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From: franklin-xy on 13 Aug 2010 11:00
franklin-xy wrote:

> The filename of each cookie file contains my Windows username in the
> section before the "@", e.g. user(a)microsoft.txt, comes from the
> Windows account name. That username is identical for every cookie
> produced from my browsing, and as it has my family name I wish to
> change it as that information is visible to http traffic. So, I will
> await someone who knows how Windows user profiles work to snswer the
> real questions:
>
> I want to remove that family name from future cookies. What do I have
> to do? If I simply use the User Accounts Control Panel to change the
> account name that is displayed, will that change future cookies?
>
> Or, does the username in cookies come from the <user> directory name?


"VanguardLH" wrote:

> the web browser decides what filename to use for
> that cookie.
>
> <username>@<domain>.txt

> Obviously the web browser is a local program that can find
> out under what Windows account it is running.
>
> The username is the one assigned to your account, not the name of your
> user profile's folder.


This answer is incorrect.

I changed the Windows user profile username, then rebooted and ensured that
Windows was running under the new username. New cookies were created using
the old username in the filoename, in the usual format of
<username>@<domain>.txt.

So, does the username in cookies come actually from the <user> directory
name? If that is the case, then presumably I must make changes such that
Windows will use a different <user> directory name, either by changing the
current <user> directory name or by creating a new user profile.


Is the best method to create a new Windows user profile, and then copy user
data from the old user profile to the new profile as detailed here?:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;811151

I read about that method, and another method that involves editing the
registry key "RegisteredOwner" at
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion, so I'm
seeking to know the best method.

And, if I then do copy over the user data from the old user profile to the
new profile, will my applications all work afterwards retaining my prefs,
settings, etc., or will I need to edit any paths anywhere?


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