Microsoft reportedly wants to replace the cookie

I also run Ccleaner when I close a browser and run Super Anti Spyware a couple times a day (On Demand).
This just happened to me a couple of day ago.

On this Forum a member posted a good movie to watch.
So I copy and pasted the name of the movie in the browser to check it out.
Watched a short preview but it acted a little funny. So I shut the browser down and ran Ccleaner and then Super Anti Spyware.
Super Anti Spyware found 17 tracking cookies. I know these cookies were not there before I watch the movie preview.

Now the bad news.
If Microsoft replaces cookies with something else then all the programs we use to remove cookies at the present time will have to be revamped to remove Microsoft's new wonder cookie.
It's a never ending battle for us.

In firefox its easier. Click tools-options-privacy. Under cookies, set keep until I close firefox.

Problem solved.

All cookies delete when browser is closed.

Although ccleaner is a awesome tool, it is not needed in this case (for clearing cookies) if someone is using firefox with those settings.

Although I believe the kind of cookie that Microsoft is talking about is something built into their actual software, something which cannot be removed easily. I doubt its a simple web cookie.

There are also so-called super cookies and Flash cookies.

CCleaner is supposed to "nuke" Flash cookies.

I got this little itching feeling that Microsoft is going to design a super cookie that will be hard to remove without special treatment. Otherwise what would be the reason for the super cookie.

Layback Bear said:

I got this little itching feeling that Microsoft is going to design a super cookie that will be hard to remove without special treatment. Otherwise what would be the reason for the super cookie.

Who needs cookie, when you can be tracked in the OS?

Windows 8.1's smart search had integrated Bing search into the OS, that's activated through the search charm. The default setting for the search charm is to search "Everywhere" and get personalized results from Bing. Presumably, Microsoft will use the product key and the registered user's information to track their search activities and store it on their servers. See, no cookies are needed...

The default settings of the search charm can be changed to disable Bing integration and that sounds good on the surface. The problem is, that MS is still sending the search terms and results to MS servers. When the search charm is activated:

1. The OS will establish a TLS 1.2 encrypted connection to an MS server
2. The search term(s) and local search results are sent MS
3. The local results are displayed and Bing search results are suppressed

You can test this with Wireshark; it is only the search charm that triggers this connection, regardless of its settings. The Windows explorer, and other searches do not trigger a connection to the MS server. At least at the moment that is the case with the 8.1 preview version, subject to change in the soon to be released final version.

If MS does not change the behavior of the search charm in the final version, then simply don't use the search charm if you don't want to be tracked. Tablets are a different story, where you'll probably have no choice. The alternative is to block access to the MS servers on you router/firewall.

I wonder if the next SP version for Windows 7 will include Bing search integration as "feature enhancement"?

Cr00zng said:

Who needs cookie, when you can be tracked in the OS?

You should have seen the howls of outrage when Ubuntu introduced a similar system earlier this year (13.04?).

Obviously the people in MS, who read those articles, didn't make it to the "punch line".

Cr00zng said:

I wonder if the next SP version for Windows 7 will include Bing search integration as "feature enhancement"?

It will probably be slipped in under the guise of a "Security Update".
"An issue has been identified ... "

I for one believe it's a stellar idea. Another glorious step on the road to removing that increasingly pesky antiquated notion of "privacy".

We should be ashamed of ourselves for resisting such beneficial measures. Knowing I'm being targeted and monitored provides me with a sense of well being that I'm doing my bit in becoming the ideal consumer. After all, it's always been my life ambition. It's very selfish and detrimental to want to remain as an individual. Advertisers are benevolent and really do care about us. It's not insidious manipulation at all. Who are we to deny them our money? The sooner we yield, the better it will be to not have that onerous task of thinking for ourselves.