Thursday, August 18, 2011
Latest in Web Tracking: Stealthy 'Supercookies'
Major websites such as MSN.com and Hulu.com have been tracking people's online activities using powerful new methods that are almost impossible for computer users to detect, new research shows.
The new techniques, which are legal, reach beyond the traditional "cookie," a small file that websites routinely install on users' computers to help track their activities online. Hulu and MSN were installing files known as "supercookies," which are capable of re-creating users' profiles after people deleted regular cookies.
BAD HARDWARE WEEK: These statistics come from a study by the University of California, Berkeley, and they’re are a little alarming. Apparently half the sites on the Internet use Flash to track people, but very few actually tell you that’s what’s being done in their privacy policies.
The new techniques, which are legal, reach beyond the traditional "cookie," a small file that websites routinely install on users' computers to help track their activities online. Hulu and MSN were installing files known as "supercookies," which are capable of re-creating users' profiles after people deleted regular cookies.
BAD HARDWARE WEEK: These statistics come from a study by the University of California, Berkeley, and they’re are a little alarming. Apparently half the sites on the Internet use Flash to track people, but very few actually tell you that’s what’s being done in their privacy policies.
THIS LINK posted by Joseph Bell : 2:10 PM
