Concerns Over Microsoft's Internet User Profiling 144
jcatcw writes "Microsoft research on Internet user profiling could lead to tools that help repressive regimes identify anonymous dissidents, the Reporters Without Borders advocacy group warned last Friday. Microsoft's new algorithms correctly guessed the gender of a Web surfer 80% of the time, and his or her age 60% of the time. "In China, it is conceivable that this type of technology would be used to spot Internet users who regularly access such 'subversive' content as news and information websites critical of the regime," the group said."
If I were head of an oppresive regime... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:If I were head of an oppresive regime... (Score:5, Funny)
if (site.equals("slashdot.org")) male = true;
else if (site.equals("cutepuppydogs.com")) male = false;
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Due to a recent trend in programming. Feminist groups have decided they don't like being referred to as !male. They demand rule defined paring of boolean values "male" and "female" where setting male to false would trigger female equality to true. More on this at 11.
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oh noes! (Score:4, Funny)
Re:oh noes! (Score:4, Insightful)
Not that China couldn't use that in targeted propaganda...
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Not their idea, mine. Leaving no stone unturned [quotationspage.com], I say.
If I did actually get a free copy of Vista, I'd put it on the living room table right next to the picture of Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826). [whitehouse.gov] His picture is on the Two Dollar Bill [thinkquest.org] laying there.
As you can see, I am horribly bored this evening, but I am doing a test:
I'm running the linux OS [geocities.com]
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Re:Poor accuracy (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Poor accuracy (Score:5, Insightful)
Then again, now I guess it solidifies the opinion about why Microsoft is really so sore about the Google-Doubleclick deal http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/04/16/021720 3 [slashdot.org]. Google's got a leg up on what they have apparently already been working on and now they're at a disadvantage.
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"We know a guy of 30-35years was looking at anti-freedom/love/justice/whatever material in this net cafe on Thursday at 3pm, would that be you sir? No? Well they all say no at first..."
While that 20 year old woman is giggling from her window as she beat "the system" yet again.
At least if it's accurate you're okay if you behave (no I am not supporting it, just saying), where as if it's inaccurate.. well fuck, better odds on a coin flip.
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Ok boys - Time to visit that Tampon manufacturer.. (Score:1)
Well you you why...
ps: Humour
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If you were a totalitatian regime (Score:5, Insightful)
The old ways are often the best.
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You reckon? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/artic le/2007/01/08/AR2007010801352.html [washingtonpost.com]
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US and Chineese Methods (Score:2)
wouldn't it be easier to look up the IP address and persuade the ISP to hand over the user details?
Requiring the ISP to keep records with "wiretapping" laws and then getting the details is the US method. Farming out the collation of records to a company like Choice Point goes beyond the laws and is both cheap and efficient.
In China, the regime is the ISP and they have the best equipment and methods that US companies could provide.
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Hey! I live in the UK, where they can just look through my window with one of the ubiquitous CCTV cameras and just watch me browse the net...
...monitor my books, my mail...
...the rate at which I scratch my arse (there are by-laws that I won't go into, but let's just say if I do it more than 5 times in an hour and don't immediately go see the doctor, the para's turn up)...
Microsoft are waaay behind.
monk.e.boy
more useless statistics (Score:2)
Unless of course these results were made under strict scientific obervance and imparitiality.. nah !
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If anything, you could say that men and women use the Internet about equally.
Now, I'm almost positive that at least 80% of Slashdot readers are male, though there are an increasing number of females on this site. Many of them I think hide and don't reveal that they are fema
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I'm unimpressed (Score:2)
Link to paper [bell-labs.com]. I don't claim to be knowledgeable about this stuff but that success rate doesn't look too remarkable to me. China's sex ratio is hardly so skewed (yet, anyway) that this could remotely identify someone from a pool of a billion users, or even out of a single Internet cafe.
I'd wonder more about the quality of research Microsoft is getting out of their Beijing site if the
Here's my algorithm: (Score:5, Funny)
You are probably in the 20-35 age group. (60% correct)
(I know I'll only get negative responses to this post of the type "I'm reading this and I'm a 47-year-old woman!" That's Ok. You're in the other bracket.)
My algorithm is as good as Microsoft's. Can I have a research grant please?
Re:Here's my algorithm: (Score:5, Funny)
You got me pegged. Curse you!
Can I have my privacy violation lawsuit settlement, please?
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"I'm reading this and I'm a 47-year-old woman!"
As a 48-year-old grandmother, I'm offended that you called me 47!
Actually ... I don't think that Slashdot-ism works here. Go figure. :)
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I know, you were trying to be funny, but if this thing works across the board, 4 out of 5 positive ID's ain't bad.
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Slashdot already has this feature (Score:3, Funny)
Your gender is
Your age is
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male > 98 %
age 18-30 > 53 %
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male > 98 %
age 18-30 > 53 %
Looks like we have our next Slashdot poll...
