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Researchers Expose Tracking Service That Can't Be Dodged

Posted by Soulskill on from the advertising-arms-race dept.

Worf Maugg writes with this excerpt from Wired: "Researchers at U.C. Berkeley have discovered that some of the net's most popular sites are using a tracking service that can't be evaded — even when users block cookies, turn off storage in Flash, or use browsers' 'incognito' functions. The service, called KISSmetrics, is used by sites to track the number of visitors, what the visitors do on the site, and where they come to the site from — and the company says it does a more comprehensive job than its competitors such as Google Analytics."

2 of 173 comments (clear)

  1. more importantly... by alphatel · · Score: 5, Informative

    The data collected can be used to track the user over several sites, as the "cram cookies" are persistent through browsing sessions. The only way to remove them is to clear all browser cache data on close and restart the browser. Sounds like privacy invasion to me - although ISPs forced to log user activity is far more damning than these transgressions.

    --
    When the foot seeks the place of the head, the line is crossed. Know your place. Keep your place. Be a shoe.
    1. Re:more importantly... by Em+Adespoton · · Score: 5, Informative

      Or, since the i.js and j.js scripts are usually hosted on the domain you're browsing, just follow KISSmetric's own recommendation:

      For consumers who do not wish to be tracked by KISSmetrics, the freely available AdBlock Plus extension will prevent their information from being tracked by KISSmetrics. Learn more about AdBlock Plus.