Flash is hiding cookies on your Mac

[Satcomer]

Adobe is spying on you with Flash cookies that you can't delete. According to the TechSavoirs forum post (http://www.techsurvivors.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=21561) is talking on how Adobe Flash cookies can not be deleted the conventual way. So and enterprising Mac user made the Flash cookie remover application Flush (http://machacks.tv/2009/01/27/flushapp-flash-cookie-removal-tool-for-os-x/) that removes a surprising amount of flash cookie that all other programs (Onyx, Yasu) misses.

Most Mac users may would want to try this out, you will be amazed how Adobe Flash Player hides on your Mac. Then go over to the Adobe Flash Player Help page (http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager02.html#118539) to turn off or ask for flash cookies to be left on your Mac.

Edit: that Adobe help page does NOT work. So Run Flush when you want to clear out Flash cookies.

[Rhisiart]

How do I know that Flush isn't adding something of its own?

[Satcomer]

I looked all over for traces and could not find any traces beside the application itself at at no time did it go out to the internet (I used LittleSnitch to check) to do anything. It seems to remove (not securely though) the files /User’s Home Folder/Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash Player/macromedia.com/support/flashplayer/sys/.

You can read about the Flash cookie at this Wiki article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_Shared_Object). This article speared off the debate over at Wired's You Deleted Your Cookies? Think Again (http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/08/you-deleted-your-cookies-think-again/) article.

[Giaguara]

Hm.. interesting. The articles list

/User’s Home Folder/Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash Player/#SharedObjects
/User’s Home Folder/Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash Player/macromedia.com/support/flashplayer/sys

In OS X Local Shared Objects, or Flash Cookies, are appended with a .sol suffix.

Hmm... by default the permissions of the above folders are drwxr-xr-x@ (755).
Emptying all contents of each folder, and then chmodding them to not have write OR execute does not seem to prevent flash sites from working. I'll test if I find any hiccups with the permissions as I changed them now...
A second thing might be a good alternative as well - setting an applescript to empty the contents of the above folders any time a browser is quit (or once a day or whatever reasonable time frame).

- testing with 504 permissions so I can see that nothing is written there..

[d0zer]

Hello All,

Im the guy who conceived of Flush for OSX. Wanted to let you know it has had a makeover and is in version 0.3.1. It works with 10.5 and 10.6 and perhaps 10.4 too although I have not tested it.

download it here http://machacks.tv/2009/01/27/flushapp-flash-cookie-removal-tool-for-os-x/

thanks all

btw if any developers out there wanna help take flush to the next level please get in touch!

[Giaguara]

Hi d0zer
Good luck with Flush :) it's a cool project.

(as a quick update to my 504 permissions of flash folders: everything is still wokring perfectly fine on flash sites, no drawbacks. and no folders created where I didn't want them be created. so this solution works too)

[g/re/p]

I have been using Flush, and i like it. It is surprising how many flash cookies are "deposited" from just normal web surfing.

I Will d/l and update it right now.

[SGilbert]

Question: Flush shows over 250 'hits' on my MBP. (I stopped counting!)

How do I know what to flush & what to keep? OR, should I flush everything & cross my fingers; reinstalling Flash if necessary?

[Giaguara]

You don't need to keep any flash cookies.
Unless there is some flash site or game that you continuously play and would mind to lose the scores for.

[Giaguara]

You don't need to keep any flash cookies.
Unless there is some flash site or game that you continuously play and would mind to lose the scores for.

[d0zer]

You can safely delete all the results. Some are flash cookies and some are settings files for flash cookies. A flash cookies always has at least one settings file. All can be trashed.

Open them with TextEdit if you like!

BTW Nice permissions hack Giaguara. If it does not break anything it is prob the way to go. Good work!

[g/re/p]

Hello All,

Im the guy who conceived of Flush for OSX. Wanted to let you know it has had a makeover and is in version 0.3.1. It works with 10.5 and 10.6 and perhaps 10.4 too although I have not tested it.

download it here http://machacks.tv/2009/01/27/flushapp-flash-cookie-removal-tool-for-os-x/

thanks all

btw if any developers out there wanna help take flush to the next level please get in touch!

I am just using Flush1 for now:

I noticed that if i run Flush1 immediately after running Flush2 there are still some flash cookies left over that Flush2 did not delete. This happened every time.