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Playing Around With Tracking Protection In IE9

Roberto123 writes "I have tried out the Tracking Protection feature in the coming Internet Explorer 9 browser from Microsoft. While the feature does effectively block ads from Web sites, I'm not yet convinced that giving the users the options to select content to 'Block' or 'Allow' will be that effective."

27 of 138 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Who cares? by santax · · Score: 2

    Because it comes pre-installed. And a lot of people want/need something that works out of the box. They don't know about add-ons. They don't care about security, they just want to surf the web.

  2. Re:Call Centre Tech Support... by westlake · · Score: 3, Informative

    no doubt the button to reset this feature to defaults (and remove any blacklisting) will be hidden seven layers deep in complex "Options" dialogs

    Tools>Safety>Tracking Protection>Disable

  3. Re:Better than not having it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I would say that most people think of a Computer with Internet the same as Television.
    If I just watch content then how could I get a virus? I was just watching!
    I have to agree with them at the most fundamental level.

  4. Re:bing! by high_rolla · · Score: 5, Funny

    Bing doesn't need a backdoor. Its probably easier for them to just Google you to find out about you.

    --
    Ryans Tutorials - A collection of technology tutorials.
  5. Re:Better than not having it by causality · · Score: 3

    I would say that most people think of a Computer with Internet the same as Television.
    If I just watch content then how could I get a virus? I was just watching!
    I have to agree with them at the most fundamental level.

    The difference is that television is one-to-many communication and fundamentally one-way.

    The Internet is many-to-many communication and fundamentally two-way.

    The people who fail to recognize the difference and the implications of that difference are simply wrong. Fundamentally wrong, if you like. The fact that assuming security doesn't matter is a sure way to get 0wned is a very strong argument against them. I am all for advocating what someone believes is an ideal expectation, but not when it contradicts the manifest reality. Then it's just ignorance. Ignorance is not and has never been a solid foundation for good decision-making.

    --
    It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
  6. Re:Who cares? by santax · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Let me get this straight. It's my fault if someone kills me in my home. I should have cared better about security? It's not the consumers fault for believing when they buy a pc with legal software they have everything they need. When I buy a new car, I'm not going to take it to a garage to check the brakes, you just assume it works. Not everybody knows a thing or 2 about software/hardware. No matter how you turn it. It's still the baddies fault.

  7. Could this be the nuclear option against Google? by Dr.+Spork · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If Microsoft suddenly get good ad blocking - as in, really good ad blocking, they could completely cut off all oxygen from Google. Of course, MS also makes some money from web advertising, but they don't need it to live like Google does. Also, it really would improve the quality of the user experience in IE if this were done well and thoroughly.

  8. Re:Who cares? by causality · · Score: 2

    Let me get this straight. It's my fault if someone kills me in my home. I should have cared better about security?
    It's not the consumers fault for believing when they buy a pc with legal software they have everything they need. When I buy a new car, I'm not going to take it to a garage to check the brakes, you just assume it works. Not everybody knows a thing or 2 about software/hardware.
    No matter how you turn it. It's still the baddies fault.

    The problem with broad analogies is that they fail to account for the fact that one situation is not like the others.

    A "pc with legal software" is more like a firearm. At least in the States, it's legal to own. That doesn't mean it isn't potentially dangerous if misused. A general-purpose computer is a powerful machine. It is not a mere appliance. It can both help and harm its owner. Which one occurs depends on the owner and what the owner is willing to invest in his or her own experience.

    Computers are not yet ready for the stupid, ignorant, careless, irresponsible, etc. They are not idiot-proof. In the case of Microsoft, they will fail to live up to the marketing claims of security and ease-of-use. It is up to We the People, or if you like, We the Customer to realize this and act accordingly. Certainly the government is not going to make Microsoft liable for damages suffered by compromises of its operating systems. So it's up to the users. Ideal or non-ideal, just or unjust, that is the reality. You either deny it and suffer or acknowledge it and avoid preventable suffering. That much is your choice. It's about the only choice you're going to have in the matter, right or wrong.

    Those who disagree with me can always get compromised and complain about how much of a victim they are. As for me, I'd rather inform myself and protect myself. Every adult has the same choice in the matter. Ultimately, reality is a really tough thing with which to argue.

    --
    It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
  9. Re:Who cares? by DeathFromSomewhere · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I do, because Firefox has slowly turned into a bloated pile of ass. Ironically, it's now more bloated and slower then IE9. This isn't 2004 anymore and we aren't talking about IE6.

