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Where're the Cookies?

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I went to sign in to a website today and could not - nothing pertinent would load. I disabled ad blocking and tracking blocking extentions one by one in an attempt to figure out which of them might be the problem. When that didn't work, I disabled all of them together - still the page would not load. I then went to MS Edge, and the page loaded fine - I have only one ad-blocker extension on MS Edge. That left me to believe that the issue may have been that I am blocking ALL 3rd party cookies in FF. I decided that WAS the problem after returning to FF and removing the checkmarks from Tracking Content, Cryptominers and Fingerprinters.

I called the website to talk to technical support. I wanted to find out what 3rd parties were involved so I could decide if I wanted to turn off the blocking of those cookies while using that website.

I was told the company and it's website are not affiliated with any 3rd parties, and so their website does not attempt to set any 3rd party cookies, the user does not need to allow/accept 3rd party cookies while on their site, and therefore, my blocking of 3rd party cookies would have no affect on whether or not I can access their website. INSTEAD... I was told that the 3rd party cookies are in my browser, a part of my browser, so that my browser, and in this case, specifically Mozilla, can keep track of my movements/activities and taylor advertising and other such crap to me.

Now...I did not think my browser actually cared where online I go unless it's one of those websites that FF will block my progress to, advise of an issue and ask if I really wanna keep on going. I thought a browser was simply the vehicle, like a car, that gets you to the store, and it's the store that has the salepeople trying to get you to buy stuff. If Mozilla is setting [tracking and 3rd party] cookies for Mozilla's benefit, why would users be given the tools to block cookies and trackers and other such invasions? Or are these tools just there to make the user feel like they have control, and in reality those tools/settings mean absolutely nothing?

Am I wrong? Or did the individual I spoke with just not know what the bloody hell they were talking about?? 'Cause if they are right...then I'm VERY disappointed in Mozilla and FF. I've been using FF for MANY years because I had more control than what users of Microsoft browsers (and a few others) have.

WHO is setting the cookies? _____________________________________________ Win10 Home, Vs 21H2 (OS Build 19044, 1645) Mozilla Firefox, 100.0 (64-bit)

I went to sign in to a website today and could not - nothing pertinent would load. I disabled ad blocking and tracking blocking extentions one by one in an attempt to figure out which of them might be the problem. When that didn't work, I disabled all of them together - still the page would not load. I then went to MS Edge, and the page loaded fine - I have only one ad-blocker extension on MS Edge. That left me to believe that the issue may have been that I am blocking ALL 3rd party cookies in FF. I decided that WAS the problem after returning to FF and removing the checkmarks from Tracking Content, Cryptominers and Fingerprinters. I called the website to talk to technical support. I wanted to find out what 3rd parties were involved so I could decide if I wanted to turn off the blocking of those cookies while using that website. I was told the company and it's website are not affiliated with any 3rd parties, and so their website does not attempt to set any 3rd party cookies, the user does not need to allow/accept 3rd party cookies while on their site, and therefore, my blocking of 3rd party cookies would have no affect on whether or not I can access their website. INSTEAD... I was told that the 3rd party cookies are in my browser, a part of my browser, so that my browser, and in this case, specifically Mozilla, can keep track of my movements/activities and taylor advertising and other such crap to me. Now...I did not think my browser actually cared where online I go unless it's one of those websites that FF will block my progress to, advise of an issue and ask if I really wanna keep on going. I thought a browser was simply the vehicle, like a car, that gets you to the store, and it's the store that has the salepeople trying to get you to buy stuff. If Mozilla is setting [tracking and 3rd party] cookies for Mozilla's benefit, why would users be given the tools to block cookies and trackers and other such invasions? Or are these tools just there to make the user feel like they have control, and in reality those tools/settings mean absolutely nothing? Am I wrong? Or did the individual I spoke with just not know what the bloody hell they were talking about?? 'Cause if they are right...then I'm '''VERY''' disappointed in Mozilla and FF. I've been using FF for MANY years because I had more control than what users of Microsoft browsers (and a few others) have. WHO is setting the cookies? _____________________________________________ Win10 Home, Vs 21H2 (OS Build 19044, 1645) Mozilla Firefox, 100.0 (64-bit)

Chosen solution

Make sure you are not blocking content.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/enhanced-tracking-protection-firefox-desktop also see https://blog.mozilla.org/security/2021/03/23/introducing-smartblock/

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/smartblock-enhanced-tracking-protection


Diagnose Firefox issues using Troubleshoot(Safe) Mode {web link}

A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Troubleshoot(Safe) Mode (not Refresh). Is the problem still there?


Many site issues can be caused by corrupt cookies or cache.

Warning ! ! This will log you out of sites you're logged in to. You may also lose any settings for that website.

Read this answer in context 👍 0

All Replies (2)

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Chosen Solution

Make sure you are not blocking content.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/enhanced-tracking-protection-firefox-desktop also see https://blog.mozilla.org/security/2021/03/23/introducing-smartblock/

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/smartblock-enhanced-tracking-protection


Diagnose Firefox issues using Troubleshoot(Safe) Mode {web link}

A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Troubleshoot(Safe) Mode (not Refresh). Is the problem still there?


Many site issues can be caused by corrupt cookies or cache.

Warning ! ! This will log you out of sites you're logged in to. You may also lose any settings for that website.

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FredMcD --

Finally today, I had some time to come back to this issue.

I'm not sure what happened or how. But today, I again went thru the tedious task of turning off extensions and changing settings (allowing for various previously blocked items) one-by-one... including this time turning off my anti-virus program despite the fact that the site involved is reputable. But the site still would not load.

The last step I took was to remove the site from the Cookies and Site Data list of Exceptions. WHAM!! The site loaded. So, I turned all my extensions and anti-virus back on, and returned all my Privacy & Security settings to the way they were...one-by-one. I then added the site back to Cookies and Site Data Exceptions.

All appears to be well now. I guess only time will tell if the issue is truly resolved.

One thing I did learned (from the first link in your reply above), was how to find out what is being blocked or allowed on any given website by clikking on the Shield by the address bar (I never really paid that thing much attention). I discovered that there are in fact no 3rd party cookies associated with the site. Many thanks.

I am sure that somewhere in all that you provided is an actual solution (other than whatever happened here today). So if whatever happened today doesn't hold, I will return to this post and further investigate the links you've provided. You have been very helpful to me in the past, and so I am marking your post as the solution based on past experience and your obvious knowledge of what makes FF tick.

Once again... thank you!

Modified by FitAintBrkDntFxIt