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WSJ Warnings About Cookies Carry Cookies

Posted by samzenpus on from the pot-meet-kettle dept.

itwbennett writes "The Wall Street Journal has 'a pretty useful section tracking privacy issues, privacy protection tools and the threats thereof from online marketers, from the point of view and on the technical level of a relatively savvy consumer,' says blogger Kevin Fogarty. The downside: He discovered that reading two stories from the WSJ's privacy section left behind deletion-resistant Flash cookies."

10 of 45 comments (clear)

  1. Trojan? by DamonHD · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Does that count as a Trojan article?

    Rgds

    Damon

    --
    http://m.earth.org.uk/
    1. Re:Trojan? by tttonyyy · · Score: 2, Funny

      Does that count as a Trojan article?

      Ironic, for our pleasure.

      Those cookie crumbs sure do itch though.

      --
      biopowered.co.uk - catalytically cracking triglycerides for home automotive use since 2008. Just say no to big oil!
  2. Cookies carrying cookies?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yo dawg, we heard you like cookies...

    1. Re:Cookies carrying cookies?! by ZeRu · · Score: 3, Interesting

      This site stores your viewing preferences in cookies. It is possible to opt out of this in your settings. However, that information will be stored in a cookie.
      Do you still wish to opt out?

      --
      If you post as an AC, don't expect me to spend a mod point on you.
  3. Cookies in the Cookie article? by smitty777 · · Score: 3, Funny

    It's a good thing it wasn't an article on syphylis

    --
    "Before God we are all equally wise - and equally foolish"
    Albert Einstein
  4. Let's all just acknowledge this for a moment by erroneus · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Threats of online marketers."

    Online marketing is a threat. We all need to acknowledge this and accept it. It is a threat to our privacy and to ourselves if and when that information is sold (because there are few if any laws against it) for purposes other than marketing. The problem starts with aggressive marketing. It needs to stop. They will not willingly respect us. They have to be forced to do so. They will not change their ways out of guilt or shame -- they have none. Let it settle into your brain and then act accordingly.

    1. Re:Let's all just acknowledge this for a moment by postbigbang · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Users are stupid, and they aren't willing to understand tracking behavior-- and they SHOULDN'T HAVE TO.

      There is such a thing as public safety, and the behavior of marketers is something that needs sorely to be roped in. You can educate people until you're blue in the face. But the whofuckingcaresaboutyourprivacy folks will be one to five steps ahead if it's legal.

      Doing a holier-than-thou solves nothing. Instead, do what you can to strangle the proctological orrifi that think that your information is about *them*.

      --
      ---- Teach Peace. It's Cheaper Than War.
  5. police thyself by digitaldc · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "The central issue in writing federal privacy legislation is whether the Internet industry's efforts to police its own behavior has been effective enough."

    Apparently they can't even recognize their own behavior, let alone police themselves.

    --
    He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
  6. Firefox's BetterPrivacy extension by FudRucker · · Score: 2, Funny

    http://i.imgur.com/Emo6o.jpg

    --
    Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
  7. Re:Flash cookies by 0123456 · · Score: 2, Informative

    Flash cookies are easily deleted using Adobe's Settings Manager.

    Yes, having to go to an Adobe web page to delete files from your local machine makes perfect sense.

    Personally I just configured Apparmor so Flash can't write to anything but /tmp and its local config files, and no longer have to worry about whatever stupid crap Adobe do.