    --
    -1 overrated isn't the same thing as "I disagree".
  10. Re:Who cares? by ThatsMyNick · · Score: 3, Interesting

    You should care, because if ad block becomes defacto and comes preinstalled with IE9, ad agencies would quickly start workaround it (just like how hulu does currently (hulu's policy is, you can use adblock, but you would have to putup with a min of absolute silence and blank screen before the show continues))

  11. Same can be said for Facebook. by dclozier · · Score: 2

    However, it would be trivial to make sites unusable unless advertisements are enabled. This is where all of the ad blocking is leading to I think.

    1. Re:Same can be said for Facebook. by Dwedit · · Score: 2

      Just because it's binary doesn't mean it's not parsable. A SWF file is a very well-known file format, made up of a sequence of Tags. Some tags define images, sounds, or shapes, while other tags place them in the frame, while other tags define the Actionscript code.

      So, if you're using a local HTTP proxy program, you could change the content of a SWF file as it downloads.

    2. Re:Same can be said for Facebook. by igb · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Actually, it wouldn't. You can normally write a computer program to mimic any human interaction within a browser. There are exceptions, but if content-providers were to move to (say) captchas in adverts prior to serving content, they would be writing their own death warrant: even if they didn't get killed by related providers who didn't impose this load, the simple (im) practicalities and (un) reliability of captchas would mean that far fewer people would read the page, unless it was utterly indispensable.

      Ad-supported models are inherently brittle. They rely on advertisers being willing to purchase space, because they believe it to be worth their while. If consumers are unwilling to watch (and, indeed, act on) adverts, the magic money tree suddenly goes bare. No amount of howling that people who skip adverts are "stealing" content will put the fruit back on it. In the UK --- I don't know enough about the US --- the PVR has essentially killed one of the advertising-supported channels (ITV) to the point that its target demographic is now variously the old, poor and stupid who cannot manage a PVR. The smaller advertising-supported channels (ITV2/3/4, say) contain nothing but debt consolidation and personal injury shark adverts, and no-one with a post-16 education would find anything they might want to buy, even if they watched the adverts, which they don't. Unable to see their model is in a death spiral, the owners chase to the bottom, with programming aimed at the diminishing pool of viewers who are prepared to watch. The same is happening with Channel 5, while Channel 4 (which isn't directly ad-supported, but is indirectly ad-supported because as well as its own, small, advertising sales it is funded by a levy on ITV) has seen the writing on the wall and is desperately seeking funding as a top-slice on the BBC license income.

      TV is progressively going subscription. Yes, some of the subscription channels also show adverts, but that's gravy, in the manner of adverts in cinemas, and they could live without it by just raising their subscriptions. It's only a matter of time before "free", advertising-supported, web content goes the same way. How are AOL these days?

  12. Re:Hooray by hawkingradiation · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Give me the option of blocking all of Microsoft partner's ads while keeping Google's and I will consider installing it, not being mandated by the operating system's pre-installed browser. Who needs a content filter on their PC?

    --
    Society use your Sciences
  13. Re:Better than not having it by louden+obscure · · Score: 2

    Of course they think of their computer as an appliance, that is how PC makers market them. That is how Microsoft markets Its OS. And to throw in an automotive analogy, it's how Toyota markets their vehicles.

    --
    Serenity now, insanity later.
  14. Re:Who cares? by metrix007 · · Score: 2

    Given that IE is the most secure browser after Chrome, your point misses the mark by a large margin.

    --
    If you ignore ACs because they are anonymous - you're an idiot.
  15. Re:Better than not having it by schnikies79 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Ahh, "sheeple". The key word to let you know that the entire argument is worthless dribble.

    --
    Gone!
  16. Chestnuts by symbolset · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Derived from an old chestnut.

    Your post advocates a

    (X) technical ( ) legislative ( ) market-based ( ) vigilante

    approach to fighting Internet Tracking. Your idea will not work. Here is why it won't work. (One or more of the following may apply to your particular idea, and it may have other flaws which used to vary from state to state before a bad federal law was passed.)

