Slashdot Mirror
Facebook Files For a Patent To Track Its Users On Other Sites
suraj.sun sends word that a recent Facebook patent application details specific methods for tracking its users while they're using other websites. Michael Arrington pointed out over the weekend that this follows explicit statements from Facebook employees that the social networking giant has "no interest in tracking people." Quoting the Patent Application:
"In one embodiment, a method is described for tracking information about the activities of users of a social networking system while on another domain. The method includes maintaining a profile for each of one or more users of the social networking system, each profile identifying a connection to one or more other users of the social networking system and including information about the user. The method additionally includes receiving one or more communications from a third-party website having a different domain than the social network system, each message communicating an action taken by a user of the social networking system on the third-party website. The method additionally includes logging the actions taken on the third-party website in the social networking system, each logged action including information about the action."
So they went from denying that they track people outside of Facebook...to patenting the process? What time is it? I clearly missed the logic train.
Now, the world don't move to the beat of just one drum,
What might be right for you, may not be right for some.
A man is born, he's a man of means.
Then along come two, they got nothing but their jeans.
But they got, Diff'rent Strokes.
It takes, Diff'rent Strokes.
It takes, Diff'rent Strokes to move the world.
Everybody's got a special kind of story
Everybody finds a way to shine,
It don't matter that you got not alot
So what,
They'll have theirs, and you'll have yours, and I'll have mine.
And together we'll be fine....
Because it takes, Diff'rent Strokes to move the world.
Yes it does.
It takes, Diff'rent Strokes to move the world.
We have no interest in tracking people, and we've taken out this patent to make sure no one else can either.
See? We're your trustworthy friend! Come join our social network!
Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
So much for Darth Sidious/Palpatine being evil. This is evil concentrate.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
It was interesting and nice to connect to a lot of my old high school buddies, but I don't care where people are going for dinner, or bragging about the vacation they're on (how dumb is that, anyway?), so I logged out and deleted all my cookies. Don't know that I'll completely delete my account, but I'm not missing it.
Stupid sexy Flanders.
IS there any way it might be feasible to set up some sort of cookie exchanger service. The idea would be like randomly exchanging supermarket loyalty cards with strangers so the data they collect becomes useless to identify with an individual.
What would be needed would be some way to keep a set of real facebook cookies" tucked away for when you are on facebook and then have another completely valid set of cookies used for general web browsing. But you keep swapping these complete and self-consistent sets with random individuals.
is that possible?
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
Facebook, defaced faeces collectors. No shit! Turds.
For everybody getting freaked out, I'm pretty sure by third party sites, they mean sites they have a partnership with, too lazy to find which ones, but I posted like a month ago about this when it first surfaced.
They are only tracking you with their affiliates with which they have achieved systems integration. A cookie is the legacy best practice code approach to sharing data between two sites. I'm sure they had business reasons for using a cookie rather than a web service (helps the smarter than average bear not get tracked since cookies are client based, while a web service happens on the back end).
I want to make it very clear I'm not defending facebook for tracking its users, but they are not tracking EVERY site like the majority of slashdotters seem to be implying.
And last, but not least, merry christmas, tin foil hat ready,
http://blog.blackdown.de/2010/05/20/stop-facebook-from-tracking-you-on-third-party-sites/
...and now that's not a "secret" anymore, tries to patent it.
Google could run for the patent too. At the end, they're basically the same, and I think Google actually collects more data than Facebook (much more people doing Google searches than those having a Facebook account).
Soon to be followed by the following patent applications:
- Capturing the souls of Internet Users
- Converting Internet Users into lemmings
- Tracking users movements while their computers are actually turned off
- Tracking tooth decay in users.
- Tracking users after they have died
- Tracking the worms (after the worms crawled in, the worms crawled out and the worms played pinochle on your snout.)
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
"Nobody likes this? Well fine. We'll patent it." .....
"Hey guys, leave enough looseness in it so it can be cross-referenced in the future." .....
"If you don't like the way WE do it, then nobody can do it. End of story. Nyaaaaaaaah!!!!"
/humor.....?
Apart from the fact that Mark Zuckerberg is a bad dude, how can you patent tracking cookies with a database back end? I mean, that sort of shit has been going on since the 1990s, done by other pre-Zuckerberg evil motherfuckers. What exactly is novel about this? It's like Saddam Hussein patenting "a place where people are burned for eternity and jabbed by evil bastards with pitchforks."
