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Verizon Injects Unique IDs Into HTTP Traffic

Posted by Soulskill on from the doing-the-wrong-thing-badly dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Verizon Wireless, the nation's largest wireless carrier, is now also a real-time data broker. According to a security researcher at Stanford, Big Red has been adding a unique identifier to web traffic. The purpose of the identifier is advertisement targeting, which is bad enough. But the design of the system also functions as a 'supercookie' for any website that a subscriber visits. "Any website can easily track a user, regardless of cookie blocking and other privacy protections. No relationship with Verizon is required. ...while Verizon offers privacy settings, they don’t prevent sending the X-UIDH header. All they do, seemingly, is prevent Verizon from selling information about a user." Just like they said they would.

2 of 206 comments (clear)

  1. Maybe the FCC... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Will tell them to go fuck themselves on this, and make them stop...

  2. Filthy Ingrates by rogoshen1 · · Score: 5, Funny

    God. it's like you people don't even appreciate the value added service they are *GIVING* away here. Who wouldn't want to see more perfectly tailored and targeted ads -- some of which even include *VIDEO* again, completely for free.

    You have to pay for cable right? The same thing applies, you're getting the service you paid for (TV shows, home shopping channels) with the added bonus of free to view advertisements.

    In both cases they're simply giving away high quality, hopefully relevant audio and video. I think that's super generous of them.

    And for no charge! And yet, you people still bitch. Absolutely shameful.