{"id":5433,"date":"2015-02-09T10:17:11","date_gmt":"2015-02-09T15:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kasperskydaily.com\/uk\/?p=5433"},"modified":"2020-02-26T15:10:53","modified_gmt":"2020-02-26T15:10:53","slug":"big-brotherhood-web-trackers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/big-brotherhood-web-trackers\/5433\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Brotherhood: who tracks us on the Web"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once a user looks up a laptop or a slow cooker online, advertisements from online stores will begin to appear as if from the horn of abundance. This is exactly how contextual advertising works: There are numerous legitimate methods for tracking a user\u2019s online activity. Today, we\u2019ll tell you how you can get rid of the most commonly known trackers.<\/p>\n

Who is watching us?<\/h3>\n

There is a simple and comprehensive answer to this question: basically, everyone.<\/p>\n

Who tracks us on the Web? Basically, everyone who can #web #tracking<\/p>Tweet<\/a><\/blockquote>\n

Users are under surveillance from practically every popular resource, but advertising networks take the lead; the most popular ad networks include Google Adwords (DoubleClick), Oracle Bluekai, Atlas Solutions (a Facebook division), AppNexus, etc. Those are followed by the likes of access counters and other web analytics tools.<\/p>\n

Social networks are not far behind, either. Popular video hosting sites (for instance, YouTube), the AddThis service, and the comment-enabling Disqus plugin follow closely. Social networks don\u2019t just track your activity on your wall: today, any website has buttons or widgets by popular web services\u00a0that enable\u00a0user tracking.<\/p>\n

Tracking methods<\/h3>\n

There are plenty of them. The ability to get basic user data is the cornerstone of the web: the browser voluntarily gives away your IP address, information on software versions or display resolution used, etc. When combined, this innocent information is a good starting point for more action on the side of the advertiser.<\/p>\n

Cookies<\/a>, small files saved after your browsing session, contain authentication information, preferences, frequently visited website sections, etc. Cookies, in their most popular iteration, are used to track the person by his\/her unique identifier and then gather relevant data.<\/p>\n

<\/a>

On the left news says: \u201cRussian scientist poured over himself a bucket of liquid nitrogen\u201d. On the right ad says: \u201cSale of nitrogen in Khabarovsk\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

As we have already noticed, social media buttons are a powerful and convenient tracking tool; moreover, social networks, contrary to ordinary web pages, know you by name and access a significant portion of additional data.<\/p>\n

There are more exotic tracking methods, although their use is limited. For instance, the Adobe Flash plug-in employs a system of storing trackable \u201clocal objects\u201d. A PC can be identified even via cached browser contents. So, the methods are indeed numerous.<\/p>\n

How does tracking hurt?<\/h3>\n

We know little\u00a0about the types and volumes of data accumulated by advertisers; they\u2019d never tell and a User Agreement is usually a murky blurred piece of legal speak. You can only take guesses as to what it all means.<\/p>\n

Online tracking is not as innocent as it may seem. Even if you have nothing to hide, there is a disturbing question: Who might get their hands on the tracking data which Internet companies, whether with good intentions or not, accumulate in large volumes?<\/p>\n

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Data breaches have become a routine. You can\u2019t prevent it, but there is a way to minimize the damage. http:\/\/t.co\/Gq4ERG41NK<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Kaspersky (@kaspersky) August 6, 2014<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n