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--- privacy_protection [2023/07/19 06:08] – [Privacy protection] hc9
+++ privacy_protection [2024/09/16 06:42] (current) – ee” hc9
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 ====== Privacy protection ======
-Have you ever wondered why so many web sites offer various services for "free"? Consider social networks. They let you stay in touch with friends, share photos, chat, recommend stuff, etc. Even if you are not involved in a social network, you are probably using one of those cool services around there such as a web feedreader, photo albums, online documents, and so on.
+Have you ever wondered why so many web sites offer various services for “free”? Consider social networks. They let you stay in touch with friends, share photos, chat, recommend stuff, etc. Even if you are not involved in a social network, you are probably using one of those cool services around there such as a web feedreader, photo albums, online documents, and so on.
-Are they giving you "free" services? This depends on your definition of "free". Using them doesn't actually cost you money //directly//. However, these companies do need money to operate. Their source of revenue is derived mostly by advertisers and the more information these companies have (tastes, thoughts, locations, relations, …), the more they can profit from selling it. Yes, that's right: they sell //your// information.
+Are they giving you “free” services? This depends on your definition of “free”. Using them doesn't actually cost you money //directly//. However, these companies do need money to operate. Their source of revenue is derived mostly by advertisers and the more information these companies have (tastes, thoughts, locations, relations, …), the more they can profit from selling it. Yes, that's right: they sell //your// information.
 Too much paranoia? Maybe. However, let's try a test. Visit the link below (it will redirect to doubleclick.net; it will work better if you visit it with a browser/computer used only by yourself with no blockers):
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 http://www.google.com/ads/preferences/
-It probably guessed your demographic information and/or interests. How do they know? They track your internet usage by means of an "HTTP cookie", which is a small file that some websites leave on your computer when you visit them. While it is not a big issue //per se// (they can be used to, for example, save your preferences for a website), they can also be used to collect information about you, as shown above.
+It probably guessed your demographic information and/or interests. How do they know? They track your internet usage by means of an “HTTP cookie”, which is a small file that some websites leave on your computer when you visit them. While it is not a big issue //per se// (they can be used to, for example, save your preferences for a website), they can also be used to collect information about you, as shown above.
 A cool and informative visualization of the tracking process can be seen here: http://collusion.toolness.org/
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     * Like standard cookies, but done with Adobe Flash. Check the [[http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager06.html|Website Privacy Settings panel]].
   * Zombie cookies
-    * Yet another cookie type. This one's particular, though. It will be recreated even if the user has deleted it. Actually, it's not just a single cookie, like the HTTP or flash types. Other storage mechanisms will additionally be used (e.g., "HTML5 Storage", "Silverlight Isolated Storage", "Web cache|history", etc. and if the user fails at removing them, they will repopulate the data storage. Read more here: [[wp>wiki/Zombie_cookie|Zombie_cookie]].
+    * Yet another cookie type. This one's particular, though. It will be recreated even if the user has deleted it. Actually, it's not just a single cookie, like the HTTP or flash types. Other storage mechanisms will additionally be used (e.g., “HTML5 Storage”, “Silverlight Isolated Storage”, “Web cache|history”, etc. and if the user fails at removing them, they will repopulate the data storage. Read more here: [[wp>wiki/Zombie_cookie|Zombie_cookie]].
   * Web bugs
     * A small or invisible object (like a 1x1 pixel image) is put into a web site or e-mail message which is loaded from a third party. Read the [[http://w2.eff.org/Privacy/Marketing/web_bug.html|Web Bug FAQ]]