While testing one of my web sites, I was monitoring my cookies folder and I noticed something very strange. Whenever I use IE7 in Vista to browse a folder's index page without adding a trailing slash, four Microsoft cookies are automatically created. For example, these cookies would be created if I visited "http://scienceforums.net/forum" instead of "http://scienceforums.net/forum/". The cookies are Live, MSN, Windowsmarketplace, and Zune.

 

Why were these cookies created when I didn't visit these web sites?

What domains are the cookies associated with?

Hi Cap'n,

 

The cookies are created no matter which domain I browse to. It happens when I visit http://scienceforums.net/forum and it also happens on my site when I go to a folder unless I add a trailing slash at the end of the URL.

 

The names of the cookies are Live, MSN, Windowsmarketplace, and Zune, so I assume they are associated with those domains.

I mean that whatever you're using to look through the cookies with should say that they have a "domain": most cookies on SFN have the domian .scienceforums.net, for example (yes, leading dot too). What about these ones?

I was just looking at the cookies folder through Windows Explorer. The domain names listed in the cookie files themselves are:

 

http://www.live.com

msn.com

windowsmarketplace.com

zune.net

Okay, that's strange. That would imply that something from those websites is being loaded along with the page, which would not be the case on most websites.

 

Might Internet Explorer be redirecting briefly to Live.com Search to find the domain before taking you to the site? I recall it taking you to Live Search when the domain was misspelled, but I don't remember this behavior...

Might Internet Explorer be redirecting briefly to Live.com Search to find the domain before taking you to the site? I recall it taking you to Live Search when the domain was misspelled, but I don't remember this behavior...

 

That was my first thought, but Dell had preconfigured Google as the default search engine. If I misspell a domain, I am automatically redirected to Google.

Strange indeed. I was unable to reproduce the cookie creation on my Vista machine.

The only thing I can add is that it might have something to do with the phishing filter. I don't know why that would make Windowsmarketplace and Zune cookies pop up, but maybe Live and MSN.

Just an idea. Kinda stupid, but there it is.

Sorry if this sounds really stupid but here it goes anyway,

Something to do with xbox 360 compatibility? those all seem xbox related. If only mine wasn't broken can't get the poor thing off my brain. I am dreaming of gears and COD4 I miss soo much.

Off-topic and wildly speculative posts focuing on Microsoft's ulterior motives have been deleted. It was either that or move the thread to pseudoscience and speculation. You wanna be lumped in with the 9/11 conpiracy theorists, fine, but this was intended as a help thread.

Slash or no slash, I get the Zune and Windows marketplace cookie when I open internet explorer -- doesn't matter the website, doesn't matter that I blocked all cookies.

 

Zune and Marketplace belong to Microsoft -- has anyone tried a different browser?

Edited October 23, 200817 yr by jackll44
multiple post merged