cookies

Do-Not-Track extension for G Chrome

Mozilla issues do-not-track guide for advert

ETags vs Flash Cookies

Spotify Caught Using Evil Tracking Cookie

Flash cookies to Etags

Researchers at U.C. Berkeley have discovered that some of the net’s most popular sites are using a tracking service that can’t be evaded — even when users block cookies, turn off storage in Flash, or use browsers’ “incognito” functions. The service, called KISSmetrics , is used by sites to track the number of visitors, what the visitors do on the site, and where they come to the site from — and the company says it does a more comprehensive job than its competitors such as Google Analytics. But the researchers say the site is using sneaky techniques to prevent users from opting out of being tracked on popular sites, including the TV streaming site Hulu.com. The discovery of KISSmetrics tracking techniques comes as federal regulators, browser makers, privacy activists and ad tracking companies are trying to define what tracking actually is. Researchers Expose Cunning Online Tracking Service That Can’t Be Dodged | Epicenter | Wired.com

IDG News Service - Critics were worried that the European Union's privacy directive on browser cookies could make virtually every website in Europe illegal. But most EU member countries ignored the May 25 deadline to implement the directive, so e-commerce didn't skip a beat. Only Denmark, Estonia and the U.K. have taken steps to implement the privacy directive, said Jonathan Todd, a spokesman for the European Commission, and even those efforts may not be fully compliant with the policy. EU Law on Tracking Cookies Ignored - Computerworld

ICO cookies

UK cookies Directive enforcement

Web users who don't want to be tracked via standard HTML cookies can opt out in various ways, including rejecting cookies at the browser level or regularly deleting cookies. Users who don't want to be tracked via Flash cookies also can delete those cookies -- though doing so isn't as easy as deleting HTML cookies. But even the most tech-savvy users might be stymied by some of the newer, harder-to-control tracking technologies. Two years ago, NebuAd began purchasing data directly from people's broadband providers. While the company said users could opt out of its online behavioral advertising program, it's since come to light that some ISPs that tested the system never gave subscribers that opportunity. Publications Start-Up Links 65 Million IP Addresses To Users, Readies Targeting Platform 02/25/2010

flash cookies explained

Flash Cookies explained Flash cookies are a new way of tracing your movement and storing a lot more information about you than with normal cookies. One major disadvantage of flash cookies is that you can’t locate them in your browser. They are not shown in the list of cookies that you can see when you take a look at the cookies that are currently saved in your web browser. Normal HTTP cookies can’t save more than 4 Kilobyte of data while Flash cookies can save up to 100 Kilobyte. If you want to try out how they work you could do the following. Go to Youtube, increase or decrease the volume of the videos and delete all cookies afterwards.

EU cookies directive

What are Cookies and What They do for Privacy (Infographic) | Search Engine Journal

FTC recommends self regulation

evercookies

These hidden tracking files result in “data leakage,” and it’s costing web publishers money, says Rajeev Goel, the CEO of ad-management start-up PubMatic. The start-up is introducing a product Tuesday that helps site owners see just what they are installing. “The harm is that profiles [of users] are being built without the publisher knowing about it,” Mr. Goel said in an interview with Digits. The company using the hidden tracking files can then make money by selling the user’s profile to advertisers without the Web publisher’s knowledge, he said. A Tool to Help Sites Monitor Web Tracking - Digits - WSJ

NYT – The technology, so-called Flash cookies, is bringing an increasing number of federal lawsuits against media and technology companies and growing criticism from some privacy advocates who say the software may also allow the companies to create detailed profiles of consumers without their knowledge. Unlike other so-called HTML cookies, which store Web site preferences and can be managed by changing privacy settings in a Web browser, Flash cookies are stored in a separate directory that many users are unaware of and may not know how to control. Since July, at least five class-action lawsuits filed in California have accused media companies like the Fox Entertainment Group and NBC Universal , and technology companies like Specific Media and Quantcast of surreptitiously using Flash cookies. More filings are expected as early as this week. Code That Tracks Users’ Browsing Prompts Lawsuits « Media Law

