Tracking Cookies

fred · Post by **fred** » Fri Sep 24, 2010 3:45 pm

Could someone please explain how tracking cookies can be detected by Norton NIS 2010 and eliminated when the browser is always sandboxed? Shouldn't automatic deletion of the Sandboxie contents also delete any cookies? As far as I know, the only way tracking cookies come into a computer is through the browser.

Guest10 · Post by **Guest10** » Fri Sep 24, 2010 3:55 pm

It might help to know what browser you use.
And, maybe, what settings you have for it in Sandbox Settings > Applications > Web Browser

fred · Post by **fred** » Fri Sep 24, 2010 4:01 pm

I'm using Firefox 3.6.10, XP (SP3),Norton Internet Security 2010
Sandboxie is configured to delete automatically

Guest10 · Post by **Guest10** » Fri Sep 24, 2010 4:51 pm

How about the settings at:
Sandbox Settings > Applications > Web Browser > Firefox

fred128 · Post by **fred128** » Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:12 pm

The only item checked off is to allow access to Firefox phishing data base. I hope you can help because I just don't understand how Norton could have picked up tracking cookies after the sandbox was emptied.

Guest10 · Post by **Guest10** » Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:25 pm

Are you sure that it's Firefox generated cookies that are being found, and not cookies that are generated by Internet Explorer or some other browser?

Firefox cookies should not escape the sandbox if you haven't allowed it in those settings.
I don't suppose you've made any manual Sandboxie configuration settings for Firefox, without using the "Sandbox Settings" GUI, but instead by using Configure > Edit Configuration.

bo.elam · Post by **bo.elam** » Sat Sep 25, 2010 12:08 am

fred wrote:Could someone please explain how tracking cookies can be detected by Norton NIS 2010 and eliminated when the browser is always sandboxed? Shouldn't automatic deletion of the Sandboxie contents also delete any cookies? As far as I know, the only way tracking cookies come into a computer is through the browser.

On my case I always browse with FF Sandboxed and even though IE is not
being used, pretty much always when I run CCleaner, it finds IE cookies. Thats
probably your situation being that what Norton finds are cookies generated
when other applications use IE and those applications are not Sandboxed.
CCleaner never finds Firefox cookies, not even SAS has found a single cookie
from either browser since I been using SBIE. Dont doubt SBIE, it works.

Bo

fred · Post by **fred** » Sat Sep 25, 2010 5:45 am

It has to be that somebody went onto the computer using an unsandboxed IE browser. It's the only plausible explanation. Nothing else makes any sense.

VivaDalifa · Post by **VivaDalifa** » Wed Jan 12, 2011 8:29 pm

I have the same problem as well. I installed Sandboxie recently (version 3.5, windowsXP SP3) and it seems to me that cookies are able to- at least indirectly - escape the deletion of the sandbox contents. I used Mozilla Firefox sandboxed and both SuperAntispyware and CCleaner detected (tracking?) cookies after I closed Firefox (automatic sanbox deletion is enabled). The weird thing is they are Internet Explorer cookies not the Firefox ones! I normally never use Internet Explorer 8 but I opened it -unboxed- this time and disabled all cookies and this seemed to solve the issue (I will investigate further if this is indeed the case). I read carefully through the Sanboxie manual before I installed it and I am pretty sure I set it up correctly. The only direct access allowed for Firefox is the Phising database, i.e. the default setting. There is nothing ticked for Internet Explorer in Applications/web browser and -as I said- I never use it anyway. I always run CCleaner to delete cookies before I turn off my computer and I also have the Better Privacy add-on in Firefox, which deals with the Flash/LSO cookies automatically. Finally, there is no chance someone else used my computer to have an unboxed Explorer session since it is my personal, password-protected machine at home.

ssj100 · Post by **ssj100** » Wed Jan 12, 2011 8:58 pm

I'm not sure, but this may be an issue with cookies being created outside the sandbox following the installation of Firefox. For me, I always (re)-install Firefox outside the sandbox and then only force the browser (firefox.exe) to run sandboxed. You'll notice that when you install Firefox, you are automatically taken to some web-sites - perhaps cookies are generated during this process?

