Adobe is, in my opinion, intentionally deceptive on a number of levels about the privacy-invading cookies that Flash stores on your machine. These are NOT the cookies that get deleted when you clear your browser cache. These cookies remain on your machine until you MANUALLY DELETE THEM. And Adobe know that most users are not technically proficient enough to even find where they exist.There is a good site that describes how to get rid of them here:

http://www.ghacks.net/2008/07/30/delete-flash-cookies/

The Flash cookies:

Stay on your computer for an unlimited amount of time

Store 100 kb of data by default, with an unlimited max

Can’t be deleted by your browser

Send previous visit information and history, by default, without your permission

This type of cookie exists on 98% of global computers, across all operating systems. it’s the Adobe Flash Player.

The news about these cookies needs to be spread far and wide.

Furthermore, the lame website that Adobe provides seems intentionally designed to make you THINK that you are deleting these cookies, when in fact the folders in which they are contained - which list EVERY WEBSITE YOU EVER VISITED THAT USED FLASH - remain on your machine. Moreover, when you clear your private data from your browser, THE FLASH SETTINGS ARE RESET AGAIN TO THE PRIVACY-INVADING DEFAULTS, AND THE COOKIES WILL CONTINUE TO COME IN. I believe that Adobe is being intentionally and criminally deceptive about the privacy-invading nature of what they, in conjunction with the companies they obviously have some kind of arrangement with, are putting on your computer.

To get rid of Adobe's deceptive privacy-invading cookies, go to the following locations on your machine, and MANUALLY DELETE THEM. It is the ONLY way to get rid of the privacy-invading TRASH that Adobe puts on your machine, without your knowledge or permission:

Windows : LSO files are stored typically with a “.SOL” extension, within each user’s Application Data directory, under Macromedia\Flash Player\#SharedObjects.

: LSO files are stored typically with a “.SOL” extension, within each user’s Application Data directory, under Macromedia\Flash Player\#SharedObjects. Mac OS X : For Web sites, ~/Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash Player. For AIR Applications, ~/Library/Preferences/[package name (ID) of your app].

: For Web sites, ~/Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash Player. For AIR Applications, ~/Library/Preferences/[package name (ID) of your app]. GNU-Linux: ~/.macromedia

But wait - there's more! Adobe goes one step farther - there is yet ANOTHER folder where YOUR ENTIRE BROWSING HISTORY OF WEBSITES THAT USED FLASH is stored:

On Mac OSX, to finally get rid of all the web history tracking that Adobe does, you must also go to the following location:

~/Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash Player/macromedia.com/Support/flashplayer/sys

For Windows:

Application Data (hidden file - be sure to turn on hidden files and folders in Windows to see it)/macromedia.com/Support/flashplayer/sys

There you will find YET AGAIN, another complete list of all the sites you visited, and all the time you wasted dicking around with Adobe's fake "settings manager" thing will not make a single bit of difference.

This is not the first time Adobe has been busted installing, without user knowledge or permission, spyware, and other items that "phone home", for example, Photoshop, Dreamweaver. etc. They both phone home to a very shady, in my opinion, company, using an INTENTIONALLY DECEPTIVE IP address that mimics a local network call. Just google "photoshop and spyware" to get the details.

Personally, I will not ever be giving ONE PENNY of my money to this company ever again. At work, or at home, I am NEVER going to buy or download another application made by this totally, in my opinion, untrustworthy company. If you need to edit photos, without scumware and shady companies that want to track your online behavior, download the open source tool called GIMP. If you nee to read PDFs, there are loads of apps besides Adobe's reader that will do the same thing much better.

I think these people belong in court to explain why they are so intentionally invading users' privacy. I hope someone starts a class-action suit against these dirtbags.

To the apologists who will come here and try to say how wonderful it is that Adobe tracks your every move on the Internet: Go find someone who gives a damn about your moron brain-damaged alcoholic opinion.