Every time I run a virus scan I see a zillion "tracking files" and wonder how they got onto my machine. The WSJ explores.
These things are used to build a profile of you, the user. Here's an example:
The file consists of a single code— 4c812db292272995e5416a323e79bd37—that secretly identifies her as a 26-year-old female in Nashville, Tenn.Oh, and that info is for sale for a tenth of a penny.The code knows that her favorite movies include "The Princess Bride," "50 First Dates" and "10 Things I Hate About You." It knows she enjoys the "Sex and the City" series. It knows she browses entertainment news and likes to take quizzes.
One of the top offenders? Dictionary.com. If you plan to look up "triskaidekaphobia" be aware that the online reference tool will probably place a little bitty file on your machine which will tell its advertisers about you.
I am not amused.
Posted by Linkmeister at August 13, 2010 09:01 AM | TrackBack