'Like' Button Follows Web Users.
Web Application Security Blog | Tracking performed by social networks. In this blog post I analyze methods of user tracking which are performed by popular social network websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Xing, and recently Google+. Each of these social networks have buttons (called Like, Tweet, Visitors, and +1 buttons) which are installed on numerous websites. I try to put some light on the actions performed by those buttons and how they track users around the web, even when they don't click those buttons. All these buttons have one thing in common: they are embedded in websites all around the web and load resources (scripts, images, etc.) which are fetched from the social networking website or their content delivery partners.
The website operator embedding these buttons does not have the complete control over what content is loaded in the context of the user's browser viewing the website. In the next paragraphs I show some details about the code of these buttons and what happens when users view the webpage located at. Facebook Struggles to Explain Its Web-Tracking Practices. Facebook’s business is built on trust, but that trust has been shaken over the past few weeks by criticism and speculation regarding how it uses browser cookies to get data about users.
A lack of thorough documentation explaining what each of its cookies does has led some observers to assume that the company is tracking offsite browsing behavior in order to target ads. Facebook needs to provide explanations for both the average user and privacy researchers about how exactly its cookies work in order to prevent these press flare-ups from giving users a negative impression and bringing on regulatory scrutiny from governments. Some bloggers claim cookies left by Facebook and third-party sites that integrate its social plugins indicate that the company is tracking users’ web browsing behavior, then using that data to target ads in a way that violates user privacy. Facebook could have avoided much of the crises by being more transparent about it how it uses cookies.
Facebook fixes ID cookie glitch. Cookies espions : Facebook réfute, avant pourtant de corriger. With ‘frictionless sharing,’ Facebook and news orgs push boundaries of online privacy. Facebook again may have gone too far in its quest to make privacy obsolete, and this time some news organizations could get burned by going along with it. Facebook spent years making it easier for us to share by building its network and placing “Like” buttons across the Web. Its latest idea goes much further, turning sharing into a thoughtless process in which everything we read, watch or listen to is shared with our friends automatically. Encouraging sharing is great. Making sharing easier is even better. But this is much more than that. What Facebook has done is change the definition of “sharing.”
It’s the difference between telling a friend about something that happened to you today and opening your entire diary. News organizations and other content companies are eagerly accompanying Facebook down this path. After disclosing required permissions up front, apps like Washington Post Social Reader automatically share all reading activity. It means little to friends It is misleading. Priv3 Selectively Stops Third-Party Sites from Sending Your Info to Facebook, Google, Twitter, and More. Facebook Privacy List for Adblock Plus. Hacker News | Facebook Disconnect. And I believe that you believe that argument. I believe even that Zuckerberg believes it. Very rarely is there a Gargamoyle sitting in a tower plotting the downfall of the smurfs. Most times it's just someone with the best of intentions.
In this case your argument is that you just want the information so as to provide people what they want. Okay - fair enough. But there is a very obvious counter-argument - which has already been mentioned many times. And next comes the only real reply that's available to you. Now - you don't state anything directly paternalistic in your reply. Sorry you need to try harder to see this from the other point of view. The first of these signs is the fact that you don't address the very obvious counter argument I just laid out. The second such sign of critical impairment is the fact that you are marginalising your opponents as "tin foil hat" people - or as ignorants who couldn't possibly understand. And that's exactly why people have their backs up. Facebook denies cookie tracking allegations. Update: Facebook fixes cookie behavior after logging out. Over the weekend, self-proclaimed hacker Nik Cubrilovic accused Facebook of tracking its users even if they log out of the social network.
The company has denied the claims and has offered an explanation as to why its cookies behave the way they do. For reference, here's what I wrote based on Cubrilovic's findings: After running a series of tests analyzing the HTTP headers on requests sent by browsers to facebook.com, he discovered that Facebook alters its tracking cookies the moment you log out, instead of deleting them. Since your uniquely identifying account information is still present in these cookies, Facebook can continue to track you.
This means that if you log out of Facebook, you're not really doing much. I also said I contacted Facebook for more information on this issue. In short, Bejar is saying Cubrilovic raises some good points and has some interesting findings, but reaches incorrect conclusions. See also:
Facebook Tracks and Traces Everyone: Like This! by Arnold Roosendaal. TNO Information and Communication Technology in DelftNovember 30, 2010 Tilburg Law School Legal Studies Research Paper Series No. 03/2011 Abstract: Numerous websites have implemented the Facebook Like button to let Facebook members share their interests, therewith promoting websites or news items. It is, thus, an important business tool for content providers. However, this article shows that the tool is also used to place cookies on the user’s computer, regardless whether a user actually uses the button when visiting a website. As an alternative business model this allows Facebook to track and trace users and to process their data. It appears that non-Facebook members can also be traced via the Like button. Number of Pages in PDF File: 10. Soros Group to Give Millions for Debating Programs.