Avast is one of the best antivirus programs available for both smartphones and PC. It not just alerts you of viruses, malware, adware, and spyware but also helps you get rid of them. It gives lots of warnings like we found a spy cookie, we found a tracking cookie, or we found a thing on your computer. People generally don’t know what these warnings mean and hence they fear that someone is spying on them.
Don’t worry, in this article, I will tell you what it means when you find a warning like we found a spy cookie on Avast. But let’s find out what is a spy cookie in the first place.
Table Of Contents
- What Are Spy Cookies?
- Avast We Found A Spy Cookie: Should You Be Worried?
- Can You Be Tracked By Cookies?
- How To Get Rid Of Tracking Cookies Found By Avast?
- Final Verdict
- FAQs
What Are Spy Cookies?
A spy cookie is a small text file that is stored on your computer that has information about the websites you have visited. Unlike a spy app, a tracking cookie does not track everything you do on your computer nor does it make your PC slow or sluggish. It can only track your website visits so that it can show relevant ads to you.
Apart from showing personalized ads, a tracking cookie can make your browsing experience better. For example, it can keep you logged into a site so that you don’t have to log into the website each time you visit it.
Avast We Found A Spy Cookie: Should You Be Worried?
Are you worried because you received a notification from Avast on your PC that we found a spy cookie or we found a tracking cookie? Well, you don’t have to worry because as I already told you spy cookies are not that risky. They are just trying to monitor your browsing pattern so that they can help you make your browsing experience better.
Avast or any other anti-virus applications warn you about non-serious issues as well. You should not be worried about tracking or spy cookies in most cases. What you really should be worried about are malware, Trojans, and spy apps.
Can You Be Tracked By Cookies?
Cookies aren’t malware they are plain text files that don’t have the power to track you outside of a browser. In other words, they can only track you when you are using the internet but not offline. Unlike PC spyware they cannot hack your Gmail or record your keystrokes nor they can monitor your other activities.
Overall, spy cookies are harmless. However, hackers can hide codes in these cookies which can spread malware on your computer. This means they can remotely get access to your computer without your knowledge. The chances of this happening are less but why take a chance? Here’s how you can get rid of spy cookies on your computer.
How To Get Rid Of Tracking Cookies Found By Avast?
Avast can help you detect tracking cookies but you’ll have to disable them from your browser’s settings yourself and here’s how to do that.
1. Block All The Cookies
If you want to permanently disable all the cookies on your device then you can follow the below guide to block cookies on various browsers.
a) Disable Cookies In Chrome On The PC
- Open Chrome browser and go to its Settings.
- Next, select Privacy and Security and click on Cookies and other site data under that.
- Now select the option Block all cookies to disable tracking cookies on your browser.
b) Block Cookies In Safari
- Launch the Safari browser and go to Preferences…
- Now select Privacy and check the box that says Block all cookies.
After that a pop-up will show, click on Block All to confirm your action.
c) Disable Spy Cookies On Android
- Open the Chrome app and go to Settings.
- Now go to the Site Settings option and select Block all cookies.
d) Block Tracking Cookies On iPhone
- Go to Settings > Safari.
- Next, toggle ON Block All Cookies.
2. Delete All The Spy Cookies
Even if you have blocked all the cookies, the previously collected cookies must be stored on your browser. Here’s how to delete the tracking cookies on your device.
a) Clean Cookies In Chrome
- On your computer, open the Chrome browser and go to Settings.
- Under the Settings option, select Security and Privacy. Next, select the Cookies and other site data option.
- Finally, go to See all site data and permissions > Clear all data.
By doing this all the tracking cookies will be cleaned from your browser.
b) Clear Cookies On Safari
- On the Safari Browser go to Preferences…
- Next, go to Privacy > Manage Website Data… under Cookies.
- Now in order to remove all the spy cookies at once you need to click on Remove All button. By doing this you can get rid of all the tracking cookies on the Safari browser.
c) Remove Cookies On Android
- Open the Chrome App. Next, tap on the three dots icon in the top right corner.
- Next, go to History > Clear browsing data.
- Now select the time from when you want to clear the cookies. Select All time if you want to remove all the cookies in one go. After that, check the boxes “Cookies and site data” and “Cached images and files”.
- Finally, tap on Clear data.
With this, the tracking cookies will be deleted from the Chrome browser on your Android phone.
d) Delete Cookies On iPhone
- To delete the cookies on your iPhone you can go to Settings > Safari.
- Next, tap on Clear History and Website Data.
With this, all your history and cookies stored on the Safari browser on your iPhone will be removed.
Final Verdict
If you are using Avast to protect your PC or smartphone then you must be getting some warnings on a regular basis. Some of those warnings are We Found A Spy Cookie or We Found A Thing. Are these warnings something that you should be worried about or you can ignore them?
Well, these spy-tracking cookies are not that dangerous for you. However, if you don’t want to take any risk then you can easily block these cookies from the settings of the browser you generally use.
FAQs
Is Avast Free?
Yes, Avast is free software but it also has a paid plan which has more advanced safety features.
Can You Disable Avast Warning?
Yes, you can disable them but I don’t recommend that because you may miss some high-risk alerts.
Are Tracking Cookies Dangerous?
Spy-tracking cookies are generally not that dangerous.
