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OK, so I've checked 'ask websites not to track me' in the Safari preferences.
But, if I check tracking cookies (using 'Cookie Stumbler' or 'Cookie') it's clear that Safari isn't blocking many (if any) tracking cookies!
What, exactly, does 'ask websites not to track me' do?
Why can't Apple offer a version of Safari that offers complete privacy/security?!
From Mac Help:
"
... Some third parties keep track of your browsing activities when they serve you content, which enables them to tailor what they present to you. If this option is selected, each time Safari fetches content from a website, Safari adds a request not to track you.
"
If you want something closer to "complete privacy/security" use the Private Browsing mode.
I may be wrong but I don't think "private browsing" has anything to do with tracking cookies.
"Private browsing" is supposed to prevent the storage of all cookies (among other things).
The description of private browsing in the Safari menu:
"Safari can keep your browsing history private. When you turn on private browsing, Safari doesn’t remember the pages you visit, your search history, or your AutoFill information."
Nothing about Safari blocking tracking cookies.
If you have a better description, I'd be grateful for the URL...
From Safari Help: (Search under "Private Browsing", emphasis is mine):
"You can prevent others from gaining access to information about websites you visit by turning on Private Browsing. If you do this, Safari stops storing your browsing history, your website passwords, and cookies and other information for websites you visit."
Private Browsing does not prevent cookies, you have to turn those off manually in Safari Preferences/Security.
To prevent tracking cookies once and for all install Ghostery:
I have BOTH Ghostery and Cookie Stumbler installed on a MacBook Air running 10.8.2 and Safari 6.0.2.
Cookie Stumbler reliably finds dozens of tracking cookies after only a few hours of browsing, Ghostery notwithstanding! I can clean the tracking cookies and 'black list' the websites but that's a battle that one could do several times a day and still wind up with lots and lots of tracking cookies, every day. Maybe Ghostery is preventing those cookies from doing any communicating with third parties, but Ghostery is NOT preventing tracking cookies from being installed!
Safari is set to 'ask websites not to track me', too. I have serious doubts about whether that particular setting (in Safari) does anything at all -- it sure as heck doesn't block tracking cookies from being installed.
The only thing I haven't done is to block cookies entirely, in Safari. I haven't done that because there are several websites that are password protected and I don't want to remember/enter the passwords every time!
But I don't believe I have come accross ANY browsing setup that (a) blocks all tracking cookies, all the time and (b) can be set to allow only specific password cookies to be saved.
I'm no expert and would welcome any input...
Your mileage obviously differs. I never see any tracking cookies since using Ghostery.
Sorry to disillusion you but, believe me, Ghostery is NOT sufficient to eradicate tracking cookies.
As I said, I'm no expert, and it may be that Ghostery is keeping tracking cookies resident on your system from communicating with third parties. But the tracking cookies are there.
Both 'Cookie Stumbler' and 'Cookie', available in the App Store (I think) can confirm this.
I don't feel disillusioned at all. It works for me. But then of course I also use Open DNS:
Adding Open DNS codes to your Network Preferences, should give good results in terms of speed-up as well as added security, (including anti-phishing and redirects) (Full information about Open DNS is here: http://www.opendns.com/home/nobloat ) and further independent information can be read here:
and here:
http://www.macworld.com/article/1146064/troubleshootdns.html?t=234
Open System Preferences/Network. Double click on your connection type, or select it in the drop-down menu, and in the box marked 'DNS Servers' add the following two numbers:
208.67.222.222
208.67.220.220
(You can also enter them if you click on Advanced and then DNS)
Safari do not track
