Welcome to the forum 

Echo180 wrote:

I've even specified flagcounter.com as an "Allow" website in my Internet options>Privacy tab.

OK I see you know with computers but just one Q: below that "allow" option there's a question (at least in Firefox): Keep cookies a. until they expire b. until i close firefox c. ask me every time - i hope it's not set on B 

Are you on Vista? Can you switch to XP & try it?
Or use another browser, like Mozilla 3.5 or Google Chrome and let us know

Ok, so after testing Firefox, unfortunately my visits are still getting counted!

I have checked the cookies list and again, they are accumulating... 

Do you think that the problem is with Vista itself? I am on server S01 for flagcounter, could this also be the source of the problem?

I don't want to shout victory too soon but after reading your response, I just tried to open my webpage using firefox again... and... apparently I didn't get counted in!!!!

Yet, I still clicked on the flagcounter (and was directed to the stats pages) to really confirm this - because yesterday too when I visited my page my visit "appeared" to have not been counted but was shown otherwise when I checked the detailed stats! This time though, the stats were fine too!!! And just to be sure, I closed firefox and waited a bit and retried again. I still didn't get counted in! Wow!   

However, I think I'll wait at least tomorrow - retrying again - just to be sure that it's really ok.. I won't even try on IE7 anymore.

Anyways, all this to say that I may have got the solution at last (all thanks to your suggestion  ). But to answer your questions, just in case:

1. No I am not logged in when I visit. I don't think either that I can get out of my LJ account without logging out (I think the site itself will log out the session if I leave)

2. The cookies are there, in fact they are not being deleted, just accumulating...

3. Other software... well for my antivirus Kaspersky, my LJ address is already a trusted site but I did amend this on my IE7 - even if I don't plan to reuse IE7 for my visits...

So, hopefully, all is now ok but I'll do confirm this later on.

Anyways, Notturno you've been a great help all along - with much patience - and I hope I'll not disturb you again. Thanks!!!!

Yes, yes, yes!!! Whff!! Finally, everything is confirmed to be normal!!! BOTH on Firefox AND IE7.

Thank you so much Notturno!! 

So what changed?? Really can't pinpoint out what settled my problem. But just in case someone else is in the same situation, let me just summarise the main changes I've made on my PC these last few days:

1. Install Firefox. And yeah you were right in guessing that I had problems with my flash on IE7 (how did you come to suspect that??? I'm impressed!) since a long time [each day I had to reinstall adobe flash  ] - but dearest firefox automatically detected the absence of flash AND installed it!

2. This gave me the idea to seek an add-on for IE7 (on microsoft's website itself) for a flash related add ons.

3. I suggest trying visits on a couple of days since the 1st day when I had firefox, the visits still got counted on and on... probably something to do with the set up having to save the cookie and taking time to remember it (?)

incidentally, a few days before starting this thread I discovered how to view the whole content of my Temporary Internet files of IE7 [run IE7 on admin mode] - thanks to that at least I could see the cookie set by flagcounter - something which was always hidden before...

So, while I can't say what caused what, more likely a mixture of the above made the trick - I am almost sure that Firefox and Flash was the real key...

Anyways, much thanks to you Notturno again for your patience and diligence in helping me!!! 

C U around!