While rummaging around in my cookie jar, I found this message--along with some cookies. :Netscape HTTP Cookie File :# http://www.netscape.com/newsref/std/cookie_spec.html :# This is a generated file! Do not edit. Rather than bring down my system by experimenting, I thought I'd ask the list, "What happens if I delete this file?" and "What happens if I delete (edit) the cookies?" This may have been discussed before, but until now I never checked for cookies. Thanks for your consideration of this matter. Vanished
On Sat, 29 Jun 1996 vanished@alpha.c2.org wrote:
While rummaging around in my cookie jar, I found this message--along with some cookies.
:Netscape HTTP Cookie File :# http://www.netscape.com/newsref/std/cookie_spec.html :# This is a generated file! Do not edit.
"What happens if I delete this file?"
Nothing (other than the file getting deleted).
"What happens if I delete (edit) the cookies?"
They get deleted/edited. When I was testing some cookie stuff, I regularly deleted several cookies manually while Netscape was running, with no ugliness resulting. Since there is no way to delete them from Netscape itself, vi is about the best option. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Jeremey Barrett Senior Software Engineer jeremey@forequest.com The ForeQuest Company http://www.forequest.com/ "less is more." -- Mies van de Rohe. Ken Thompson has an automobile which he helped design. Unlike most automobiles, it has neither speedometer, nor gas gage, nor any of the numerous idiot lights which plague the modern driver. Rather, if the driver makes any mistake, a giant "?" lights up in the center of the dashboard. "The experienced driver", he says, "will usually know what's wrong." -- 'fortune` output
A Nym Writes:
While rummaging around in my cookie jar, I found this message-- along with some cookies.
:Netscape HTTP Cookie File :# http://www.netscape.com/newsref/std/cookie_spec.html :# This is a generated file! Do not edit.
Rather than bring down my system by experimenting, I thought I'd ask the list, "What happens if I delete this file?" and "What happens if I delete (edit) the cookies?"
This may have been discussed before, but until now I never checked for cookies.
Thanks for your consideration of this matter.
HTTP servers are permitted to store up to 4k bytes of information of their choice on your machine, which is returned to them upon request the next time you access their system. This allows the servers to maintain a client state which persists across separate accesses. Nothing will happen if you delete the file, other than that servers will not remember information they stored on the client side during your previous visits. If you edit the file, which is binary, you may possibly mess it up and choke the software that uses it. There are some minor privacy implications for "Cookies", but they have been discussed on the list before. -- Mike Duvos $ PGP 2.6 Public Key available $ mpd@netcom.com $ via Finger. $
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- On Sat, 29 Jun 1996 vanished@alpha.c2.org wrote:
While rummaging around in my cookie jar, I found this message--along with some cookies.
:Netscape HTTP Cookie File :# http://www.netscape.com/newsref/std/cookie_spec.html :# This is a generated file! Do not edit.
Rather than bring down my system by experimenting, I thought I'd ask the list, "What happens if I delete this file?" and "What happens if I delete (edit) the cookies?"
I know that there were already several replies so I'll just add a little more information. If you are in DOS, you can prevent the cookies file from being written to by making it read-only (attrib +r cookies.txt). Ditto for UNIX. Also, if you have Netscape 3.04b, you can enable a security option that notifies you whenever a server attempts to send you a cookie. - -- Mark =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= markm@voicenet.com | finger -l for PGP key 0xe3bf2169 http://www.voicenet.com/~markm/ | d61734f2800486ae6f79bfeb70f95348 "Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows." --George Orwell, _1984_ -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.3 Charset: noconv iQCVAwUBMdbi4bZc+sv5siulAQGybAP9Fs9eo/8/eiWPRrv7Y8u4jVUbwFFAk6/2 MAkNZJ4IgaZpKmb2lLZwmLbYtbE6sZ1W/KE7N5Hgm84M6vhKGI05vRazgGzHxjlX u6s3dgBnc3ojokd61ZgJA/tXRasNEjRKNuH7AiYuqMym+rkrUxFfNQPcpnCDAyh4 MrpmZcQ0ByY= =xFS+ -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
participants (4)
-
Jeremey Barrett -
Mark M. -
mpd＠netcom.com -
vanished＠alpha.c2.org