[G4] AT&T/Yahoo AND SOMETHING CALLED WEB BEACONS...

[Bruce]

Hello,

"A Web bug is an object that is embedded in a web page or e-mail and is 
usually invisible to the user but allows checking that a user has viewed 
the page or e-mail. One common use is in e-mail tracking. Alternative 
names are Web beacon, tracking bug, tracking pixel, pixel tag, 1×1 gif, 
and clear gif."

...

"A Web bug is any one of a number of techniques used to track who is 
reading a Web page or e-mail, when, and from what computer. They can 
also be used to see if an e-mail was read or forwarded to someone else, 
or if a Web page was copied to another Website."

...

"Web bugs are frequently used in spamming (sending unsolicited 
commercial e-mail) as a way of "pinging" to find which spam recipients 
open (and presumably read) spam before deleting it."

...

"Web bugs are used by e-mail marketers, spammers, and phishers to verify 
that e-mail addresses are valid, that the content of e-mails has made it 
past the spam filters, and that the e-mail is actually viewed by users. 
When the user reads the e-mail, the e-mail client requests the image, 
letting the sender know that the e-mail address is valid and that e-mail 
was viewed. The e-mail need not contain an advertisement or anything 
else related to the commercial activity of the sender. This makes 
detection of such e-mails harder for mail filters and users."

Please read the following, which explains how these bugs works, AND
ways in which they can be defeated:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_bug

Bruce Sugarberg
======================
Richard Ramsowr wrote:
> This has been my day for AT&T issues and Yahoo BS... don't get me 
> started on that!
> 
> Question what is a web beacon? 
> 
> Is it needed? 
> 
> Why?
> 
> And how does it compare to a cookie which we can dump at at will?
> 
> I do not think this is true of web beacons!
> 
> And yes, I do find  the op-out button and made good use of it
> 
> Last question... why would anyone want to op-in to such a devious program?
> 
> What does one loss by remove oneself from the web beacon program?
> 
> Later folks
> 
> /Rick/
> 
> Rick
> Houston