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
tell them you will arrest them and put em in prison for violating people's privacy if they use it...
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
How can an action That is against the law "Privacy Laws" be patented? Reasonable question don't ya think?
Jack of all trades,master of none
WHY I also set myself up the way I do online layering of security measures, in:
---
1.) Custom HOSTS files (mine's currently 1,586,590++ entries strong vs. known malicious sites/servers, botnet C&C servers, bogus adbanners (& ads in general) servers, phishing + spamming sites, & for security's sake alone (I get more out of it speedwise too via "hardcoding fav. sites" into it also, avoiding DNS redirected-poisoned dns servers, & getting there faster by avoiding them totally (their slower lookup vs. my SSD based & cached ones from HOSTS, locally, instead of slower remotely)).
2.) DNSBL filtering DNS servers (NortonDNS, OpenDNS, ScrubIT DNS are all in my IP stack dns servers list, & in my router-firewall too).
3.) Firewall IP rules tables (to catch IP addresses more than host-domain named ones - HOSTS does that too)
4.) IP Security Policies (Via Windows NT-based OS' security policies (I do both domain & local level here)).
5.) OS security hardening -> http://www.google.com/search?sclient=psy-ab&hl=en&site=&source=hp&q=%22HOW+TO+Secure+Windows+2000%2FXP%22&btnG=Search , which includes remotely listening services if not needed especially &/or potentially vulnerable ones + shares remotely solicited.
6.) IP stack hardening -> http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff648853.aspx
---
( & FAR more in the way of "layered-security/defense-in-depth" stuff, such as using Opera 11.51 to setup a GLOBAL policy for all sites to not use javascript, iframes, cookies, plugins, java etc. "everywhere", & only set it up, via Opera's "By Site Preferences" exceptions list, & only for sites that actual DEMAND their usages (think ecommerce sites) only - PLUS, using its urlfilter.ini file, custom .pac files, & custom CSS sheets )
I.E.-> To simply stay away from what makes you "sick online" by lessening its attack surface area + tools it can use against you (as well as for you, the double-edged sword that any scripted document, yes, including HTML ones, can be)
Why?
* See my p.s. below...
APK
P.S.=> I do ALL that, & more, just to avoid:
---
A.) Tracking (not using javascript @ all, or using sites that 'track you' not only thru their own mass, but thru the mass of other sites too? For Pete's sake, lol, 'enough already')
B.) To avoid malware
C.) To avoid losses of speed & to gain back loads of it too!
D.) To obtain great security for decades online
E.) To get MORE OF WHAT I PAY FOR OUT OF POCKET!
---
Is why, & I have for DECADES now (so have others in the url's above)...haven't been infected online since 1996 in fact because of the above & can make a DSL connection seem like high-end cable or FIOS for websurfing online... +, 4 FREE, & the above's just a part of the "how" is all...
... apk
This appears to circumvent the EU cookie law and could be sold to others as a means for doing the same. Evil, or evil genius?
CS-
It'll be nice to have one place that knows all my deepest darkest secrets. The ad's will be extremely specific, which I like because now I wont have to go shopping, I'll own so much useless stuff from my impulse purchases. With Facebook on my cell, tablet, and laptop they'll know where and what I'm doing, who knows maybe the next time I post something about what to buy a Sales person will come up to me and make a recommendation! /Sarcasm
Given that Facebook ALREADY tracks you via various methods between sites (usually with the little 'like' button, but also with cookies and non-displaying javascript), unless this is yet another tracking method, does their existing use not invalidate their patent? Does pushing client side code count as publishing? It looks like they're trying to patent the entire method, rather than just the unseen back-end.
Forget privacy etc, there must be loads of prior art. They've just added the phrase 'social networking system' to a generic description of any 3rd party tracking system.
The few individuals concerned with their privacy have long fled Facebook. Whatever changes Facebook makes will only hurt those idiotic enough to stay on the social networking site.
The subject made me wonder what kind of sorcery they applied, only to find out they apply the old 'please tell me what happened' trick. I'm slightly disappointed.
OTOH, it is only marginally less disturbing.
Block cookies in your browser from *.facebook.com. Problem solved.
(Note that this will prevent you from using Facebook as well.)
rooooar
...not to use FB.
Also not using G+.
