Facebook Cookies Track Users Even After Logging Out 352
First time accepted submitter Core Condor writes "According to Australian technologist Nik Cubrilovic: 'Logging out of Facebook is not enough.' He added, Even after you are logged out, Facebook is able to track your browser's page every time you visit a website. He wrote in his blog: 'With my browser logged out of Facebook, whenever I visit any page with a Facebook like button, or share button, or any other widget, the information, including my account ID, is still being sent to Facebook.' After explaining the cookies behavior he also suggested a way to fix the tracking problem: 'The only solution to Facebook not knowing who you are is to delete all Facebook cookies.'"
Ghostery (Score:2, Informative)
http://www.ghostery.com/ [ghostery.com]
For everyones reference, it's currently blocking facebook connect here on slashdot.
Re:My sure fire plan (Score:4, Informative)
There actually is no better way for me to communicate with some groups of friends than Facebook. In a group, some people rely on txts, some on email, some on FB itself. The group can collaborate, share links and between themselves easily, and easily communicate, even if they're not friends with each other.
Of course there are other ways to do this, and in a business environment most people will all have some software to do this (likely at a price). But if I'm throwing a birthday party or getting my family together, there is no better tool than Facebook.
FFS it's not that hard (Score:5, Informative)
The end. No tracking, "evercookies" etc. Even blocks google tracking via google-analytics.
Not news. (Score:5, Informative)
Tracking cookies track. This is not news, this is anticipated and expected behavior. This has been the status quo for over a decade.
Cookies have a security feature in that they are accessible only to the websites that placed them, but advertising sites have been using tracking cookies for as long as cookies have existed, and getting around that security by placing a "bug" on third-party sites. They used to (and probably still do) implement this as a 1x1 "spacer" image the same color as the background, or simply by having an ad on the page you are viewing. When your browser requests the image/flash/javascript/whatever, the site it comes from is suddenly allowed to access their cookie.
The solution has also not changed; either don't allow cookies, or delete them constantly. Anti-scripting addons are also helpful, as are black (or whitelists) of websites to disallow (or allow) access to your system. Modifying hosts files has been a semi-successful method, as well, in that requests sent to specific named addresses can be redirected to localhost (and therefore "blocked").
I personally use NoScript and AdBlockPlus for precisely this reason (and to speed up my page loads), and I can't fathom why this information could be conceived to be news to any user with any amount of technical knowledge and a modicum of interest in their own privacy.
You just lost the game (Score:4, Informative)
On the contrary, I view FB as a venue to advertise myself, my thoughts, and my interests to the world around me. I want to create influence, and if I don't want something to be known to FB I (wait for you mind to be blown...) simply don't post it. Amazing!
Oh, and that myth about lemmings committing mass suicide by jumping off of cliffs? That's complete nonsense fabricated for a nature film created by (wait for you mind to be blown a second time...) DISNEY! That's right, you've been successfully misled by MouseCorp/ABC.
You just got chumped, chump.