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Obama seeks to track visitors to .gov websites
WorldNetDaily ^ | August 17, 2009 | not given

Posted on 08/16/2009 11:13:19 AM PDT by tunedin

WASHINGTON – The Barack Obama administration has announced plans to lift a government ban on tracking visitors to government websites, and potentially, collect their personal data through the use of "cookies" – an effort some suspect may already be in place on White House sites.

A ban on such tracking by the federal government on Internet users has been in place since 2000, however, the White House Office of Management and Budget now wants to lift the ban citing a "compelling need."

In fact, according to the Electronic Privacy and Information Center, federal agencies have already negotiated agreements and contracts with social networking sites like Google, YouTube, SlideShare, Facebook, AddThis, Blist, Flickr and VIMEO to collect information on visitors for federal web sites. All of these private companies are known to have agreements with federal agencies, but the public has never seen them.

(Excerpt) Read more at wnd.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: kundra; technologyczar
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To: LibWhacker

Just installed “better privacy”....thanks!


61 posted on 08/16/2009 5:07:51 PM PDT by dennisw (Free Republic is an island in a sea of zombies)
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To: Sparko; capecodder
More useful info on Flash cookies:

http://www.ghacks.net/2007/05/04/flash-cookies-explained/

There's a link on that page to Adobe's Flash Player 'Settings Manager'. Yeah, that's right, you have to go to Adobe's creepy website to make any setting changes to their software ON YOUR COMPUTER! Way to go, Adobe! Underhanded b***ards!

Anyway, the guy at ghacks.net explains how to turn Flash cookies off forever so that theoretically you wouldn't need any FireFox privacy addons like 'Better Privacy' (but personally, I'm not sure I want to do that). This info is also repeated on the Adobe site.

BUT GET THIS NEW REVELATION... Websites that set Flash cookies on your computer also have the ability to CONTROL YOUR CAMERA AND MICROPHONE!!! At least that's how I read it. I couldn't disable that little BIG BROTHER feature fast enough, even though I don't have a microphone and camera hooked up to our computer.

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!

62 posted on 08/16/2009 5:11:22 PM PDT by LibWhacker (America awake!)
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To: bushwon

Yes. And I had hundreds and hundreds of them. The secret is these Flash cookies are not all that new. They’ve been around for several years (and the cookies have been piling up on our machines) but only now are getting more widespread press. Thus, I just learned about them last week when I saw the Wired article. See also my post #62.


63 posted on 08/16/2009 5:14:57 PM PDT by LibWhacker (America awake!)
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To: dennisw

You’re welcome, sir. See also my post #62.


64 posted on 08/16/2009 5:15:33 PM PDT by LibWhacker (America awake!)
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To: RC2

“I may be mistaken but didn’t someone do this same thing in Germany during WWII? “

The web was really slow then, so not many people used it.


65 posted on 08/16/2009 5:26:21 PM PDT by HereInTheHeartland (Just say no to Soylent Green health care)
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-


66 posted on 08/16/2009 5:40:59 PM PDT by maggief
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To: LibWhacker

I don’t know how many I had (probably several hundred), but I have none now :).

My son, far more comfortable with computer computer than I, had not heard of these. He said that Flash, tho necessary to watch You-Tube, is notorious for having security issues—he has been hacked once.


67 posted on 08/16/2009 5:57:04 PM PDT by Freedom56v2 ("If you think healthcare is expensive now, just wait till it is free! "~ PJ O'Rourke)
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