Blogs

Request: Do NOT Track me…Denied?

By Rayleen Pirnie posted 08-26-2013 10:22

  

Have you ever been on a website and wondered why the “you might be interested in” pop-ups and onsite advertisements really reflect your interests and freakishly echo your online activity? [Inner monologue - I HAVE! It happened again today, so I decided to do some research.] I think we all know that marketing firms and advertisers track our online activities and interests to target ads at us. I knew that to some degree, but didn’t realize just how prevalent this business really is.

What does this mean to you - 4c812db292272995e5416a323e79bd37 – Anything? Nothing? Well, according to the Wall Street Journal, this single line of code details a huge amount of detail about a woman in Nashville, TN – all derived from her Internet browsing. The Journal conducted a comprehensive study that assessed cookies and other surveillance technology that companies deploy on Internet users to harvest information. The study revealed that tracking of consumer Internet activity has grown significantly and is much more intrusive than most people know.

And if I'm reading this research correctly, a more recent article published August 23, 2013 by the Wall Street Journal demonstrated that one of my most frequented sites, Dictionary.com, has up to 234 trackers on any given day. And another site I hit daily - MSNBC – avg. of 117. While some have no objection to this, many users do not want their online activities monitored and sold. Call me paranoid [go ahead, wouldn’t be the first time] but when I’m searching for a synonym for a word to develop a great blog or searching for the latest news on DDoS attacks, I don’t really want that information bought and sold like the day’s corn harvest.

Internet Explorer, Safari and Firefox all offer a Do Not Track (DNT) application that, in theory, allows a user to not have information about their web browsing activities monitored and collected.  Does it work? Well, only if the site acknowledges the DNT request, which most reportedly don’t. There is no regulatory or legislative authority requiring that a site honor the DNT request.

In response to privacy concerns expressed by the public, the Federal Trade Commission asked Congress to endorse the Do Not Track (DNT) “mechanism that would allow consumers to control the tracking of their online activities across websites, and other approaches recommended in its recent privacy report.” The result? Well, that’s shaky at best. A few social media giants have accepted the FTCs expectations, such as Twitter and Pinterest, but most reportedly do not.

So with all this paranoia swirling around in my head, I had to consult an information security guru, Rick Doten, Chief Information Security Officer at DMI Inc. Rick has been recognized as an ethical hacker who today uses his dangerously-sharp knowledge to protect Internet users and businesses. He’s also a dear friend who tolerates my frequent paranoid outbursts [Thanks Rick].

Rick’s take on my recently-developed cookie-phobia is: “My perspective is to keep in mind that not all cookies are bad. The web is a stateless environment, and therefore unless you want to re-authenticate for each page you visit, a cookie will help identify you as a user and maintain your authentication and authorization. But that obviously can be used for nefarious purposes as you are discussing. And most folks don't realize how many cookies are tracking you until you run an anti-malware scan that identifies them.  It's usually best to clear cookies when you close your browser, though most people don't close their browsers often. Leveraging an incognito or "private" browsing window, which all the browsers have now, is another way to help. Also, don't browse when you are logged into Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. because cookies can inherit identity. That's where multiple browsers are a good idea.”

Well, thanks Rick, while I am now calmer my phobia has not abated. So, what’s the lesson from today’s soap-box ladies and gentlemen? Well, that honestly depends on your point of view. Personally, I am now clearing cookies after every session, downloaded a third Browser, and made sure all of my Browsers have the cooking blocking application checked. I’d rather enter a few additional authentication measures than have my personal information bought and sold. That’s just me. Go forth and prosper in the Wild Wild West, I mean, the World Wide Web.



0 comments
140 views