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- 5-20
- 20 - 40
- CowboyNeal years
-
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Well, which is it?
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http://slashdot.org/pollBooth.pl?qid=406&aid=-1 [slashdot.org]
I don't know what the accuracy rating in
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Follow the Chinese! (Score:1)
Not too bad for now... (Score:5, Insightful)
Printable Version [computerworld.com]
Right now this doesn't worry me too much - after all, how much "identification of anonymous dissidents" could someone do based only on one's gender and a rough estimate of age? On the other hand, if Microsoft do expand to geographical location, occupation, and educational degree as mentioned, then it's rather worrying.
Collecting and storing the data is what matters (Score:2)
O Rly? (Score:5, Insightful)
Second, it is not like if Microsoft was the only one researching and developing on this field and, more than that, it is not like if Microsoft was not researching on this field, any government interested on this kind of technology would not research itself, or fund research on its public universities. So, throwing Microsoft name on the mix only reinforces my point, this submission is nothing but a flamebait, being the flame targets the usual suspects, proprietary software and communism.
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The real places this could be used are in countries that have enough freedom to not be able to meddle at a base level, but that have or desire a high degree of surveillance on their citizens (
Try visiting planet earth sometime (Score:2)
Nonsense. Microsoft's power and influence alone justifies concern about whatever they do. The same could be said of China. Your point is thus totally lost on me.
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In short, everything that an international traveler has had to disclose to authorities since the beginning of the modern era.
Identity. Citizenship. Financial responsibility. No legal barriers t
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Exactly, there's just as much reason to be afraid of these things in oppressive first world regimes [prisonplanet.com]. The US government is already getting some websites to turn over [slashdot.org] their user lists. How long until they talk Microsoft or Google into giving them access to their data mining facilities? If they can get 80% accuracy, well that's probable cause, and that will get them a warrant for a search. Eventually we'll all have to be very careful what we search for, lest we end up on a list
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You're right, the US is a kinder, gentler, oppressive regime.
BFG (Score:2)
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Tradeoff (Score:1)
Waste of my time, your time, their time.... (Score:2)
Profiling is akin to racism in my book. It's against democracy any way you look at it.
Priorities for Reporters without Borders (Score:2)
The Usual Suspects (Score:4, Interesting)
Let me tell you... (Score:1)
Extension time methinks (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Extension time methinks (Score:4, Informative)
Article would be more useful if.... (Score:2)
Which is to say, how much info can be gathered using a non Ms browser such as Firefox with a Non MS operating system such as Apple or Linux, and avoiding non MS- dominated web sites?
The more important questions are a)what extent is this important to free societies and breaking the grip of totalitarian regimes on their societies?, and b) to what extent do we as memebers in free societies nee
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Pretty much everything anyone could want.
When you click on a prostate cancer site it isn't hard to guess your likely age and gender.
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Fuzz about nothing (Score:2)
It makes more sense to worry about accidently getting linked to personal details left in instant messaging, e-mail, community profiles and/or conversations.
I know who it is! (Score:5, Funny)
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Must be Monday... (Score:1, Flamebait)
can't detect age - only maturity ... (Score:3, Insightful)
Strange age guessing (Score:1)
A bit strange in my opinion. "Guessing the gender correctly" has already 50% even if you don't have any data about the user. So there is not much improvement here.
But the age... if you really guess the age thats more difficult. If we say we have everyone in the Internet up to the age of 100, you have a 1% change of guessing the age - much less than 50%.
So even if you improve only
I wonder ... (Score:2)
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75% 18-30 years old
100% single and living in Mom's basement
Hey, look, I got even more data than MS! I'll take a check now, please.
Not a problem (Score:2)
To use it the regime would have to know about other sites the user had visited to input that information in to the algo.
If they can already uniquely identify a users across multiple sites then they would already know who they were.
All this is useful for is processing information for marketing after using your phishing detecting(IE7, google toolbar) software to spy on your users.
Using Google while logged in? (Score:1)
bad URL (Score:1)
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=22379 [rsf.org]
the other,
http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=20 [rsf.org]
is a splash page, me thinks
Marketing is the bane of our society. (Score:1)
In Soviet America, Microsoft has citizen comrades (Score:1)
All power to the Rights Fuhrer Bill Gates and Citizen Comrade Chiefs who free us from worry about nasty anonymity!
Screw Communism, Democracy is more of a Threat! (Score:1)
On the Internet, Somebody Knows You're a Dog (Score:1)
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M$ Apologists (Score:3, Informative)
No, it's not OK when Google does things that might be used to harm people who have done nothing wrong.
This thread, however, is about the much nastier things that M$ does gleefully. I'd enjoy it if you compared the details.
"Informative?" (Score:2)
Can you show me where Microsoft does these things gleefully? Proof would consist of evil cackles recorded in MP3 files. Good luck.
(I'm no apologist, I only make fun of the groupthink around here.)
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Not as good as Micro$oft, though
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