Cookie Spy

Introduction

CookieSpy is a custom explorer bar. This extension was created for the monitoring of cookie activity and for the possibility to add and edit cookies. I used VC++ 6.0 (SP4) and ATL.

Implementation.

1. At first, every IE band object must implement a couple interfaces:
- IDeskBand
- IObjectWithSite
I wrote a template class DeskBandImpl<> to implement all the IE necessary routines.

2. Second, the band object must add to the registry the appropriate records to the "Component Categories" hive. I registered for CATID_InfoBand and CATID_CommBand categories. Certainly, you can use only one placement for band: vertical or horizontal at the same time.

3. Next, when IE calls IObjectWithSite::SetSite method, the main objectives are:
- to create a band window.
- to advise DWebBrowserEvents2 event sink interface for receiving event notifications from a explorer

4. CookieSpy::OnCreate method objectives:
- to create MSHTML control for displaying HTML page from resource
- to set external dispatch

5. By processing events: BeforeNavigate2, DocumentComplete, NavigateComplete2, I try to update the cookie's information for the current document:
- to parse cookie string
- to update a main html page

6. Also the user can add and edit the cookie. If the cookie was stored on the hard disc, I try to find the cookie's file in cookie's folder for determining a expire date and domain\path info otherwise (in case lack of such file) I suggest that it's the session cookie. Then with help InternetSetCookie API I create a cookie for the specified URL.

Environment.

I tested this band under Win2k and IE 5.0 only

Acknowledgments.

Thanks a Neeraj Srivastava for his article "Implementing Web Browser Band Using ATL HTML Control"

History

12 Oct 2001 - New download files: These solve trouble with IE.5.5\6.0 and CookieSpy plug-ins.