What's a cookie? Well, it's a small string of code that gets picked up by your browser (much like a person might pick up, say, a warm-chocolate chip cookie from the table, if it just happened to be lying around), and can potentially be harmful to your computer.
Cookies are used by third-party (read: not you) websites to track your activity, and record the little pieces of data you enter in any site. Your name, address, credit card number, or anything you input into a form is usually recorded by a cookie, so it's important to routinely clear your browser and dump those cookies in the trash. Most reputable websites (Amazon, eBay, PayPal) have enough security to keep third-party tracking out, and most cookies are harmless, but it's still important to be vigilant about security online.

Depending on what browser you use (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari etc.), you'll have to take different steps. Pick your browser from the following list, and get those cookies out!

Internet Explorer 6

1. Once your browser is open, select the Tools menu and click Internet Options and select the General tab.
2. To delete all cookies, in the Temporary Internet Files section, click Delete Cookies and press OK.
3. If you wish to delete only specific cookies and keep others, instead of Step 2:
1. Click the Settings button, then click View Files.
2. Scroll through the list and select the cookies you want to delete.
3. Multiple cookies can be selected by holding down the CTRL key while clicking.
4. Press the Delete key.
5. Press OK on any dialog boxes that appear.

Internet Explorer 7

1. Once your browser is open, select the Tools menu and click Internet Options and select the General tab.
2. To delete all cookies, in the Browsing History section, click Delete...
3. Then click Delete cookies...
4. Click Yes.
5. If you wish to delete only specific cookies and keep others, instead of Step 2:
1. Click the Settings button, then click View Files.
2. Scroll through the list and select the cookies you want to delete.
3. Multiple cookies can be selected by holding down the CTRL key while clicking.
4. Press the Delete key.
5. Press OK on any dialog boxes that appear.

Internet Explorer 8

1. Once your browser is open, select the Tools menu and click Internet Options and select the General tab.
2. To delete all cookies, in the Browsing History section, click Delete...
3. Then check the box next to Cookies... Check the other boxes at your own discretion.
4. Click Delete.
5. If you wish to delete only specific cookies and keep others, instead of Step 2:
1. Click the Settings button, then click View Files.
2. Scroll through the list and select the cookies you want to delete.
3. Multiple cookies can be selected by holding down the CTRL key while clicking.
4. Press the Delete key.
5. Press OK on any dialog boxes that appear.

Firefox 1.5

1. Once your browser is open, select the Tools menu and click Options (may also be under Edit -> Preferences depending on your version) and select the Privacy button.
2. Select the Cookies tab.
3. To delete all cookies click the Delete All Cookies button.
4. To delete specific cookies, click View Cookies and look through the list of the sites you wish to delete the cookies for, and press Remove Cookies. You can even expand each site to delete specific cookies from each site.

Firefox 3.0.10

1. Once your browser is open, select the Tools menu and click Options...and select the Privacy tab.
2. Click the Show Cookies button.
3. To delete all cookies click the Remove All Cookies button.
4. To delete specific cookies, click View Cookies and look through the list of the sites you wish to delete the cookies for, and press Remove Cookies. You can even expand each site to delete specific cookies from each site.

Firefox 3.5.3

1. Once your browser is open, select the Tools menu and click Clear Recent History
2. Select a timeframe from the Time Range to Clear dropdown menu. It is generally best to select Everything.
3. In the details list, make sure Cookies are selected. If you also want to clear your cache, make sure that is selected as well.
4. Click Clear Now.
5. To delete specific cookies, you will need to go to the Tools menu and click Page Info, then click the Security tab. Click View Cookies and look through the list of the sites you wish to delete the cookies for (you may have to remove the text in the Search field for this), and press Remove Cookies. You can even expand each site to delete specific cookies from each site.

Opera

1. Once your browser is open, select the Tools menu and click Delete Private Data and click the Details button.
2. If you wish to keep things such as history, saved passwords, cache, etc., uncheck those items and click Delete. You may get a dialog that says "Active transfer has not been removed." if you are currently downloading a file.
3. If you want to only delete certain cookies, click Tools and hover Advanced and click Cookies. From this screen, you can search for and select cookies to be deleted. To do so, select the select the site or the individual cookie and click Delete.

Konqueror

1. Once your browser is open, select the Settings menu and click Configure Konqueror.
2. Scroll down and select Cookies.
3. Click the Management tab.
4. Select the cookies you wish to delete and click Delete, or click Delete All to delete all cookies.

Google Chrome

1. Once your browser is open, press Control + Shift + Delete.
2. Ensure that delete cookies is selected.
3. Click clear browsing data. Alternatively you can click the spanner icon in the top left, select clear browsing data and repeat steps 2 and 3.

Safari

1. Go to the menu labeled "Safari"
2. Select the sub-menu "Preferences..."
3. Select the "Show Cookies" button
4. Select all the remaining cookies showing in the window and click "Remove All"

For an instructional video, check out WikiHow

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