VivaDalifa · Post by **VivaDalifa** » Thu Jan 13, 2011 8:47 am

I am not sure what you are talking about, but I did the following experiment: started my computer, run ccleaner, no cookies present in its relevant window. Run sandboxed firefox, went to ebay, did some browsing, closed firefox (which-by the way- is set in automatic private browsing setting), sandboxie automatically deleted the contents of the default sandbox. Opened ccleaner again, there is an explorer ebay cookie in the cookie window. Deleted it, run the whole process again, the same thing happened again. Next, run firefox unboxed, went to plugins and disabled whatever was installed by Microsoft. Then, opened- for the first time in many years- internet explorer 8, disabled all cookies, run boxed firefox again. This time, no cookies are found by ccleaner. This process indicates to me that there is some level of “communication” between the two browsers, even when firefox is sandboxed and cookies do manage to escape the sandbox, as explorer cookies, under normal settings, ie with cookies enabled in both browsers.

Guest10 · Post by **Guest10** » Thu Jan 13, 2011 9:34 am

VivaDalifa wrote:... but I did the following experiment: started my computer, run ccleaner, no cookies present in its relevant window. Run sandboxed firefox, went to ebay, did some browsing, closed firefox (which-by the way- is set in automatic private browsing setting), sandboxie automatically deleted the contents of the default sandbox...

I used CCleaner to delete my IE cookies and verified with Windows Explorer that the only thing left in the "Cookies" folder was index.dat.
Then I used Firefox (not in Private Browsing mode) and logged-in at eBay; did some browsing; exited Firefox and auto-deleted the sandbox contents; looked at the "Cookies" folder - nothing new; ran CCleaner and no IE cookies were found.
Both browsers are set to accept cookies.

tzuk · Post by **tzuk** » Thu Jan 13, 2011 9:40 am

I don't think that Firefox even puts cookies into the Windows/IE cookies folder. I think recent versions of Firefox put cookies in a database file called cookies.sqlite.

VivaDalifa do you have any eBay software on your computer that might be creating these cookies?

Blues · Post by **Blues** » Thu Jan 13, 2011 9:55 am

(Edited out original post as I think I figured most of it out myself after having a cup of coffee...

)

I have FF (latest release) set to accept cookies (except 3rd party) and FF cookies are enabled within Sandboxie for my default box.

Unlike what is reported in Guest 10's earlier post, if I visit a site for which I haven't already "saved" the cookies in CCleaner (as opposed to allowing deletion), they will show up in CCleaner after the sandboxed browser is closed and deleted. I then have the option to put them in the "saved" area or allow them to be deleted upon running CCleaner.

What does concern me is that I don't use IE and have it set as "forced" within the default box in case it is run. (I also have it set to "deny" within Privatefirewall.)

However, after I finish a Firefox browsing session and the sandbox is deleted, I'll still often find Internet Explorer temporary files listed in CCleaner (awaiting deletion).

I don't understand how this occurs if IE is not being used by me and it is "forced" to run in the Sandbox if it is run. Can other applications utilize IE and circumvent the rules set up via Sandboxie in this regard?

guest250 · Post by **guest250** » Thu Jan 13, 2011 2:11 pm

Hi everybody,

I'm using Windows 7 Home Premium with IE 8.0 & I installed Chrome 6.0, Opera 10.62 & Firefox 3.6.10 (all installed outside sandboxie but forced to run inside sandboxie) & also using CCleaner,

Every browser is set to force run under sandboxie (dafault settings),

I'm not able to reproduce this problem mentioned by Blues & VivaDalifa (followed the same steps),

I hope you heard about evercookie (http://samy.pl/evercookie/) which an incredibly persistant cookie site (featured in New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/11/busin ... vercookie/ with all my browsers and after the deletion of sandbox it is not able to recognise my PC, (ie the UID set to undefined)

Can you also please check this site and report back?

Is there any other sites which creates this kind of tracking cookies other than ebay?

If you are also installed the FF outside Sandboxie, I think this cookies may be created by some software which is already installed in your PC

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