I am interested in Diaspora. Then again, I don't really care that much about web based "social networking". I talk to my family and friends in person, on the phone, and via email and SMS. I'm not looking for a bunch of new casual acquaintances, I already have a date lined up every week (or more) for the rest of my life, and I don't have time to read about other peoples' breakfasts. (What am I doing here on /., then?)
WALSTIB!
???
Profit!
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
When Facebook introduced the "Like" button which could be installed on other websites across domains it was obvious (at least to me) that it would become a way to trace users on other websites. Anywhere you now see a "Like" button by Facebook you can be assured that your stored cookie information is being transmitted to Facebook directly for tracking purposes.
Now, I have not looked into the code for the "Like" button, but it would not surprise me at all that this will be the means they use.
the third-party website 140 transmits a conversion page, such as a confirmation or "thank you" page to the user at the user's client device. In particular embodiment, this page includes an embedded call or code segment (e.g., JavaScript) in the HTML or other structured document code (e.g., in an HREF (Hypertext REFerence) that, in particular embodiments, generates a tracking pixel that, when executed by the client's browser or other rendering application, generates a tracking pixel or image tag that is then transmitted to the social network system (whether the user is logged into the social network system or not). The tracking pixel or image tag then communicates various information to the social network system about the user's action on the third-party website. By way of example, the tracking pixel or call may transmit parameters such as the user's ID (user ID as registered with the social network system), a product ID, information about the third-website, timestamp information about the timing of the purchase or other action, etc.
Why waste CPU/RAM/Other forms of I-O using something I don't need?
* Yes, the # of entries is very real (been building it since 1997)...
APK
P.S.=> Besides: I also want to avoid DNS recursion problems & the like (ala DNS-poisoning)...
... apk
In a perfect world they would get their patent and sue anyone else who tried to track users in the same manner into the ground. Then we'd only have to worry about one site horribly violating our privacy and those who cared could avoid it.
Unfortunately in the real world Facebook would only be all too happy to license this special secret technology to anyone willing to pay the appropriate fees.
This Space Intentionally Left Blank
Get the Ghostery extension for your browser. Prevent the greedy companies from tracking you.
".rettam yllaer t'nseod ti ,htob rof tcerroc si esnopser emas eht ecnis tub ,hcihw swonk yllaer ydoboN .eipsa emalrepyh tsom s'dlrow eht ro llort detacided tsom s'dlrow eht rehtie si KPA" - by Anonymous Coward ANOTHER "ne'er-do-well" /. OFF-TOPIC TROLL on Monday October 03, @04:06PM (#37592980)
"???"
Uhm... Could we get a translation of that off-topic "troll-speak/trolllanguage" of yours, please?
---
* And, you're an off-topic troll - no questions asked... in addition to being the World's FIRST & FOREMOST "SiDeWaLk-ShRiNk of /." , lol, minus his PhD, a license to practice, & no formal examination of myself in a professional environs to deliver his "insta-snap 'Prognosis-Diagnosis'" for us too!
SEE MY SUBJECT LINE ABOVE!
APK
P.S.=> Yes, it must have just have been another off-topic done nothing of significance with his life troll spewing his off-topic b.s. again & not contributing to the ongoing conversations. Oh well - No biggie!
("ReVeRsE-PsYcHoLoGy", for trolls - Courtesy of this code by "yours truly" in less than 1 second flat):
---
#TrollTalkComReversePsychologyKiller.py (Ver #2 by APK)
def reverse(s):
try:
trollstring = ""
for apksays in s:
trollstring = apksays + trollstring
except:
print("error/abend in reverse function")
return trollstring
s = ""
print reverse(s)
try:
s = "Insert whatever 'trollspeak/trolllanguage' gibberish occurs here..."
s = reverse(s)
print(s)
except Exception as e:
print(e)
---
... apk
I have no problem with facebook and google+ keeping track of my every move if my browser is the equivalent of the James Bond rotating number plate.
Please suggest solutions.
Do I need a separate browser, with separate cookie storage, just for running Facebook? Or does it need its own virtual machine? It's own separate computer and Internet connection?
Or do I need a government to slam the hammer down hard on FB?
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
Hi /. Community,
I share my wifi with my neighbours. 9 directly - and when their sisters or friends come over, probably 15 people.
On top of that, my own laptop is used by at least 3 other people for facebook when they visit to show me stuff.
I am not a facebook user.
