AplusWebMaster
Topic Starter
FYI…
Sites pulling sneaky Flash cookie-snoop
- http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/19/flash_cookies/
19 August 2009 - "Many websites are using Flash-based cookies to track users, but often omit to mention this in their privacy policies… Browser-based cookies constitute a well understood and widely deployed technology that poses serious questions about privacy, depending on its usage. What's far less well known is that Adobe Flash software also features cookies that can be used in much the same way as HTTP cookies. Flash cookies can be used for storing the volume level of a Flash video but the technology can also be used as "secondary, redundant unique identifiers that enable advertisers to circumvent user preferences and self-help"… researchers conclude that Flash cookies are more effective at tracking users' visits around websites than traditional HTTP cookies because they operate in the shadows and are infrequently removed. By default Flash cookies have no built-in expiration date. Browser-based actions such as deleting browser histories or switching to private mode does not affect the operation of Flash cookies…"
- https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/6623
Better privacy - "… Concerning privacy Flash- and DOM Storage objects are most critical. This addon was made to make users aware of those hidden, never expiring objects and to offer an easy way to get rid of them - since browsers are unable to do that for you. Flash-cookies (Local Shared Objects, LSO) are pieces of information placed on your computer by a Flash plugin. Those Super-Cookies are placed in central system folders and so protected from deletion…"
> http://www.macromedia.com/support/document…_manager07.html
Sites pulling sneaky Flash cookie-snoop
- http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/19/flash_cookies/
19 August 2009 - "Many websites are using Flash-based cookies to track users, but often omit to mention this in their privacy policies… Browser-based cookies constitute a well understood and widely deployed technology that poses serious questions about privacy, depending on its usage. What's far less well known is that Adobe Flash software also features cookies that can be used in much the same way as HTTP cookies. Flash cookies can be used for storing the volume level of a Flash video but the technology can also be used as "secondary, redundant unique identifiers that enable advertisers to circumvent user preferences and self-help"… researchers conclude that Flash cookies are more effective at tracking users' visits around websites than traditional HTTP cookies because they operate in the shadows and are infrequently removed. By default Flash cookies have no built-in expiration date. Browser-based actions such as deleting browser histories or switching to private mode does not affect the operation of Flash cookies…"
- https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/6623
Better privacy - "… Concerning privacy Flash- and DOM Storage objects are most critical. This addon was made to make users aware of those hidden, never expiring objects and to offer an easy way to get rid of them - since browsers are unable to do that for you. Flash-cookies (Local Shared Objects, LSO) are pieces of information placed on your computer by a Flash plugin. Those Super-Cookies are placed in central system folders and so protected from deletion…"
> http://www.macromedia.com/support/document…_manager07.html
