I cannot tell you how many times in the last few months I've been asked to clean, delete, or otherwise block cookies. It took me a little while to figure it out, but I know why you are all so concerned - it's because it seems like every time you go to a new website,  you are greeted with a big bold alert informing you that the website uses cookies, and asking for your permission. The use of cookies is nothing new, but the current barrage of consent requests is. 

Cookies are actually generally useful - they are small text files stored in your browser that contain two items - the website's name, and a user ID. When you visit a website, it checks your browser for its cookie, and, if it finds one, it connects your user id to the information it has stored about you on its server. Cookies let Amazon welcome you by name, they are how Target knows what you left in your shopping cart, and they allow you to your pay bills online without getting a new code from your bank each time you log in.

However, just because cookies make life more convenient doesn't mean they can't be problematic. Companies can use cookies to track your activities across the web. So the European Union enacted some pretty stringent laws about the use of cookies for their members. One of the EU requirements is that websites need to notify you that they use cookies, and get your permission to put them on your computer.

We are not members of the EU, but we certainly visit many websites that are, and  many EU members visit US websites. So the recent spate of consent requests are merely the attempts by almost every legitimate website to meet current EU standards. Annoying, yes, but my advice is simply to agree, and then enjoy the website. I don't worry too much about cookies - they make my life a lot easier, and there are certainly worse dangers on the web to be concerned about. However, if you still want to get rid of your cookies, here's how to clear them on every browser.

You can blame it on Apple - they led the trend to eliminate all those pesky words, replacing them with a bunch of "intuitive", and sometimes hidden, icons and symbols to control the functions of websites, programs, and apps. I spend plenty of time pointing these out to my clients, so here's a list of several that are fairly common and very useful. Make sure you enable images in this email to read this chart!

	Share	Click on this to get options to share an image via social media, text message, email or link
	More	Click on this to find more functions, such as the option to print or delete an email. Sometimes this icon features horizontal rather than vertical dots.
	Gear	Takes you to settings, options, or more controls. Generally points you towards the "deepest" settings.
	Grid	Shows you other applications available through the same site. Used by Google and Microsoft, in particular, to switch between apps like email, calendar, and contacts
	Back	Takes you back one page or one step. An arrow pointing to the right will step you forward, often only available after you have gone back first.
	Refresh	Reloads the current page or image. Good for a "stuck" website.
	Hamburger	Officially called the "expand" icon, but nicknamed the hamburger because it resembles a patty and a bun, this will expand or contract a menu or navigation pane, like the mailboxes in a phone mail interface

 

Many of these icons only appear when they are relevant - for example, you may only get a "share" icon if you actually have something share-able selected. So don't be afraid to click, or tap, on the page or an item, and see if more options appear!   

Every month I post a few articles of interest on  my Facebook page. For those of you who don't follow me on Facebook, here are some of the stories I've featured in the past few months.

• And speaking of photos, this article from the Boston Globe gives some good advice about why and how to get them off your phone, and what to do with them once you do.

• There are still issues with IOS 12.1.4 - I would suggest holding off on updating if you can. However, if you have updated with no problems, you are fine. It seems the problems are worse for Sprint users, so keep that in mind.