazon wants to present product suggestions.

That's always raised hackles among those who'd rather not register their identities with any number of servers on the Internet, so for years people have been able to manage cookies, including rejecting them in the first place or deleting them at will.

"Representatives from several key companies, including Adobe, Mozilla and Google have been working together to define a new browser API (NPAPI ClearSiteData) for clearing local data, which was approved for implementation on January 5, 2011," Huang said. "Any browser that implements the API will be able to clear local storage for any plug-in that also implements the API," Huang said.