    (X) Trackers can easily use it to identify those they want to track the most
    (X) User preferences and other legitimate tracking uses would be affected
    (X) No one will be able to find the guy or collect the money
    ( ) It is defenseless against brute force attacks
    ( ) It will stop tracking for two weeks and then we'll be stuck with it
    ( ) Users of the Web will not put up with it
    ( ) Microsoft will not put up with it
    ( ) The police will not put up with it
    (X) Requires too much cooperation from trackers
    (X) Requires immediate total cooperation from everybody at once
    (X) Many Web users cannot afford to lose business or alienate potential employers
    (X) Trackers don't care about invalid addresses in their lists
    ( ) Anyone could anonymously destroy anyone else's career or business

    Specifically, your plan fails to account for

    ( ) Laws expressly prohibiting it
    (X) Lack of centrally controlling authority for web tracking
    ( ) Open relays in foreign countries
    ( ) Ease of searching tiny alphanumeric address space of all IP addresses
    (X) Asshats
    (X) Jurisdictional problems
    ( ) Unpopularity of weird new taxes
    ( ) Public reluctance to accept weird new forms of money
    (X) Huge existing software investment in shopping carts
    (X) Susceptibility of protocols other than HTTP to attack
    (X) Willingness of users to install browser plugins
    (X) Armies of worm riddled broadband-connected Windows boxes
    (X) Eternal arms race involved in all filtering approaches
    (X) Extreme profitability of web tracking
    ( ) Joe jobs and/or identity theft
    (X) Technically illiterate politicians
    (X) Extreme stupidity on the part of people who do business with affiliate programs
    (X) Dishonesty on the part of trackers themselves
    ( ) Bandwidth costs that are unaffected by client filtering
    ( ) IE

    and the following philosophical objections may also apply:

    (X) Ideas similar to yours are easy to come up with, yet none have ever
    been shown practical
    (X) Any scheme based on opt-out is unacceptable
    (X) HTML headers should not be the subject of legislation
    (X) Blacklists suck
    ( ) Whitelists suck
    ( ) We should be able to talk about Viagra without being censored
    ( ) Countermeasures should not involve wire fraud or credit card fraud
    ( ) Countermeasures should not involve sabotage of public networks
    ( ) Countermeasures must work if phased in gradually
    ( ) Browsing should be free
    (X) Why should we have to trust you and your servers?
    ( ) Incompatiblity with open source or open source licenses
    (X) Feel-good measures do nothing to solve the problem
    ( ) Temporary/one-time IP addresses are cumbersome
    (X) I don't want the government reading my tracking preferences
    (X) Killing them that way is not slow and painful enough

    Furthermore, this is what I think about you:

    (X) Sorry dude, but I don't think it would work.
    ( ) This is a stupid idea, and you're a stupid person for suggesting it.
    ( ) Nice try, assh0le! I'm going to find out where you live and burn your
    house down!

    --
    Help stamp out iliturcy.
  17. How is this news that matters at /.? by 517714 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Linux users run Firefox because they are so smart, Mac users run Safari because they are brainwashed, Windows users still run IE6 since their IT department won't let them upgrade, and there's that guy who runs Opera.

    --
    The US government have made it clear that we have no inalienable rights; any we do not defend vigorously will be taken.
  18. No ads benefits folks you may not like by Invisible+Now · · Score: 2, Interesting

    No ads = less diverse content. There will be unintended consequences. If one person blocks ads then they're just a free-rider. If everyone does, the web will really suck. Sure, some sweet folks will continue to post hobby sites, just as in the golden days of yore. And non-profits will publish. And big corporate sales and propaganda sites. And the Government and lobbyists. (BTW: They're all selling you something, aren't they?) But most of what makes the web diverse and useful and free today will die if advertising is eliminated. You don't have to click, just like you don't have to listen or look at ads in conventional free media. I'm sure that is seen as a victory for some, but not me. Almost all the cool, independent sites will wither. Maybe a few rich kids can keep BoingBoing alive, but... What may happen is what I would do with my ad supported but still public-serving sites. Block the ads that enable me to give you content: No access to the site. You'll never know what you're missing.

    --

    "Knowing everything doesn't help..."

    1. Re:No ads benefits folks you may not like by CAIMLAS · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I had to read your post twice, because it made absolutely no sense to me. Then, I realized I understood you - I still don't think it makes sense.

      No ads = less diverse content.

      When I think of "sites with ads" I think of: sites like cracked.com, link aggregators, and facebook - sites with no content of value

      There will be unintended consequences. If one person blocks ads then they're just a free-rider. If everyone does, the web will really suck.

      Unsubstantiated claim. On what basis do you make it? The absence of twitter, facebook and the like is hardly a game-stopper.

      Sure, some sweet folks will continue to post hobby sites, just as in the golden days of yore. And non-profits will publish. And big corporate sales and propaganda sites. And the Government and lobbyists. (BTW: They're all selling you something, aren't they?) But most of what makes the web diverse and useful and free today will die if advertising is eliminated.

