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Jack Durham

Q: How to Force Remove All Website Data

I had a false Virus Alert, And got rid of the lock up, but have been unable to "Remove All Website Data" in the Preferences "Privacy". Every time I remove the data, it comes right back with 206 stored cookies. Any suggestions for getting rid of these cookies permanently?

iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Feb 8, 2016 10:50 AM

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Q: How to Force Remove All Website Data

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  • by Linc Davis,Helpful

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Feb 8, 2016 11:33 AM in response to Jack Durham
    Level 10 (207,973 points)
    Applications
    Feb 8, 2016 11:33 AM in response to Jack Durham

    Safari automatically checks certain sites for updates:

         Top Sites

         Subscribed feeds

         Sites that you've selected for Quick Website Search

         Pages that turn up as Top Search Hits

         Pinned tabs

    Cookies and databases from those sites will be reloaded even if you don't visit them. If there are particular sites that you don't want to accept cookies from, follow the instructions in the support articles linked above to exclude them. Note that if you visit a page often, it may be added to your Top Sites unless all the available slots are already occupied by pinned sites.

    Cookies can also be created by elements, such as ads and invisible "web bugs," that come from a different web server than the one you browsed to. You can block some of those cookies in the Privacy tab of the Safari preferences window.

    To block all cookies from a site selectively, you'll need to use third-party software or a different browser. I don't have a specific recommendation.

    The file in which web cookies are stored may also be used by third-party applications that use the same mechanism as Safari for communicating with web servers. Those apps may add cookies from sites that you've never visited in Safari.