Researchers Expose Cunning Online Tracking Service That Can’t Be Dodged

Researchers at U.C. Berkeley have discovered that some of the net’s most popular sites are using a tracking service that can’t be evaded — even when users block cookies, turn off storage in Flash, or use browsers’ “incognito” functions.

The service, called KISSmetrics, is used by sites to track the number of visitors, what the visitors do on the site, and where they come to the site from — and the company says it does a more comprehensive job than its competitors such as Google Analytics. But the researchers say the site is using sneaky techniques to prevent users from opting out of being tracked on popular sites, including the TV streaming site Hulu.com.

The discovery of KISSmetrics tracking techniques comes as federal regulators, browser makers, privacy activists and ad tracking companies are trying to define what tracking actually is. The FTC called on browser makers to add a “Do Not Track” setting that essentially lets users tell websites not to leave them alone — though it doesn’t block tracking on its own. It’s more like a “privacy, please” sign on a hotel door. One of the big questions surrounding Do Not Track is about web analytics software, which sites use to determine what’s popular on their site, how many unique visitors a site has a month, where users are coming from, and what pages they leave from.

Source:
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/07/undeletable-cookie/

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How Google+ ends social networking fatigue

You’ve got it, and I’ve got it. Everyone’s overwhelmed by the sheer number of social sites the industry keep churning out.

I was already struggling to stay active on Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Google Buzz, Google Reader and several other social sites.

As new media come online, the old ones never go away. I keep up with email, of course, and publish an email newsletter. I use AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), and Google Talk for quick messaging, and also text on my iPhone like a Dachshund on crack.

I used to blog on Google’s Blogger platform, then I switched to Posterous when that was the hot new service, only to leave it for Tumblr when that became Flavor of the Month.

I won’t even try to list all the services I embraced, then quit.

When Google+ came along, I had the same initial reaction as you probably did: “What, another one?”

Then it hit me: Google+ isn’t adding to the problem. Google+ can be the solution to social networking fatigue.

Source:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9218283/Elgan_How_Google_ends_social_networking_fatigue

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Should I Change My Password?

LulzSec and other groups have been hacking an assortment of prominent organisations. For good or for bad, they have also been publishing their databases, which typically include emails and passwords. Given that most people re-use their passwords, this site allows the average person to check if their password(s) may have been compromised and need to be changed.

Note that no passwords are stored in this database.

Check now:
https://shouldichangemypassword.com/

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Google Details Upcoming Chrome Security Features

Google has released a list of security features being built into the upcoming Chrome 13 and includes Content Security Policy (CSP) and HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) implementations, certificate pinning and self-XSS filter.

The Content Security Policy (CSP) is a specification developed by Mozilla which aimed at providing a solution for many of today’s malicious injection attacks. It allows websites to restrict the sources of content that can be loaded into their pages. For example, a webmaster can provide a list of domains for images, embedded objects, scripts, fonts or frames.

This significantly restricts the options for attackers who currently exploit vulnerabilities to inject rogue iframe and script elements that load content from domains under their control. The CSP implementation in Chrome 13 is only for experimental purposes and webmasters that want to try it out can use the X-WebKit-CSP temporary header.

Source:
http://news.hitb.org/content/google-details-upcoming-chrome-security-features

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How to Delete an Account from Any Website

The words “I wish I could quit you” take on a whole new meaning when you want out of a relationship with an online service. Sure, you once thought you would be together forever, but eventually terms of service change, end-user license agreements mature, and, well, you’re just not in the same place anymore.

Sadly, not all websites and social networks are created equal when it comes to breaking up. With some, it takes only a couple of clicks to say good-bye, and for a few sites, if you stop paying for service, the site cut ties fairly quickly. Others make you jump through more hoops than a tiger at the circus. Even after you follow all of the required steps, some of these sites never quite separate from you, but keep vestiges of your relationship around forever.

Source:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2386458,00.asp

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