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Safari Cookie Privacy Workaround |
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This Entry: Date: 2005-04-18 Time: 22:57 Comments: 0 Return To: Recent Entries | |||
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Safari Cookie Privacy WorkaroundI like the Safari web browser, but it is lacking a privacy option that I think is important. I want Safari to accept cookies, but to throw them away at the end of my session. Background about cookies for those not in the know: The web serves files over transient connections. That means that if you request two web pages in a row from the same server, the server has no idea that you are the same person requesting both pages. This is both a great benefit and a terrible mistake in terms of system design. It is a benefit because (amongst other reasons) the powers that be have trouble tracking an individual to profile their use of the web. It is a mistake because many sites (think of your online banking) want to establish a session with you; they want to authenticate you using your password and then exchange a number of requests with someone who they hope continues to be you. To partially mitigate the problem, Netscape developed the Cookie system. It was a silly name, but the idea was OK… The website essentially tells your web browser to take a number, and present that number whenever it asks for a page. Now you can have sessions, because that number identifies you. As long as the server gives out numbers intelligently, it can be reasonably sure that you are still you. This is how your online banking works. Cookies have a light side and a dark side. They can help you do your online banking and then expire when you quit your browser. The site that hands it out can also ask that it be retained until a certain time; this is more problematic. This is how Amazon.com always seems to know your name, your browsing habits and what books you might like. As you know, many browsers allow you to switch off cookies. This is a bad trade-off, however, if you want to do any banking online, or establish a session with any website at all. A few very good browsers allow you to do something smart: accept all the cookies, but throw them away when your browser is closed — even if the website had asked that they be kept indefinitely. That means that Amazon can try to track you (and they will, while your browser is open) but tomorrow you look like a new person they’ve never seen before. Meanwhile your banking keeps working. Safari does not support this option. Which is my biggest irritation with it. However, someone has found a way to manipulate the filesystem permissions to produce the same effect! There’s a discussion of how to do it here. I haven’t tried it in Tiger, but it works in Panther!
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