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.: Privacy flaw continues to dig IE hole - 15th Jan 2002
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"New privacy-enhancing controls in Microsoft's Internet Explorer 6.0 can be rendered useless by a long-known security flaw in Windows Media Player, a noted security expert said Tuesday.
The software giant has heavily promoted the privacy features of its new browser, which includes support for recently approved standards known as P3P (Platform for Privacy Preferences). Among other things, the standards aim to give Web surfers more control over electronic markers known as cookies, which can be used to peek into people's online activities.
This week, computer privacy and security consultant Richard Smith warned that a unique ID created under default settings for the Windows Media Player provides a simple override for those measures. The flaw allows a malicious Web site to create what he described as a "supercookie" capable of tracking people using any version of Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator, regardless of the privacy settings they choose..."
[news.com] |
.: DoubleClick turns away from ad profiles - 8th Jan 2002
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"Online advertising company DoubleClick has phased out its Internet ad profiling service as part of its shift from media services, proving consumer tracking doesn't always pay.
The New York-based company jettisoned its "intelligent" targeting service effective Dec. 31, a company representative confirmed Tuesday. Launched in 2000, the product allowed marketers to target ads based on a database of some 100 million profiles. The technology tracked people online anonymously and then served ads based on personal tastes.
The company simply decided not to continue the product in 2002, according to the representative..."
[news.com] |
.: File-sharing programs carry Trojan horse - 3rd Jan 2002
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"A pair of popular file-sharing programs have become privacy time bombs, according to computer experts.
Antivirus company Symantec last week reported the presence of "spyware" bundled with Grokster and Limewire, two popular file-swapping downloads. The code evidently does not damage computers, but it surreptitiously sends personal information such as user ID names and the Internet address of computers to another Web address.
Advertising software called "Clicktilluwin" that comes bundled with the file-swapping programs carries a program called "W32.DIDer," which Symantec has classified as a Trojan horse--a piece of code that takes over parts of a person's computer unseen in order to carry out its own instructions..."
[news.com] |
.: Microsoft interactive TV to track viewers - 11th Dec 2001
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"Microsoft and Predictive Networks signed a deal Tuesday to incorporate profiling technology into the software behemoth's interactive TV platform, matching similar moves in the market.
Through the partnership, Microsoft said it will incorporate Predictive's software into its ITV operating system to create profiles based on subscribers' viewing habits--but without collecting personally identifiable data. The viewer profiles are used to target advertising, match and recommend programming, and conduct market research.
By incorporating Predictive's software, Microsoft hopes to make its technology more attractive to advertisers and consumers, who will be able to view advertising, content and programming tailored to a composite identity based on a history of viewing patterns. Ideally, this type of targeted information will give cable companies the chance to charge a premium for marketing placements on the service..."
[news.com] |
.: Plugging security over privacy - 7th Dec 2001
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"As the tangle of privacy and security issues tightens in the aftermath of Sept. 11, Jack Palmer forges ahead by painting a kinder, gentler face on Big Brother.
Palmer is the CEO of ICaughtYou, a private Bonita Springs, Fla.-based company that allows corporations to monitor their employees' Internet usage. His company has been one of the unsuspecting beneficiaries of the terrorist attacks.
Even before Sept. 11, the downturn in the economy led to a heightened interest in worker productivity and in the products of ICaughtYou and competitors SurfControl and Websense.
Now, a new emphasis on national security has put corporate security in the spotlight and has led to a quadrupling of hits on the ICaughtYou Web site..."
[news.com] |
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