There are so many of these loop holes in the internet. I have said it before and i will say it again. If you do not want your info to be public knowledge then throw away your computer and cell phone, get rid of your vehicle if you have OnStar. Everything that is going on in the world today is being monitored. Remember the patriot act. Your electronic info is now public knowledge if the Government see’s fit. I know there are agency’s out there who say you are protected but when it comes down to it your not. They there are plenty of sites out there that do try to make an effort to keep your info private but over all most of them do not. Pay attention to where you are going and if you are transferring sensitive info make sure that the domain name in the address bar starts with “https:// not just http:// . The
Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is a combination of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) with SSL/TLS protocol to provide encrypted …
~UA Sites Admin
Be Careful out there! Don’t get caught up in the crossfire.
Study: Many Websites ‘leaking’ Personal Info to Other Firms By Grant Gross, IDG News Many top websites share their visitors’ names, usernames or other personal information with their partners without telling users and, in some cases, without knowing they’re doing it, according to a new study from Stanford University. Similar Articles: Password Manager Internet Explorer IQ Story Called a Hoax Facebook Privacy Fail: Apps Leak Private Info, Report Facebook Backs Off Third-Party Data-Sharing Plan Porn Site Users Beware: LulzSec Posts Your E-mail Address Google’s ‘Me on the Web’ Tool Alerts You to Personal Data Leaks Study Casts Pirate Site Users in Good Light Many websites “leak” usernames to third-party advertising networks by including usernames in URLs that the ad networks can see in referrer headers, said the study, released Tuesday by Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society. While there’s a debate in legal circles whether usernames are personal information, there’s a growing consensus among computer scientists that Web-based companies can use usernames to identify their owners, said Jonathan Mayer, a Stanford graduate student who led the study. “The vast majority of usernames are unique,” he said. “Given the prevalence of social networking, often times, once you have a username for a social network, you then also have a person’s real name, possibly a photo, possibly more.” Other websites share first names, email addresses and other information with advertising or other partners, Mayer said at a privacy conference in Washington, D.C. Those identifiers “get associated not just with what you’re doing right now, but get associated with what you’ve done in the past, and what Web browsing activity you may have in the future,” he said. In many cases, the large websites appear to not inform users of the personal information they’re sharing, the Stanford study said. “From a legal perspective, identifying information leakage is a debacle,” the study said. “Many … websites make what would appear to be incorrect, or at minimum misleading, representations.” The Stanford researchers looked at 185 of the largest websites and found that 61 percent of them shared usernames or user IDs with third parties. The information went most often to Web analytics firms comScore and Google Analytics, advertising firms Quantcast and Google’s DoubleClick and to Facebook, the study said. At HomeDepot.com, viewing a local ad resulted in the user’s first name and email address being sent to 13 companies, the study said. Signing up at weather site Weather Underground sent the user’s email address to 22 companies, and interacting with Classmates.com sent the user’s first and last names to 22 companies, the study said. Popular photo-sharing site Photobucket sent the username to 31 other companies, the study said. Changing user settings on the video sharing site Metacafe sends the user’s first name, last name, birthday, email address, physical address and phone numbers to two other companies, the study said. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a tech-focused think tank, questioned the study’s assertion that it debunked the myth that digital data collection is anonymous. “Despite the hype, the report merely identified some known technical issues that websites can address to improve privacy,” said Daniel Castro, a senior analyst at ITIF. “The fact remains that the vast majority of organizations and businesses on the Internet do not abuse consumer data and have policies and practices in place to protect consumers.” Online advertising, including targeted advertising, is the foundation of the Internet economy and pays for free content and services online, Castro said. Websites are “working diligently to strengthen and improve online advertising self-regulation,” he added. “Sound public policy should be guided by thoughtful commentary, not hysteria and fear-mongering.” Targeted, or behavioral, advertising is a “sliver” of all online advertising, Mayer said. “It’s often talked about that getting rid of behavioral advertising is going to torpedo the entire Internet economy,” he said. “I think it is uncontroversial to say, for now, that’s definitely not the case.” Steve DelBianco, executive director of e-commerce trade group NetChoice, disagreed, saying a recent Massachusetts Institute of Technology study found that nontargeted ads are 65 percent less effective than targeted ads. “Targeted ads are essential for general-audience websites that don’t have inherent interests,” DelBianco said. “A 65 percent loss in ad revenue for a general news or blog site is far more serious than a sliver.” If websites are sharing usernames or other information, they should be transparent about it, DelBianco added. “When a user creates a relationship with a website, they need to know whether that website intends to also read its cookie — including the username — when the user visits other sites. If a company reads its cookies without fully disclosing where and how, the [U.S. Federal Trade Commission] should be taking enforcement action for unfair and deceptive trade practices.” Grant Gross covers technology and telecom policy in the U.S. government for The IDG News Service. Follow Grant on Twitter at GrantGross. Grant’s e-mail address is grant_gross@idg.com. Was this article useful? Yes 1 No 0 Sponsored Resource: Do-it-yourself guide to home networking. Sponsored Links Business Plan Only $399Not a DIY, Free Marketing Review & Adv Fast Low Price & Easy Pay Plan!www.BizCentralUSA.com Starting a Small BusinessSmall Business Admin Services. Business.com: 75,000,000 Users.www.Business.com Find Personal InformationSearch for personal information online. Get the dirt on anyone $6.99!www.detectivemagic.com Local Local JobsFind Local Jobs Near You. See Actual Customer Reviews!Local.com Comments Readers reply with their ideas and expertise. Subscribe to this discussion via email or RSS Leave a comment Submit Comment Once you click submit you will be asked to sign in or register an account if you are not already a member. blackwavecruiser posted Tue Oct 11 12:37:52 PDT 2011 Wow. So virtually every business on the web is probably involved in some sort of dodgy shenanigans yet they demand and expect our honesty. No wonder I use so many usernames and email addresses I can’t even keep up with them all. Ha. Buying Guide Routers and Wireless Adapters: Here’s how to choose the equipment you need. Read more. Business News Daily Get the latest technology news that’s important to you and your business, fresh seven days a week. 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