Posted on 04/07/2005 8:33:32 PM PDT by bd476
NEW YORK - The company behind those floating ads that dance across Web pages has developed a way to restore the data profiles that many privacy-conscious users try to delete from their computers.
Most users don't know what they are doing when they run antispyware programs that delete the profiles, known as cookies, said Mookie Tenembaum, founder of United Virtualities Inc.
By deleting cookies, he said, users thwart efforts by Web sites to prevent the same ads from appearing over and over. Tenembaum said visitors are also forced to repeatedly enter usernames and passwords, which are sometimes stored in the profiles.
United Virtualities calls the product Persistent Identification Element. It taps a separate profile system that's found in Macromedia Inc.'s Flash and that's not generally affected by antispyware programs.
Using the product, when a Web site discovers a cookie missing, it can look for a backup in Flash and restore the cookie.
Richard M. Smith, a privacy and security consultant in Cambridge, Mass., was critical of United Virtualities.
"Companies should respect people's choices," he said, "If a consumer makes the effort of getting antispyware software, they don't want this stuff."
Macromedia responded by issuing instructions for turning the profile system off:
Instructions from Macromedia.
Tenembaum acknowledged that his product might displease what he described as the handful of knowledgeable users who had consciously deleted their cookies.
But "we cannot make everybody happy all of the time," he said. "We can make most of the people happy most of the time."
BD, they're combatting the deletion of cookies with PIE:
persistent identification elements.
An A for cleverness, anyway.
What's next?
CAKE?
Creepy A$$h01es Kompromising Everything?
L
Creepy Online Computing Kids Seemingly Unstoppably Creating Komputer Errors Reaching Superspeed
It's no use reading the rest of the article, that's all I will remember.
I just turned this function off in my flash settings.
I think.
I must say, this is all news to me. I had no idea that the flash play had settings.
What's that spell? :)
ROTFLMAO!
If companies weren't sleazy and were honest and didn't try to track folks online, this wouldn't be an issue.
That's what I get for getting all drinky and skimming the article...I missed this gem. LOL
Calamity Jane's favorite word.
I wish we could rid of junk mail too. Then imagine companies tying the junk mail to rocks and throwing them through our windows. (no pun intended).
animal cracker
Asynchronously Nodal Internet-Mounted Attacks Launching Cryptically 'Round Anonymous Cooperative Krackerz Ethernet Realms
Application Data\Macromedia\Flash Player\#SharedObjects\BPUY2BS9\adx.gainesvillesun.com\ads\GS\fcu.swfThe file contained (note, I use the past tense):
Offset 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 00000000 00 BF 00 00 00 40 54 43 53 4F 00 04 00 00 00 00 .¿...@TCSO...... 00000016 00 09 75 73 65 72 5F 64 61 74 61 00 00 00 00 00 ..user_data..... 00000032 07 73 65 65 6E 5F 31 36 01 01 00 00 0C 73 65 65 .seen_16.....see 00000048 6E 5F 31 36 5F 64 61 74 65 02 00 09 33 2F 33 31 n_16_date...3/31 00000064 2F 32 30 30 35 00 /2005.Anyone care to speculate on what it means? My guess is it's recording that I've seen a certain ad on the Gainesville Sun's site.
How does one determine the difference between a historical item and a tracking item?
Hiding behind a shockwave file extension. Interesting.
LOL, Mookie likes Cookies, heh heh. I see what you mean.
LOL, stop it, sides aching.
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