Comments for How else can websites get my information?

Comment from MrGroove on 2008-10-04

2008-10-04T08:24:15Z

And that's why I convert all my email to clear text in outlook :)

Amazing what information can be gathered by putting HTML into email spam...

]]>

A comment on: How else can websites get my information?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Matthew Mapleton on 2008-10-02

2008-10-02T19:11:51Z

Leo: One thing I've noticed looking at cookie files is that they feature your windows login name in the file name itself. Do websites see your windows login name by virtue of their cookies? If so, do they record it or correllate it with other data, such as IP addresses?

Excellent observation. No they do not. That's simply the filename used by the browser.

I believe the username is an artifact of an old approach to identification used by websites that required a particular type of login. If a website required a particular type of login you used to be able to go to http://username@somerandomservice.com/ and be logged in as username (or be prompted for a password). Cookies would then be tracked separately for that username. For sites not requiring authentication I believe this is ignored. This approach is no longer supported in Internet Explorer, as it was being exploited by phishers.

- Leo
03-Oct-2008

]]>

A comment on: How else can websites get my information?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Cat Moves on 2008-10-01

2008-10-01T21:13:16Z

Isn't it strange? AOL, which purports to be an anti spyware and anti spam ISP, uses cookies that track your computer and then sends you advertising you didn't ask for. (They also ignore your continued complaints about this.)
To compound spam, they sign your name to any comment you make on one of their pages. It's pretty easy for a spammer to add "@AOL.com" I should think.
No wonder they are loosing subscribers.

]]>

A comment on: How else can websites get my information?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Rob Dimbleby on 2008-09-30

2008-09-30T18:54:37Z

BrowserSpy - http://browserspy.dk/ is great. It shows you just how much information can be retrieved from your browser just by visiting a page.

]]>

A comment on: How else can websites get my information?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.