1.5: Ensure Your Privacy and Security

Flock is automatically set up with strong privacy and security settings. However, if you have personal preferences about how this information should be handled, it's easy to change these settings.

In this section:

• Change Cookie Settings
• Manage Passwords
• Set or Remove a Master Password
• Manage Personal Information

Change Cookie Settings

1. Open the Options or Preferences dialog. How you access the dialog depends upon your operating system.
   • If you are using Windows, open the Tools menu and choose Options.
   • If you are using Linux, open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
   • If you are using Mac OS, open the Flock menu and choose Preferences.
2. In the Options or Preferences dialog, click Privacy.
3. To allow websites to store cookies on your computer which save personal information you've given, put a checkmark next to Accept cookies from sites. To disable cookies, uncheck it.
4. Click on the arrow beside Keep Until to tell Flock how long to keep these cookies. If you choose Ask Me Every Time, you'll be prompted to accept or deny every time a site tries to place a cookie on your computer.
5. Click on Exceptions.
6. Enter the web address (URL) of the web site from which you want to allow or block cookies.
7. Click Allow, or Allow for Session if the permission is only temporary, or Block.
8. To remove a web site from the Exceptions list, highlight the site and click Remove Site.
9. To clear the list completely, click Remove All Sites. After clearing the list your general cookies preferences apply.
10. Click Show Cookies to view and manage the cookies currently stored on your computer.

Manage Passwords

1. Open the Options or Preferences dialog (see above).
2. Click the Security tab.
3. Put a checkmark in Remember passwords for sites, if you want Flock to remember and automatically enter your passwords for you at websites. To stop Flock from remembering your passwords, uncheck Remember passwords for sites.
4. To remove passwords Flock has remembered, click Show Passwords. Highlight the password(s) you wish to remove, and click Remove. To remove them all, click Remove All.

Set or Remove a Master Password

1. Open the Options or Preferences dialog (see above).
2. Click the Security tab.
3. If you wish to be prompted for a master password before Flock automatically enters your other passwords at websites, click Use a Master Password.
4. Enter a master password; then re-enter it. As you enter your master password a colored bar will fill in. The longer the bar, the more secure a password you are entering.
   
5. Click OK.
6. To remove your current master password, click Remove Master Password. You must enter your current master password to do this.
7. If you do not wish to use a master password, remove the checkmark beside Use a master password.
   Important Caution: Unless you're certain you can remember a master password, don't set one. If you forget your master password, Flock won't be able to provide any of your other saved passwords.

Manage Personal Information

1. To clear personal data Flock stores, like your browsing history, open the Options or Preferences dialog (see above).
2. Click the Privacy tab.
3. Using the available options, tell Flock how long you want it to keep your history, whether you want it to remember what you type into website forms, how often to clear your private data, etc.
4. To clear all of your private data at once, click the Clear Now button.
5. To choose from a list of private data which Flock can either store or not store, click the Private Data button.

Are you ready to learn to harness all of Flock's special tools and features?! Let's start by learning to Personalize Flock and My World...

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