Posted on 02/24/2012 1:02:48 PM PST by Ron C.
Google, Microsoft, AOL and other big companies have agreed to install a "do not track" button in Web browsers to make sure that you can surf the Web with an assured amount of privacy. It's a big step for the industry -- but until this button arrives, how can you assure yourself a little more privacy online?
The "No Track" button would stop companies from using data about your Web browsing habits to customize ads for you. They have also agreed not to use the data for employment, credit, health-care or insurance purposes. For obvious reasons, that type of usage feels intrusive.
Companies would still be able to use your general browsing patterns for market research or product development. And companies like Facebook could still track your use of the Like button to gather data.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
FoxNews is behind the times.
A Do-Not-Track button is already available as an add-on for Firefox and IE.
Check it out at: http://abine.com/
The easy answer is never do anything that could bring you shame or legal issues from a computer than can be traced to you. Because no matter what silly buttons with no code behind them Google and MS put in their browsers your activity will ALWAYS be traceable back to the computer. So for those naughty things go use your co-workers’ machines.
But then they’ll track you as one who pressed the “Do not track” button!
BUT, please do check out the Ghostery and Trackerblock add-on links in the article. Both are great additions to the Do-Not-Track option. Both give you a look at what the real scope of what has been added to your browser PRE and POST use of a DNT option.
Well, nothing about the internet has been easy of late. I really do miss the early days of the net. Things were so much better back then - no hackers, hardly any ads at first, and people were really polite!
Don’t forget WWW.PROXPN.COM, it’s free...
It’s good, but it’s too late and too little.
I realized recently while sending out my resume, that it takes a Google search on my last name to learn my age, which is over the age of “employable”.
No, the Mormons don’t have my geneology info (though now that I’ve searched their db on my and my ancestors’ names, they’ve got those, dammit!)
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bump for later
Also, if you go anywhere near google, be sure to scrub your history while you still can: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/why-you-might-want-to-delete-your-google-browser-history-before-next-week/
Thanks for that! History for google deleted.
I am running Firefox 3.6. 2 questions: should I upgrade to the new firefox browser? How do I delete all tracking cookies? As you can see I am not computer savvey so any help would be appreciated
You should probably try the newest Firefox 10.0.0.2, I think. FF 11 will be out soon.
You might lose some of your extensions/add-ons. Many add-on developers have stopped updating because of Mozilla’s Rapid Release insanity.
Check out the add-on ‘Is It Compatible?’ to see which of your current add-ons are compatible with the later FF editions.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/is-it-compatible/
==
You can delete FF cookies by going to the Tools >> Options >> Privacy and Security and Advanced/Network tabs
You can also run a 3rd party cleaner. CCleaner is a good, free-for-home-use one.
http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner
You had me going there - right up to you last sentence... LOL - thanks for sharing.
You had me going there - right up to your last sentence... LOL - thanks for sharing.
Thank you for the info
Baloney.
All that "Do Not Track" does is add one measly header like this to each http request that is made:
DNT: 1
Companies can easily ignore this header if they wish.
Indeed, I am already sending this header from this browser — you can check your current DNT status at http://dnt.mozilla.org/, and learn more about this silly gimmick.
Actually it’s mostly true with the one exaggeration, the key to good humor. You can always be tracked. If they know where the packets came from they can figure out where they went. TCPIP traffic doesn’t run around blind, it’s not like radio waves, each packet has a destination, and the network knows that destination, and parts of the network store that destination. The best you can really accomplish is to make it not ridiculously easy for them to find out where you’ve been, make it so your computer won’t tell on you. Once the path gets to your ISP though the data is still there and entirely outside your control.
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