Setting Cookies in Internet Explorer

In order to use our website and navigate the control panel and site administrator screens, you need to have cookies enabled. The cookies that are set contain no sensitive information and can be deleted at any time by logging out of your account, or are automatically deleted after 2 hours of inactivity.

There are two things that you need to check to ensure the cookies will function correctly. The first is the clock settings, and the second is the cookie settings themselves.

Setting the clock


Locating the clock on your desktop: In the bottom-right corner of your screen is the system tray. This contains a number of icons, depending on what programs you have installed and running in the background on your PC (eg antivirus software). In here, you should also see the time that your computer thinks it is.

To make sure that this is set correctly, double-click on the time in the system tray. This will bring up a screen which lets you change the current settings.


The correct settings: Make sure that:

  • the date, month and year are correct
  • the time is correct
  • the timezone is correct
To change the timezone, click on the current timezone. This will display a drop-down menu with all the different timezones around the world. UK customers should set this to GMT: Greenwich Mean Time (Dublin, Edinburgh etc). Non-UK customers should set it to whatever timezone they are currently in.

Once all the settings are correct, click on the Apply button first, before clicking on OK. Windows will now have the correct date and time settings, and cookies will be stored correctly once your browser is configured to accept them.

Setting the cookie permissions

There are two different methods to setting the cookie permissions, depending on which version of Internet Explorer you are using. The first description applies only to Internet Explorer 6, and the second appllies to both Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 5. If you are using any versions of Internet Explorer that are older than these, then you should download the latest version from Microsoft

Cookies in IE 6


Setting cookies in IE6: Run Internet Explorer, and when the program is loaded, go to the Tools menu at the top and select Internet Options


Internet Options: In Internet Explorer 6, the main cookie options are set under the Privacy tab. Click on this, and choose the Advanced configuration option


Internet Options: On the Advanced configuration screen, set the options so they are the same as in the screenshot above. We need to allow cookies, both first- and third-party, and also to allow per session cookies

Cookies in IE 5


Setting cookies in IE5: Run Internet Explorer, and when the program is loaded, go to the Tools menu at the top and select Internet Options


Internet zone settings: Click on the Security tab to access the basic cookie settings, and click on the Custom button. This allows you to modify the current configuration.


New settings: From the drop-down menu at the bottom of this screen, select the Medium-Low setting. This will allow cookies to pass through the browser and be handled correctly.

Once you have followed all the instructions above, you will need to restart your pc before the new cookie settings will take effect. Once the computer has restarted, you can now go into Internet Explorer and use all the features available through our website and your online control panels.

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