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How To

How to: manage cookies in Internet Explorer 8

Amber Sass

Amber Sass

  • Updated:

Internet Explorer 9 is a big improvement over its predecessor. Unfortunately, the newest version of Microsoft’s popular browser isn’t compatible with Windows XP. For that, you’ll need to use Internet Explorer 8, which is still a solid browser by anyone’s estimation.

Cookies are pieces of information stored on your computer that personalize your experience every time you visit a website. If cookies are disabled on IE 8, you will often encounter problems such as being unable to complete an online purchase, among other important actions.

Fortunately, managing cookies in IE 8 is a relatively simple process. I’ll show you how to enable, disable and even delete your cookies entirely in a few simple steps!

Enabling cookies

1. Locate the Tools menu in the upper right corner of your browser. It’s in the same bar that loads your various website tabs.

2. Select Internet Options in the Tools menu.

3. A new window will appear. Click on the Privacy tab up top. It’s the third option from the left.

4. Beneath the Settings section, move the slider on the left to a Medium setting or below.

Every time you move the slider, new text will appear on the right-hand side that explains what the new setting will and will not allow in terms of cookies. Read this over to gain a better understanding of what you’re allowing or restricting at each different setting.

5. Once you’ve found the setting you want, click Apply at bottom, then OK.

Disabling cookies

In the same vein as enabling cookies, you can disable certain types of cookies by moving the slider in the Internet Options dialog box up to a higher setting. Just follow the steps for enabling cookies above, and move the slider up instead of down to block cookies you don’t want to have enabled.

Deleting cookies

In some instances, you might want to delete cookies entirely. This might be a good idea if you’re on a shared computer and don’t want someone to be able to log into things like your email account.

Deleting cookies is also a simple 5 step process:

1. Return to the Tools menu, just as you did when you wanted to enable or disable cookies.

2. Click Internet Options and wait for the new window to appear.

3. This time, you want to click on the General tab in the upper left instead of Privacy.

4. In the middle of the window, under the Browsing history section, click the Delete… button.

A new dialog box entitled Delete Browsing History will appear.

5. In this new dialog box, check the Cookies option, which is the third choice from the top. From there, click the Delete button at the bottom right.

This action will delete cookies that store your online preferences like login information.

There you have it – three easy ways to manage cookies on IE 8!

Amber Sass

Amber Sass

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