Do Not Track

[Tinman57]

Re Ghostery & Trackerblock (from another thread):

I ... switched out Ghostery for TrackerBlock, on the theory that even if "less evil", Ghostery is run by an ad company, and hopefully PrivacyChoice.org ... isnt?

-TaoPhoenix (October 06, 2012, 07:46 PM)

-tomos (October 15, 2012, 07:31 AM)

PrivacyChoice is also a commercial entity - I dunno if I'd choose one of the two over the other... and something about PrivacyChoice seems fishy (not the least running a commercial site on a .org address), but opt-out cookies? I am to trust that anybody respects those? LOL! In general the addon seems to be focused more on cookies, than to keep from executing javascript or loading tracking beacon images, which is what Ghostery does.

-f0dder (October 15, 2012, 11:19 AM)

From what I understand, PrivacyChoice is geared for the publishing companies, where Abine, the makers of Do Not Track Plus is a security company.  Kind of makes you wonder where PrivacyChoice's loyalties lie...

DNT+ don't use "Opt-Out" cookies, they actually "Block" tracking of all kinds.  I think opt-out cookies are worthless.  It's the fox guarding the henhouse.  I want to block all the tracking crap, not flag them with a useless cookie...

  But, to each their own I suppose.  lol

[f0dder]

DNT+ don't use "Opt-Out" cookies, they actually "Block" tracking of all kinds.  I think opt-out cookies are worthless.  It's the fox guarding the henhouse.  I want to block all the tracking crap, not flag them with a useless cookie...

-Tinman57 (October 15, 2012, 07:31 PM)

http://www.abine.com/dntp/faq.php#q17 - "There are good cookies and bad cookies, and we add the good kind to your browser. They’re called “opt-out cookies,” and they signal to advertisers that you want to opt out of receiving target advertising (it's like the "Do Not Call" list for targeted advertising)."

One thing that does seem good about Abine/DNT+ is their team page, with names & faces. Assuming those people are real, that's a good sign - Ghostery/Evidon has that too. Couldn't find that for PrivacyChoice/TrackerBlock, which for some reason seems slightly fishy to me.

As for the fox guarding the henhouse, it's worth noting that Evidon used to be named Better Advertising - and I definitely wouldn't turn on the GhostRank stuff. But so far, Ghostery seems to do it's job well. I haven't been spying on it to check if it's sending back spying data (but even if I'm not that paranoid, I'm pretty sure other people are - and it'd hurt Evidons business if they were outright lying bastards?) - and I've seen it break sites that depend on tracking, which is good thing IMHO

[joiwind]

yes, I have tried PrivacyChoice/TrackerBlock and I don't like it : it creates a lot of traffic, slows down browsing and I have big doubts about it.

So I'm staying with DNT+ for much the same reasons as f0dder.

[TaoPhoenix]

yes, I have tried PrivacyChoice/TrackerBlock and I don't like it : it creates a lot of traffic, slows down browsing and I have big doubts about it.

So I'm staying with DNT+ for much the same reasons as f0dder.

-joiwind (October 16, 2012, 04:52 AM)

Does DNT+ cover all the flash cookies and stuff? That's the main reason I ever used Ghostery past the first year, after I knew who was on what page - I didn't think reg. AdBlock dealt with flash cookies.

[joiwind]

yes, I have tried PrivacyChoice/TrackerBlock and I don't like it : it creates a lot of traffic, slows down browsing and I have big doubts about it.

So I'm staying with DNT+ for much the same reasons as f0dder.

-joiwind (October 16, 2012, 04:52 AM)

Does DNT+ cover all the flash cookies and stuff? That's the main reason I ever used Ghostery past the first year, after I knew who was on what page - I didn't think reg. AdBlock dealt with flash cookies.

-TaoPhoenix (October 16, 2012, 06:51 AM)

Not sure about DNT+ and flash cookies - I'll check.

[Tinman57]

http://www.abine.com/dntp/faq.php#q17 - "There are good cookies and bad cookies, and we add the good kind to your browser. They’re called “opt-out cookies,” and they signal to advertisers that you want to opt out of receiving target advertising (it's like the "Do Not Call" list for targeted advertising)."

-f0dder (October 15, 2012, 08:25 PM)

  Ah yes, weedhopper, but read further and see "You do have the option to turn off these opt-out cookies entirely when using DNT+, which would leave you with the functionality that blocks tracking and targeted ads."
  Also note that "DNT+ has the best available blocking, stops more than 600 trackers."

[Tinman57]

Does DNT+ cover all the flash cookies and stuff? That's the main reason I ever used Ghostery past the first year, after I knew who was on what page - I didn't think reg. AdBlock dealt with flash cookies.

