We at RiverSongs do not support the use of cookies, as we find this practice no different than a phone tap,  (we consider it an invasion of privacy). So we do not use them at all. This is not to say that you can not get cookies by visiting our site, as we have numerous links to other sites, and do not control their use of cookies. We do recommend you remove unnecessary cookies to protect your privacy on a regular basis.

Web cookies are simply small information packets placed on your computer when you browse websites. Not all websites have these, but many do. Websites use cookies so they can track what you are viewing, and although they won't necessarily know you by name, the website will recognize your computer when you come back to visit again. Although in some cases they are useful, most of the time they are used in tracing your browsing habits for advertising purposes. Cookies alone can not read your hard drive for information such as, "who you are", "what your income is", or "where you live". But if you input that information on a website that uses cookies, that information could well be stored in that particular cookie.

What to do: Although there are numerous software programs to help you remove unwanted internet junk from your computer, there are plenty of ways to do it yourself without paying additional dollars. There is one key folder on your machine that holds these cookies. For most its the "Temporary Internet Files" folder. In "Windows", go to "My Computer", then double click your "C" drive, double click the "Windows" folder. At this point many of you will be prompted to "show files", click where it says "show files". Scroll down until you find the Temporary Internet Files folder. Here you will most likely see numerous files of many different types. The cookie file icon will look like a little "Notepad", (see the image above), and many will start with a title of "Cookie". Many will then show your name or your computers name, followed by the @ sign, and then the website address that controls that particular cookie. You could simply right click the cookie and delete them one by one, or you could; click on one and then hold your shift key and then click one further down to eliminate a lot at one time. Other ways include; 1. From Internet Explorer 6.0, click the tools drop down menu, select internet options, look for the "delete cookies" button and press it, (pretty simple!).  2. Go to Start, then Programs, then Accessories, then System tools, and click on Disk Cleanup. Special Note; disk cleanup will remove nearly all of the temporary internet files regardless of their type. It may then take you longer to load pages of sites you visit regularly because you have removed the images that you have already downloaded from those sites, (you will have to download them again). These last two methods may not get rid of all the cookies, so if you use either of these methods you should manually check the Temporary Internet Files folder manually, as described above.

To further cut down and protect yourself, the following is only available for  Internet Explorer 6.0 users. Click "Tools", click Internet Options, then click the Privacy tab. Adjust your cookie level settings by dragging the slide bar. We have tested this and found the best compromise setting to be "Medium High". The Higher levels will disable you from visiting many sites altogether. You can always test it and come back to the dialog box and make the changes that suit you. One more unique feature in this dialog box that you should not overlook is near the bottom, the "Edit" button. This will allow you to "allow" or "never allow" cookies from particular websites and links, (URL's), as you specify. Just type in the website address and click the button "Block" or "Allow". Good Stuff!

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