Computer cookies and privacy question

[88GT]

With all the FB, Google, OnStar, blah, blah, blah stories of late about tracking, spying, blah, blah, blah, I had a question about cookies. If you're browsing in one browser, say Chrome, and then open up Firefox and start browsing in that, do the cookies that you "activate" in Chrome still track what you're doing in Firefox, or are they browser specific?

Furthermore, how does the "private" browsing on any given browser work with regards to cookies (aside from making me re-log in every time because it was accidentally enabled)? Is it possible to avoid the cookie tracking issues in private browsing?

Thanks in advance. Oh, and I'm on a Mac, so IE stuff is irrelevant for me.

 

[superjoe76]

I believe private browsing in mac is like going to a library, nothing gets stored. I have often wondered myself, gonna keep tabs on this thread.

 

[Noland]

Firefox will not read Chrome cookies and vice versa. There are flash cookies that will be cross-browser, but I am not sure about how they affect chrome since it has its own flash solution.

While browsing in private mode, nothing will be kept. That is not to say that you will be anonymous or completely untrackable, but everything that is foisted upon you will be flushed away every time you shut down your browser if you are running in privacy mode.

 

[Classic]

You can you a privacy oriented search engine like StartPage that will help you keep some shreds of privacy.

 

[Pyroponce]

RE flash cookies, if you're running Firefox, you should strongly consider installing the Flashblock addon; in addition to allowing you to select which Flash videos should run, it'll prevent websites from tracking your behavior via flash cookies.