-TaoPhoenix (October 16, 2012, 06:51 AM)

How can users prevent Flash cookie tracking?
Like normal cookies, Flash cookies are represented as small files on users' computers. To prevent Flash cookies from being placed, users can adjust preferences on a per site basis in the Macromedia Website Privacy Settings Panel http://www.macromedi...tings_manager06.html. Using this tool, Flash cookies can be completely disabled or allowed on a per domain basis.
To get to the settings panel, right click on any Flash movie, click settings and then advanced. Macromedia has published a walk through guide http://www.macromedi...ndex.cfm?id=52697ee8 to help users disable Flash cookies.
Users can get rid of the current Flash cookies and their tracking information simply going to the correct folder (see below) and deleting them. The Flash cookies are organized in folders according to the site that placed them, so users can choose which objects to keep.
Firefox users can use Objection http://www.yardley.ca/objection/ , a recently developed extension that adds a LSO deletion tool to Firefox preferences.
Where are Flash cookies stored?
Flash cookies are stored in a special directory depending on the operating system on the client machine. They are arranged in directories according to the site that placed them on the computer (look for a file with a .SOL extension):
Windows C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\Macromedia\Flash Player
Macintosh OSX /Users/[username]/Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash Player
GNU-Linux ~/.macromedia

[Renegade]

Just saw this:

http://endthelie.com...ology/#axzz29edun5j0

A bit late, but perhaps of interest for this thread.

[TaoPhoenix]

Basically the trouble with DNT is "Hmm. This user says he doesn't want to be on any lists. So does this one. Ooh, I know this one! Let's make a list of all the users who don't want to be on a list!"

[cyberdiva]

How can users prevent Flash cookie tracking?

-Tinman57 (October 16, 2012, 08:00 PM)

For some time now, I've been using the Firefox add-on Better Privacy to deal with Flash cookies, and it seems to work well.  It allows you to select which Flash cookies you'd like NOT to block, or just to have it block them all.  It can inform you about the Flash cookies it blocks each time you close Firefox, or just do its business and not bother you.  Your choice.

[IainB]

^ +1 for what @cyberdiva wrote.

[f0dder]

How can users prevent Flash cookie tracking?

-Tinman57 (October 16, 2012, 08:00 PM)

For some time now, I've been using the Firefox add-on Better Privacy to deal with Flash cookies, and it seems to work well.  It allows you to select which Flash cookies you'd like NOT to block, or just to have it block them all.  It can inform you about the Flash cookies it blocks each time you close Firefox, or just do its business and not bother you.  Your choice.

-cyberdiva (October 18, 2012, 08:28 AM)

BetterPrivacy only deals with flash-cookies, right? They might be persistent nasties, but they're only a (small) part of the whole problem - IMHO it's much better to block any of the tracking scripts from executing (Ghostery or whatever, preferably combined with at least AdBlockPlus and NoScript if you can handle the whitelisting nuisance).

[IainB]

Thought I'd mention this as it seems like it is relevant and could be useful:
I had made a comment recommending HostsMan in a discussion here: Re: Host Editor 7 - Hassle free host editing for Win7-XP

In the Malwarebytes blog, they have two very interesting and related posts about malware avoidance, where there is a risk of getting malware loaded/activated by download links built into (concealed in) deceptive and honest-looking adverts, and how the use of HostsMan could help to mitigate that risk:

• Pick a Download, Any Download!
• Pick A Download… Part 2
  

  The benefits of using HostsMan over AdBlock or AdBlock Plus is that the blacklisted domains which HostsMan prevents you from visiting, also prevents you from accidentally being infected with malware from known exploit sites, the other applications only block ads.

I had switched HostsMan off as it had seemed a tad too paranoid, and was becoming annoying, and I saw a comment on the blog which shows that to be an issue:

davidperriman on October 26, 2012 at 2:36 pm said:
I have HostsMan installed and my criticism is that their database seems to contain an awful lot of sites which appear to be benign. Many’s the time I have tried to download or look at something on the strength of a review or recommendation from a trusted source, magazine, etc. and an error (cannot find server at……) is returned, Sure enough, when I do a search in HostMan’s list, it’s in there (why?) and I have to edit it out manually before I can get to it successfully. Just what is their criterion for inclusion in the list?

Still, the Malwarebytes blog posts are worth a read IMHO.

My reservations about HostMan are that, to use the host files which are available for download, you probably need to have a fair degree of trust in the providers - about whom I frankly know nothing. They could be **AA stooge files for all I know.