At least six new lawsuits are challenging online cookies that track Internet users’ browsing habits, claiming the modern tracking tools defy or inhibit deletion. Court rulings in 2001 and 2003 found that cookies were legal, the Wall Street Journal reports. The new suits, filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, claim that those holdings don’t apply to new, more sophisticated tracking technology. New Suits Challenge Online Cookies that Defy or Inhibit Deletion - News - ABA Journal

Net Cetera talks a lot about keeping kids themselves accountable — “remind your kids that online actions can reverberate;” “if your kids download copyrighted material, you could get mired in legal issues.” It has some excellent guidelines for talking to kids about communicating and socializing online, and gets credit for telling parents that “your child’s personal information is valuable, and you can do a lot to protect it.” But Net Cetera saves its discussion of COPPA and privacy for the guide’s final page , and fails to explain tracking with cookies at all (while cookies get a nod in the guide’s glossary, its security section highlights viruses, malware, spyware, and, that perennial bogeyman, P2P). While Net Cetera does tell parents to think about fine-tuning whether and how information can be collected and used – Sites harvesting kids' data fly under the radar, even for the FTC | ZDNet

The Journal examined 50 sites popular with U.S. teens and children to see what tracking tools they installed on a test computer. As a group, the sites placed 4,123 "cookies," "beacons" and other pieces of tracking technology. That is 30% more than were found in an analysis of the 50 most popular U.S. sites overall, which are generally aimed at adults. The most prolific site: Snazzyspace.com, which helps teens customize their social-networking pages, installed 248 tracking tools. On the Web, Children Face Intensive Tracking - WSJ.com

Spate of Lawsuits Over 'Cookies' Shows User Discomfort With Latest Innovations in Online-Tracking Technology - WSJ.com It's rarely a coincidence when you see Web ads for products that match your interests. WSJ's Christina Tsuei explains how advertisers use cookies to track your online habits.

Lawsuit Targets Mobile Ad Company Over Sneaky HTML5 Uncookies | Threat Level | Wired.com But the tracker, labeled RLDGUID, does not go away when one clears cookies from the browser. Our sister site Ars Technica reported last week that users savvy enough to find and delete the database have found it returning mysteriously with the same ID number as before — a result the lawyers suing Ringleader say they’ve reproduced. “You can’t get rid of that database,” says Majed Nachawati, a Dallas attorney behind the Ringleader lawsuit. “You’re left with this database tracking you and your phone and your viewing habits on the net, which is a violation of federal privacy laws.”

As part of the Journal’s investigation of surveillance technologies online, Digits asked readers to submit questions about technology and privacy. Several readers asked about what happens when cookies are deleted, and one posed the following question: By Emily Steel Associated Press If I delete all cookies and then later enable them, can the new cookies be associated with the “old” cookies? Digital-Privacy Questions Answered: Deleting Cookies - Digits - WSJ

There is a debate happening in the industry right now about the impact cookies (the tiny piece of code dropped by publishers on your browser to help keep track of certain information) are having on privacy. The debate was set off by The Wall Street Journal with “The Web’s New Gold Mine: Your Secrets” , which explores the myriad ways marketers are using tracking technologies to reach and influence consumer decisions. One of the more insightful analyses of this debate came from Josh Chasin of comScore in a post he wrote for MediaPost entitled, “Don’t Be Afraid of the Cookie Monster.” Ad Cookies and Privacy

Report: Facebook and the New Age of Privacy | Fast Company The state of privacy online, or perceived lack thereof, is consuming media headlines and status updates worldwide and Webwide. But what might appear to represent the sentiment of the people, may also in fact, represent media sensationalism. As you'll see, conversations on Twitter regarding privacy fueled discourse and debate as well as awareness of the issue. At the heart of the privacy debate is Facebook and its ongoing series of changes to its privacy policy. This latest PeopleBrowsr report examines the extent of Facebook privacy story between Facebook's F8 conference in April 2010 and now.