Yahoo Group Members

[justloafing]

Cross-posted from OAOSRQ2 Yahoo group...

> If you belong to ANY Yahoo Groups be aware that Yahoo is now

> using "Web Beacons" to track every Yahoo Group user.

> It's similar to cookies, but allows Yahoo to record every website

> and every group you visit, even when you're not connected to Yahoo.

> Look at their updated privacy statement at

> http://privacy.yahoo.com/privacy (no www.)

>

> About half-way down the page, in the section on

> cookies, you will see a link that says WEB BEACONS.

>

> Click on the phrase "Web Beacons."

>

> On the page that opens, find a paragraph entitled "Outside the

> Yahoo Network."

>

> In that section find a little "Click Here to Opt Out"

> a link that will let you "opt-out" of their snooping.

>

> That's it!

>

> When you are done, don't click the "Opt Back In" button that will

> UNDO the

> opt-out.

>

> Note that Yahoo's invasion of your privacy - and your

> ability to opt-out of it - is not user-specific. It is MACHINE

> specific. That means you will have to opt-out on every computer

> (and browser) you use.

>

> Please forward this to your other groups. You might

> complain, too, but I'm not sure if anyone is listening..."

[markomalley]

Yahoo! is hardly the only company to use web beacons:

Also called a Web bug or a pixel tag or a clear GIF. Used in combination with cookies, a Web beacon is an often-transparent graphic image, usually no larger than 1 pixel x 1 pixel, that is placed on a Web site or in an e-mail that is used to monitor the behavior of the user visiting the Web site or sending the e-mail. When the HTML code for the Web beacon points to a site to retrieve the image, at the same time it can pass along information such as the IP address of the computer that retrieved the image, the time the Web beacon was viewed and for how long, the type of browser that retrieved the image and previously set cookie values.

Web beacons are typically used by a third-party to monitor the activity of a site. A Web beacon can be detected by viewing the source code of a Web page and looking for any IMG tags that load from a different server than the rest of the site. Turning off the browser's cookies will prevent Web beacons from tracking the user's activity. The Web beacon will still account for an anonymous visit, but the user's unique information will not be recorded.

Most, repeat, most companies use those little web beacons to track usage.

The best way to defeat them is through updating your "hosts" file...thus advertisers will not have access to your machine. See the following: http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

[WordWolf]

Many thanks for both links.