Using Netscape, Firefox, or Mozilla, how do I view and control cookies?
On March 1, 2008, AOL ended official development of and support for Netscape software. If you use Netscape, consider switching to Mozilla programs such as Firefox, Thunderbird, or SeaMonkey. You can still download releases of Netscape from 4.x through 9.x from the Netscape Archive, and you may be able to find unofficial support through links on this site. UITS will continue to support Netscape for the present.
How you view your cookies depends upon your operating system as well as your browser. To view your cookies and control your browser's cookie settings using Netscape, Firefox, or Mozilla, follow the appropriate directions below:
Viewing your cookies
You can view your cookie files by following the appropriate steps below. Alternately, in more recent versions of Netscape or Mozilla, you can view cookie files by following the instructions in the "Changing your cookie settings" section below.
Netscape 4.x or later or Mozilla for Windows
Search for the file cookies.txt on your hard drive. For
help in finding files, see In Windows, how do I locate a file if I know its name or its contents?
Netscape or Mozilla for Mac OS or Mac OS X
In the Finder, from the File menu, select
Find... . Then search for the file
MagicCookie. If there is more than one such file, the one
you want will be inside the folder named after your Netscape
profile. To view the file contents, open the MagicCookie
file in BBEdit, Alpha, or another text editor.
Changing your cookie settings
Netscape 8.x
- From the
Toolsmenu, selectOptions.
- In the left pane, click
Privacy.
- Click the plus sign next to "Cookies", and choose the
action you would like:
- To view the cookies stored on your computer, click
View Cookies. In the window that appears, you can view the cookies on your computer and remove any or all of them. - In the box next to "Keep Cookies", select the time period you wish to keep cookies on your computer.
- To remove cookies stored on your computer, click the
Clearbutton. In the confirmation window that appears, clickOK.
- To view the cookies stored on your computer, click
- Click
OKuntil you return to theNetscapewindow.
Firefox 1.5.x
- From the
Toolsmenu, selectOptions.
- At the top of the window that appears, click
Privacy.
- From the
Cookiestab, choose the action you wish to take:
- To view the cookies stored on your computer, click the
View Cookiesbutton. In the window that appears, you can view the cookies on your computer, search for cookies, and remove any or all of the listed cookies. - To allow sites to set cookies on your computer, select the
Allow sites to set Cookiesoption. To specify which sites are always or never allowed to use cookies, click theExceptionsbutton. Back in the cookies window, you can select extra options to allow sites to set cookies for the originating site only, and/or only if you have removed cookies set by the site. - In the box next to "Keep Cookies", select the time period you wish to keep cookies on your computer.
- If you wish to specify how the browser should clear the private
data it stores, click the
Settingsbutton at the bottom of the window. You can specify the items to be cleared as well as the settings used to clear them. - To remove all cookies stored on your computer, click
Clear Cookies Now.
- To view the cookies stored on your computer, click the
- Click
OKuntil you return to the Firefox window.
Netscape 6.x, 7.x, and Mozilla
- From the
Editmenu, selectPreferences.... In Netscape 7.x and Mozilla for Mac OS X, from theMozillaorNetscapemenu, selectPreferences....
- In the left pane, under "Privacy & Security", select
Cookies.
- On the right side of the
Preferenceswindow, choose the action you wish from the list below:
- Select the appropriate radio button to disable cookies, enable all
cookies, or to enable cookies only from the originating web site.
This means that your browser will not accept cookies from third-party or
advertising companies. In Netscape 7.x, you can also choose to enable
cookies based on privacy policies. For more information about this
option, click
View. - In Netscape 7.x, for added security, you may opt to disable cookies in mail and newsgroups, as well as having Netscape ask you before it stores a cookie on your computer. You can also limit the length of time the cookie can be stored on your computer.
- To remove all cookies stored on your computer, click
Manage Stored Cookies(in Netscape 6.x, clickView Stored Cookies). In theCookie Managerwindow that opens, you can remove cookies, as well as view information about each cookie.
- Select the appropriate radio button to disable cookies, enable all
cookies, or to enable cookies only from the originating web site.
This means that your browser will not accept cookies from third-party or
advertising companies. In Netscape 7.x, you can also choose to enable
cookies based on privacy policies. For more information about this
option, click
- Click
OKuntil you return to theNetscapewindow.
Netscape 4.x
- From the
Editmenu, selectPreferences....
- In the left pane, beneath "Category:", select
Advanced.
- On the right side of the
Preferenceswindow, find the "Cookies" section.
- Select the appropriate radio button to disable cookies, to accept
all cookies, or to only accept cookies from the originating
server. This last option means that your browser will not accept
third-party or advertisers' cookies. Additionally, you can select the
checkbox beside
Warn me before accepting a cookie.
- Click
OKuntil you return to theNetscapewindow.
For Netscape 3.x
Note: You cannot disable cookies in Netscape Navigator version 3.04.
- To enable or disable warnings before accepting cookies, from the
Optionsmenu, selectNetwork Preferences....
- Click the
Protocolstab.
- In the "Show an Alert Before" section, if you check the
Accepting a Cookiebox, Netscape will give you the option of declining cookies when you encounter them.
- Click
OKuntil you return to theNetscapewindow.
Also see:
- For Mac OS and Mac OS X, what text editors are available?
- What are cookies?
- In Microsoft Internet Explorer for Windows, how do I view and control cookies?
Last modified on April 17, 2008.






