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k027
Special Response Team
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Joined: Aug 25, 2003
Posts: 8517
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 Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 4:40 pm Post subject: Phorm’s All-Seeing Parasite Cookie |
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| Quote: | One interesting aspect of the plans by Phorm, a company building an advertising targeting system, is that it has found a way to make cookies do what so many feared they could: track every page you visit on the Internet.
Phorm has deals to work with the three largest Internet service providers in Britain, and it is trying to establish similar arrangements in other countries including the United States. Because Phorm’s system can actually watch all the traffic to and from your computer, it can modify cookies in ways that haven’t been used before.
...Phorm gets around these restrictions by piggybacking its cookies on the backs of those left by other sites. Phorm installs equipment at the I.S.P. that intercepts the user’s browser when it visits a Web site for the first time. It redirects the browser to Phorm’s own site. That way it can place and read its own cookie with a Phorm identification number. It then appends this number onto the cookie of the other site, say Google or Yahoo. It does this without the permission of that other site.
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http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/07/phorms-all-seeing-parasite-cookie/index.html?ref=technology
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lordpake
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Joined: Aug 17, 2005
Posts: 137
Location: Helsinki ~ European Union
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| Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 6:13 pm Post subject: |
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It'll be interesting to see how all this develops. Personally, from what I've read about Phorm so far, I do find the whole concept disturbing.
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Kitten: small homicidal muffin on legs: affects human sensibilities to the point of endowing the most wanton and ruthless acts of destruction with near mythical overtones of cuteness. Not recommended for beginners, get at least two. [Fafnir]
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brewt
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Joined: May 29, 2007
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Location: USA
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