So unless they want to start locking down computers to biometric data, their profiles are not accurate in my part of the world.
Hope this helps someone one day - there are atypical cases of computer use all through society.
I don't see where in the patent application that it says Facebook is the applicant.
Not that I'm a fan of FB (I plan to leave during the Great Facebook Postout on 10/10), but are they really the ones who filed the patent?
Proverbs 21:19
Public education institutions should be more proactive about Facebook. Majority users on Facebook are aged from 10s to 30s. Schools and colleges should start sending a firm message to these group to let that know what you write and uploads to Facebook are owned by this evil company and they can do whatever they wish to those personal data. School institutions should tell this group that is NEVER safe to be on Facebook. You need to tell that to your family members and friends.
Facebook is out of control DAY ONE.
If you're still listening to anything Facebook says, I don't know what else to tell you. This is hardly the first time they've lied about something like this. They say things that are so implausible that they aren't worth listening to. They want every piece of data. Period. They will do whatever they can to get more data on people. Any time they say something to the contrary, they are lying.
Albeit MOSTLY, for speed & reliability (some security via "anonymity" too, avoiding DNSBL) in HOSTS though, for 250 of my fav. sites (what I called "hardcoding" to avoid DNS totally for them in my initial replies here..).
APK
Ok, I've only read the part of the patent shown in the summary, but it just doesn't strike me as something that hasn't been done before. Take away the phrase "social network" and you basically have what those ad networks have been doing since half at least half a decade ago.
So let's rather talk about how angry this makes me feel. I'd never have thought it would be Facebook applying for such a patent.
This is outrage!
Congratulations Facebook! You just became the first domain I've ever completed blocked from being allowed to set any cookies on my machine. You win!
So what? Facebook makes its billions off of advertising. So a computer algorithm tracks your surfing habits and tries to target its marketing. They're not "tracking" you, you're not that interesting. Besides, Big Brother can already personally track you and all the pages you visit, should you be one of the few who are interesting.
Facebook is a social network that wants to also suck up all kinds of information about you. Google-Plus is an identity management service (according to Eric Schmidt), and has some social-networking features to suck in users.
I'm interested in social networks, though I'd prefer one that was less obnoxious. I have entirely no interest in an identity management service, especially one where I'm the product, not the customer. Schmidt clarified things in a way that made it real easy to decide whether to join G+. (And I'd long since given up on Orkut, which was fun for a few months when all my friends were joining, but gradually turned into a system for cute Brazilian guys or occasionally girls to ask to be my friend, even though my profile said I was already married and my picture was obviously way too old for them.)
We have a group of people who've been getting together IRL for dinner for decades. We use email/web to coordinate where we're going to dinner - once upon a time that was effectively a social filter.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
If I were using Linux as my primary desktop I'd set up a chroot jail and run a Firefox copy in it just for Facebook, keeping it separate from the rest of my browsing. Since I'm not, and since I'm running VMWare Player for other purposes, I'll probably end up setting up a Linux VM just to run Firefox in. (I've already got one, but I'm not that happy with it - it's one of those custom small distro things, doesn't run apt-get, and updates to Firefox haven't worked well.)
Any suggestions for a reasonably small Debianish VM?
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
I've been reading so many of these patently absurd patent stories, that adsense thinks I'm a troll myself! I wish I had a screen cap tool installed on this fondleslab but I got offered (oh, the audacity!) an ad to a Kentucky troll harvesting sleaze gang: "we provide the money to make the court system work for you"... What fuckers...
I'm not pasting the link but I'm tempted to read all about it, I'm really curious how these twisted greedy shmucks think...
Mi domando chi à il mandante di tutte le cazzate che faccio - Altan
Take a look at the names on the patent. Then ask where they work. No, I'm not going to google that for you.
If opportunity came disguised as temptation, one knock would be enough.
3^2 * 67^1 * 977^1
No, after that Facebook is going to patnent
- having users
and inevitably
- keeping track
-- no sig today
No No No! We're looking at this completely wrong! Facebook isn't patenting ways to invade our privacy. They're pattenting cross site scripting so that they can stop it! See, facebook is on OUR side!
I do security
No. Just because they patented it doesn't mean they're actually using it. Companies patent lots of things all the time.
ROFL. I'm not sure if you are profoundly naive or an idiot. Almost all of Facebooks revenue business model is based on tracking.