TECH

Not all cookies created equal

Life, James Hein, Published on 15/02/2017

» I was on a technical support call recently after having problems accessing a service provider's product. The advice given was "Use Internet Explorer and make sure to clear all cookies and cache". There are multiple issues here. The first is coding to a single browser platform, and all too often that is still Internet Explorer. According to www.w3counter.com, the current usage stats for browsers is Chrome at the top (with 58.4%), followed by Safari (13.3%), Firefox (9.5%), IE and Edge (8.1%), and Opera (4.4%). Another problem is with the advice to clear all cookies. This is like using an atomic bomb to get rid of a mosquito. If you have years of cookies working for you, then one bad one shouldn't be taken care of by getting rid of the lot. I advised the help-desk staff member to review their suggestions, especially since this was the first time I had used IE to access that site, so there would be a fresh cookie.