Many users are unaware that Adobe’s popular Flash plugin stores its own cookies separately from normal browser cookies. Here’s how to get rid of them.

A couple of days ago, Wired reported on the questionable use of Flash cookies revealed by a UC Berkley study. While non-novice Internet users are generally aware of cookies and their implications, fewer users are aware that Adobe’s popular Flash plugin stores its own cookies separately from normal browser cookies.

If you’re using Mozilla Firefox, you can use the BetterPrivacy add-on to automatically delete all of your Flash cookies each time you close your browser. You can also configure BetterPrivacy to delete the cookies every few minutes. Or to allow you to manually delete them using its interface.

If you’re using Internet Explorer, Chrome, or another browser, you can also use the Flash Settings Manager found here. It’s a good idea to browse through this anyway, as it contains some handy privacy settings (including the ability to disable Flask cookies entirely).

And, for Mac OS X, there’s Flush.app.