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There was a link in the comments section of a question (don't click the link) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banach%E2%80%93Tarski_paradox was supposed to redirect you to Wikipedia. It indeed happened but right after clicking the link a window notification of Avast pop up saying that 26 cookies were set up in your system.

Why?

I have never seen such message notification for visiting Wikipedia. And seems strange since I do check lots of 'reliable' links and nothing like this happens.

At first I thought it has something to do with Wikipedia cookies so I checked the cookies but there were only 11 cookies, so what about the rest of the cookies?

Also, I recently cleared my computer where all cookies were reset, not sure if it has something to do with it.

Thanks

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  • $\begingroup$ Please add a link to the comment $\endgroup$ – Asaf Karagila♦ Sep 6 '19 at 21:38
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    $\begingroup$ You might have a local problem. The link is in fact to Wikipedia, and I get no suspicious cookies. Check that you don't have some weird line in your hosts file that redirect your Wikipedia links to a middleman server. $\endgroup$ – Asaf Karagila♦ Sep 6 '19 at 21:43
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    $\begingroup$ I am getting that Wikipedia is currently down. I am not sure whether this might be related. (I found also this news report: Wikipedia down: Online encyclopedia not working as pages fail to load for some users that mentions "Wikipedia has stopped working for some users in the UK and Europe, and a number of places in the Middle East.".) $\endgroup$ – Martin Sleziak Sep 6 '19 at 22:05
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    $\begingroup$ Googling "avast cookie notification" produces several results, including from Avast's own forum and reddit, that interpret these notifications as a marketing effort to get you to upgrade (or purchase) an Avast product. Note that "tracking cookies" are considered a (low level) risk, and "Not all cookies are tracking cookies." $\endgroup$ – hardmath Sep 6 '19 at 22:39
  • $\begingroup$ @MartinSleziak this might sound ironic but I did click on your second link and again Avast pop up a window notification, this time said "there are four problems of privacy". lol :) I think I should uninstall it, so no worries $\endgroup$ – allesia.b Sep 6 '19 at 22:41
  • $\begingroup$ @hardmath what a savage way of marketing effort to get you to upgrade (or purchase) an Avast product.. Thanks for the information. $\endgroup$ – allesia.b Sep 6 '19 at 23:00
  • $\begingroup$ @AsafKaragila "Check that you don't have some weird line in your hosts file that redirect your Wikipedia links to a middleman server." ? $\endgroup$ – allesia.b Sep 6 '19 at 23:05
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    $\begingroup$ This is not a place for long debates about security. If you are worried, consult an expert. In the meantime, since the problem is neither on the SE server, nor in the comment, I suggest that we conclude this discussion. $\endgroup$ – Asaf Karagila♦ Sep 6 '19 at 23:07
  • $\begingroup$ Use Firefox, set option not to allow 3rd party cookies. Blacklist a few scammers such as doubleclick, google, youtube, facebook and adlibris.Remove cookies and edit that list semiregularly. Whitelisting the sites that you actually need or like. Support those sites with a membership fee, via Patreon or whatnot. $\endgroup$ – Jyrki Lahtonen Sep 7 '19 at 6:01
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    $\begingroup$ @Jyrki: Privacy Badger is a more refined tool, I think. Maintained by the EFF. $\endgroup$ – Asaf Karagila♦ Sep 7 '19 at 6:52
  • $\begingroup$ @JyrkiLahtonen thanks. Why Firefox? It turns out also works in Chrome. $\endgroup$ – allesia.b Sep 9 '19 at 15:32
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about the 26 cookies

There is a really high probability that Avast make up the 26 cookies.

But supposing it was true, then what you could do is go to browser advanced settings and clear your cookies.

And then read this https://privacy.net/stop-cookies-tracking/ (worth reading :)

Basically tells you what are,do,manage,etc. cookies.

Also tells you how to stop them by modifying your Settings in your browser.

But given that some websites don't respect the do not track me request, then you should halt them by using other methods: browser extensions like Privacy Badger or Disconnect.me (I'd say this later it's better according to what I've read but unfortunately it's not entirely for free). There are many others but these two seem to be the top (by millions of users).

about the pop up notification of 4 problems of privacy

When clicking it shown:

  1. Anyone can see what you do online.

  2. Your internet provider could monitor your personal data.

  3. Anyone can see your current location. (Shows exactly where you are!)

  4. Your IP addres is visible (And it shows your complete IP)

There are others out there that faced this same message e.g. so what a coincidence :P .So it's not true. And makes totally sense given that the link was Martin Sleziak's comment.. how in the world his link would do something like that?

What you could is look for a new free Antivirus or Turn on Silent mode in Avast settings.

Finally, problems related to this one could also be asked on

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