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Browsers Are Waging War On Third Party Cookies

By September 18, 2019May 16th, 2022Technology News

website on laptop - olmecDo you use Mozilla’s Firefox browser?  If so, then you should know that their most recent release, Firefox 69 has a new feature designed to help prevent companies from tracking you. Don’t be mistaken by correlating it with popular private browsing options available on browsers. If you update to Firefox 69, the new feature will be automatically enabled as part of the browser’s Enhanced Tracking Protection feature considering the importance of cybersecurity.  If you want to be tracked, you’ll have to go into the browser’s settings and choose to enable it.

The move is almost universally seen as a positive, and it’s prompting other major browsers to take similar action towards enhancing the internet browser security. Google is a bit behind Mozilla in that regard, but in the company’s most recent Chrome Canary build, Google has added a new experimental flag called “Enable Improved Cookie Controls UI.”

If you choose to enable the flag, you’ll see a new “Block Third-Party Cookies” option on the “Cookies and Site Data” screen. Once enabled, Chrome will automatically block all third-party tracking website cookies sent by any site you visit.

If you’re surfing in Incognito Mode, you’ll see a new button on the Omnibar that will display a new dialogue informing you that third-party cookie blocking is on. It will give you a running count of the number of sites Chrome is blocking from.  Also present on the dialogue box will be the option to turn the feature off for the site you’re presently visiting, giving you one touch control and convenience. But keep in mind that a latest lawsuit claimed Google Chrome Private Browsing isn’t really private.

No matter what browser mode you’re in, you can always access the list of cookies being blocked by clicking on the shield icon next to the URL and clicking “Cookies” on the dialogue box that appears.

Eventually, this feature is likely to make its way into all versions of Chrome. For now, if you want to give the feature a test drive, you’ll need to download and install Chrome Canary.  It’s a good idea, and a long time coming.  Kudos to both Mozilla and Google.

Jason Manteiga

Jason J. Manteiga, Vice President of Olmec Systems, has been part of the company for over the past 20 years. He believes that having a great work environment and supportive team, is the ultimate key to success. Since being in the IT realm for over 25 years, Jason, along with Olmec Systems, has been on the Inc. 5000 “List of America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies” and Channel Futures MSP 501 “Top Managed Service Providers in North America,” along with other awards and nominations. Jason earned his Bachelor Degree in Information Systems from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He also holds certifications in Microsoft MCSE, VMWare VCP, and Cisco CCNA. In his spare time, Jason is a contributor for The Center for Social & Legal Research (Privacy Exchange) and a member of the Morris County Chamber of Commerce. His hobbies include cycling and kayaking. He currently lives in New Jersey with his wife, two daughters and son.