Q: When I tried to log in, I received the error message: Your login is failing because your browser is not accepting the "cookie" from this site. Please adjust your browser settings and try logging in again. How do I adjust my browser settings to accept the cookie from this site?

A: First, here’s a little information about cookies. A cookie is a message given to a Web browser by a Web server. The browser stores the message in a text file. The message is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server.

Cookies do not act maliciously on computer systems. They are merely text files that you can delete at any time - they are not plug-ins nor are they programs. Cookies cannot be used to spread viruses and they cannot access your hard drive. The cookie will only contain information that you freely provide to a Web site.

The following are instructions for the most commonly used browsers. If your browser is not listed, please consult your browser's website.

Internet Explorer

1. Open Internet Explorer by clicking the Start button, and then clicking Internet Explorer.
2. Click the Tools button, and then click Internet Options.
3. Click the Privacy tab, and then, under Settings, move the slider to the bottom to allow all cookies, and then click OK.

Google Chrome

1. Click the wrench icon  on the browser toolbar.
2. Select Options (Preferences on Mac and Linux; Settings on a Chromebook).
3. Click the Under the Hood tab.
4. Click Content settings in the "Privacy" section.
5. Click the Cookies tab in the Content Settings dialog that appears.
6. Make sure "Allow local data to be set" is selected to allow both first-party and third-party cookies. If you only want to accept first-party cookies, select the "Block all third-party cookies without exception" checkbox.

Mozilla Firefox

You can specify how cookies should be handled by setting your cookie preferences and by using the Cookie Manager.

To change your cookie preferences:

1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
2. Under the Privacy & Security category, choose Cookies. (If no subcategories are visible, double-click the category to expand the list.)
3. Click one of the radio buttons:
   • Enable cookies for the originating web site only: Choose this if you don't want to accept or return Foreign cookies. Cookies received through email (when the message contains a web page) are treated as foreign cookies.
   • Enable all cookies: Choose this to permit all web sites to set cookies on your computer and receive them back during subsequent visits. Note: If you select this option, and later choose to reject all cookies, you may still have some older cookies stored on your computer (though no new ones will be set).
4. If you want to be notified when a web site tries to set a cookie, select "Warn me before storing a cookie."