Posted on 08/17/2009 3:19:07 PM PDT by LibWhacker
Flash cookies placed by many of the most popular Web sites are being used to track site visitors, even going so far as to re-create http tracking cookies after they're deleted by privacy-conscious surfers.
A new study released by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and other universites found that the Flash cookies, or local shared objects, are used on 54 of the top 100 Web sites, as ranked by Quantcast. The Flash cookies are stored in a different location than regular http cookies, and are not removed if you delete cookies from within your browser. Per the report, "even the ‘Private Browsing' mode recently added to most browsers such as Internet Explorer 8 and Firefox 3 still allows Flash cookies to operate fully and track the user."
(Excerpt) Read more at pcworld.com ...
Use this panel to reset the privacy settings in Adobe Flash Player:
* If you select Always Deny and then confirm your selection, any website that tries to use your camera or microphone will be denied access. You will not be asked again if a website can use your camera or microphone. This action applies both to websites you have already visited and to those you haven't yet visited.
* If you select Always Ask and then confirm your selection, any website that tries to use your camera or microphone must ask your permission. This action applies both to websites you have already visited and to those you haven't yet visited.
Obama wants this stuff on gov't websites, especially whitehouse.gov.
Imagine it, you visit the White House's website and they not only set a Flash cookie on your machine, but snap your picture and record your voice to see if you're muttering anything fishy about them under your breath!
GOOD GOD, man, it's truly a Brave New World!
Better Privacy Firefox addon... Auto-deletes Flash cookies
Adobe's Flash Player Settings Manager... Here you can permanently disable Flash cookies and forbid any websites snapping your pic and listening in on you (you should play with the icons at the top to see what other capabilities are there)
or you can clean your web browsing history with “C Clean”, as well.
And where would one get “C Clean” and how would one be assured that it isn’t going to perform a rectal exam on your hard drive in return?
Yes, CCleaner is a good one, thx!
yep...Just ‘reset’ browser daily to original settings and turn off adobe third party stuff per the article.
However... CCleaner does nothing about the camera and microphone problem!
Even crusty and cranky old LibWhacker can’t do without YouTube, online gaming, online banking, online DMV renewal, etc., etc. Flash is almost necessary nowadays.
bump
True, but together with using the Adobe Global access deny, it gives better protection.
C Clean has it’s own website, and only asks for a donation, and you need to uncheck the “recent documents” box, and it will only clean out all browsing history, and components listed...so read in case you don’t want it to delete something else. It does not clean your harddrive, only items listed.
all you have to do is turn on the options when you need them and immediately turn them off again. I know it is a pain, but if you are concerned about security then it is worth the effort,
Do these suckers run on Linux?
I don’t know, proxy_user, sorry.
bflr
btt for later
Forgot to emphasize the need for an “IP Address anonymous Hide program”, so you cannot be tracked online, or someone looking for your IP Address can’t find it...there are free ones like IHide 2.5 out there, and some you can buy with rotating IP Addresses...do a search if you don’t already have one.
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