      Wait - I'm completely lost by these statements. Aren't these "will still be around" sites the actual content on the Internet - the stuff that brought us all here in the first place? By your Slashdot UUID it would seem you're likely old enough to remember the days of dialup and maybe even BBSes; surely "the web" isn't more functionally useful now to you than it was back then? Honestly: it was easier to find stuff back then because there was a lot less noise (at least now that google has insisted on making their search engine less functional than astavista).

      There will still be sites like Debka and WND, which get most of their revenue through syndication and memberships - if that's what you'd miss. CNN, Fox News and the like would likely be cut down to size if the syndicated adverts were all gone, as well. Wikipedia, by far the most useful "modern" web source? No ads to speak of, so 'blocking' them isn't a matter.

      But even if that happens, getting rid of "all ads" is unlikely to happen. Honestly: I hope it doesn't happen.

      Let me explain. I'm really adverse to ads. They bother me on a 'ok, now my eyes are twitching and i need a cigarette' level. However, within specific contexts, I appreciate them. For instance, I went to the trouble of disabling ad blocking on a couple sites I frequent because:

      1) the sites were small: either community or proprietor run, with strong communities
      2) the ads were communally targeted (ie for the group/community interests)
      3) the ads were specifically picked/allowed by the site proprietors/owners/managers
      4) the ads weren't intrusive or excessive

      If advertisers hadn't decided to nuke users from orbit for short-term monetary gain, the popularity (and capability) of ad blocking software would've never come to be. They dug their own grave: they're providing nothing useful to their customers at this point, and need to re-think their business. (This goes for Google as well. Their ad noise is worse now than AltaVista was when I decided to stop using them.)

      --
      ~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
  19. Re:Better than not having it by Baseclass · · Score: 2

    Personally, I don't want to see ad-blocking go main stream (I feel the same way about Linux too, but that's another rant)
    Over the years I've become quite adept at writing rules for adblock to block ads, trackers, and otherwise undesirable content.
    This will only serve to make advertisers come up ways to make advertising more difficult to block and ultimately more obtrusive.

    --
    ^^vv<><>BA
  20. Re:Tired of MS by ClubStew · · Score: 3, Informative

    Have you even looked at the list of providers? They are third-party sites, like eTrust that has been around for ages.

  21. Re:Could this be the nuclear option against Google by syousef · · Score: 2

    If Microsoft suddenly get good ad blocking - as in, really good ad blocking, they could completely cut off all oxygen from Google. Of course, MS also makes some money from web advertising, but they don't need it to live like Google does. Also, it really would improve the quality of the user experience in IE if this were done well and thoroughly.

    Google would just get really good at detecting Ad blocking and refuse to serve search results and other content if you block their ads.

    --
    These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
  22. Re:Is IE 9 avaible? by dingen · · Score: 2
    --
    Pretty good is actually pretty bad.
  23. Re:Tired of MS by Nerull · · Score: 4, Funny

    Don't bring facts into this.

  24. Re:Better than not having it by CapOblivious2010 · · Score: 2

    The difference is that television is one-to-many communication and fundamentally one-way. The Internet is many-to-many communication and fundamentally two-way.

    But TV is also many-to-many (there are hundreds of content providers) and is (indirectly) two-way as well: if I see an ad for an appealing product, I might pick up the phone and purchase it. But note that doing so takes overt action on my part, as should any two-way actions on the web.

    The people who fail to recognize the difference and the implications of that difference are simply wrong. Fundamentally wrong, if you like. The fact that assuming security doesn't matter is a sure way to get 0wned is a very strong argument against them.

    Or perhaps it's a strong argument against the current, totally pathetic, state of affairs - where simply browsing to a website (even a "safe" site like CNN, if it's been hacked) can infest your computer. I don't think that telling grandma it's her own fault she got pwned by doing nothing more than clicking a hyperlink in an email is a good use of the industry's time - better to spend that time making sure it cannot happen again.

    Look, we got into this disaster innocently enough - the academic environment where the early work was done simply wasn't conducive to the sort of paranoia necessary in the real world. OK fine, no one's pointing fingers. But let's not pretend that the current situation is reasonable! Getting back to the TV analogy, it's as if switching to the wrong channel (or even the right channel, if it's been taken over by bad guys) could cause your TV to explode, embedding shrapnel in your face - and then we (the industry) have the balls to blame the viewer for not understanding the different between NTSC and PAL and why Beta was better than VHS and the fact that HDMI carries sound but DVI doesn't. Well of course your TV blew up, you ignorant moron! Anyone who watches TV without taking a couple years of electrical engineering and signal theory deserves to have shrapnel in their face! Fricken' Noobs!