Editing Internet privacy (section)

===Flash cookies===
{{Main|Local shared object}}
When some users choose to disable [[HTTP]] cookies to reduce privacy risks as noted, new types of client-side storage were invented: since cookies are advertisers' main way of targeting potential customers, and some customers were deleting cookies, some advertisers started to use persistent Flash cookies and [[#Evercookies|zombie cookies]]. In a 2009 study, Flash cookies were found to be a popular mechanism for storing data on the top 100 most visited sites.<ref>{{cite web |last=Soltani |first=Ashkan |title=Flash Cookies and Privacy |url=http://www.aaai.org/ocs/index.php/SSS/SSS10/paper/download/1070/1505 |publisher=University of California, Berkeley |access-date=3 February 2012 |archive-date=27 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727165113/http://www.aaai.org/ocs/index.php/SSS/SSS10/paper/download/1070/1505 |url-status=live }}</ref> Another 2011 study of social media found that, "Of the top 100 web sites, 31 had at least one overlap between HTTP and Flash cookies."<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Heyman |first1=R. |last2=Pierson |first2=J. |year=2011 |title=Social media and cookies: challenges for online privacy |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235289770 |journal=The Journal of Policy, Regulation and Strategy for Telecommunications, Information and Media |volume=13 |pages=30–42}}</ref> However, modern browsers and anti-malware software can now block or detect and remove such cookies.

Flash cookies, also known as [[local shared object]]s, work the same way as normal cookies and are used by the [[Adobe Flash Player]] to store information on the user's computer. They exhibit a similar privacy risk as normal cookies, but are not as easily blocked, meaning that the option in most browsers to not accept cookies does not affect Flash cookies. One way to view and control them is with browser extensions or add-ons.
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Flash cookies are unlike HTTP cookies in the sense that they are not transferred from the client back to the server. Web browsers read and write these cookies and can track any data by web usage.<ref>{{cite web |last=Benninger |first=Corey |title=A Look At Flash Cookies and Internet Explorer Persistence |url=http://www.foundstone.com.au/us/resources/white-papers/foundstone/wp-ajax-storage.pdf |publisher=McAfee, Inc. |access-date=3 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120617200101/http://www.foundstone.com.au/us/resources/white-papers/foundstone/wp-ajax-storage.pdf |archive-date=2012-06-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Although browsers such as Internet Explorer 8 and Firefox 3 have added a "Privacy Browsing" setting, they still allow Flash cookies to track the user and operate fully. However, the Flash player browser plugin can be disabled<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.electrictoolbox.com/disable-flash-firefox/|title=How to disable Flash in Firefox|work=electrictoolbox.com|date=November 2009|access-date=2012-09-17|archive-date=2012-09-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120920112520/http://www.electrictoolbox.com/disable-flash-firefox/|url-status=live}}</ref> or uninstalled,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/alternates/|title=Adobe - Web Players|work=adobe.com|access-date=2012-09-17|archive-date=2012-09-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919210606/http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/alternates/|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Adobe Flash Player#Privacy|Flash cookies can be disabled on a per-site or global basis]]. Adobe's Flash and (PDF) Reader are not the only browser plugins whose past [[Internet security|security]] defects<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adobe.com/support/security/|title=Security Bulletins and Advisories|work=adobe.com|access-date=2012-09-17|archive-date=2010-04-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100406041941/http://www.adobe.com/support/security/|url-status=live}}</ref> have allowed [[spyware]] or [[malware]] to be installed: there have also been problems with Oracle's [[Java (programming language)|Java]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/topics/security/alert-cve-2012-4681-1835715.html|title=Alert for CVE-2012-4681|work=oracle.com|access-date=2012-09-17|archive-date=2019-10-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010060958/https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/topics/security/alert-cve-2012-4681-1835715.html|url-status=live}}</ref>