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Verizon revives "zombie cookie" device tracking on AOL's ad network

propublica.org

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Re: Verizon revives "zombie cookie" device tracking on AOL's ad network

#61

Post by kibibu »

wyattjoh wrote: post #45

I wrote a small Heroku app a while back for viewing request headers: http://rocky-brook-3183.herokuapp.com/ Source for the site is here if you're interested: https://github.com/wyattjoh/HeadersCheck

Some of those headers are generated by the Heroku infrastructure

https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/http-routing

    > X-Forwarded-For
    > X-Forwarded-Proto
    > X-Forwarded-Port
    > X-Request-Start
    > X-Request-Id
    > Via
Plus

    > X-Request-Id
Are all Heroku-generated headers

Re: Verizon revives "zombie cookie" device tracking on AOL's ad network

#62

Post by selimthegrim »

beagle3 wrote: post #26

I've left Verizon when the story first broke. The coverage I get from T-Mobile is not quite as good as Verizon was - but it is a small price to pay ... ... if indeed I'm getting any privacy in return. Which I'm not at all sure about.

Well given that Experian leaked your SSN last week (if you gave it to T-Mobile), that's debatable.

Re: Verizon revives "zombie cookie" device tracking on AOL's ad network

#63

Post by beagle3 »

selimthegrim wrote: post #62
beagle3 wrote: post #26

I've left Verizon when the story first broke. The coverage I get from T-Mobile is not quite as good as Verizon was - but it is a small price to pay ... ... if indeed I'm getting any privacy in return. Which I'm not at all sure about.

Well given that Experian leaked your SSN last week (if you gave it to T-Mobile), that's debatable.

I didn't. Neither did I give any to Verizon when I signed up (they said they can't, but after insisting they "graciously" agreed to get a $400 deposit instead).

Re: Verizon revives "zombie cookie" device tracking on AOL's ad network

#64

Post by sslalready »

Steko wrote: post #27

AOL’s ad network will be able to match millions of Internet users to their real-world details gathered by Verizon, including — “your gender, age range and interests.” ... AOL will also be able to use data from Verizon’s identifier to track the apps that mobile users open, what sites they visit, and for how long. Verizon purchased AOL earlier this year... "I think in some ways it’s more privacy protective because it’s…

I think this happens pretty much everywhere a mobile carrier can profit from selling data about who's doing what. For example, Norwegian company Mobiletech.no has API access to the largest, Nordic mobile carriers' billing gateways and can turn an IP address:port pair from an HTTP/HTTPS connection into a MSISDN, sometimes with additional subscriber details. They're working with advertisers and analytics companies to help them count mobile subscribers instead of unreliable, cookie-based visitors. Similarly, mobile carriers in Denmark have been caught injecting HTTP request headers which leaked the subscriber's phone number, phone model, etc to arbitrary web sites. In Sweden, someone used a similar service to blackmail visitors who watched porn.

Re: Verizon revives "zombie cookie" device tracking on AOL's ad network

#65

Post by monochromatic »

manigandham wrote: post #11

What exactly is the big aversion to tracking? The vast majority has shown (via actions, not internet noise) that they don't care so what exactly is the big downside? Not arguing for/against, just want to know reasons beyond "i just dont like it".

It's none of their business what sites I've been to.

Re: Verizon revives "zombie cookie" device tracking on AOL's ad network

#66

Post by Tinyyy »

bduerst wrote: post #34
jerf wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never dreamed Apple would in any way officially support, or even acknowledge the existence of, ad blocking.

It's an aggressive strategy. Apple is only blocking internet ads, not in-app ads, which makes it obvious that they're targeting content creators to push them to either Apple newsstand or iOS apps, where Apple gets a cut of the ads. It's disappointing because Apple is using their mobile marketshare to attack and fragment the open web. Users either don't understand or don't care because they have cognitive bias towards…

Does anyone have a positive experience with ads on mobile?

Re: Verizon revives "zombie cookie" device tracking on AOL's ad network

#67

Post by Steko »

sslalready wrote: post #64
Steko wrote: post #27

AOL’s ad network will be able to match millions of Internet users to their real-world details gathered by Verizon, including — “your gender, age range and interests.” ... AOL will also be able to use data from Verizon’s identifier to track the apps that mobile users open, what sites they visit, and for how long. Verizon purchased AOL earlier this year... "I think in some ways it’s more privacy protective because it’s…

I think this happens pretty much everywhere a mobile carrier can profit from selling data about who's doing what. For example, Norwegian company Mobiletech.no has API access to the largest, Nordic mobile carriers' billing gateways and can turn an IP address:port pair from an HTTP/HTTPS connection into a MSISDN, sometimes with additional subscriber details. They're working with advertisers and analytics companies to h…

We only hear about this in mobile but I presume Comcast, Time Warner and friends do the same thing for broadband users, or is there some regulation that stands in their way?

For that matter I've always wondered why the tv industry pays so much for inaccurate Nielson data (sometimes still based on diaries) when presumably the cable providers have much more accurate data for many more users.

Re: Verizon revives "zombie cookie" device tracking on AOL's ad network

#68

Post by manigandham »

fuzzywalrus wrote: post #22
manigandham wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of this came about because of the "war" on the 3rd party cookie which was unfairly demonized. I get why zombie cookies are bad as it takes control away, but what is the issue surrounding plain tracking of behaviours? So what if a company knows the history of sites you've visited - what does this do against you?

Since this is tied to an account, it means data that never dies. While currently unlikely, imagine being vetted for a job by the websites you visit. Do you want an employer to be able to purchase your online history? There's more to hide the the usual things like pornography or political sites. Imagine you've visited several competitor employers, including past job listings. One could easily deduce you likely applied…

Makes sense. Isn't this more of an issue of discrimination and what data a company can have access to?

Are employers getting access to search data today? I'm not sure that's happening. Most 3rd party tracking isn't that accurate in coming up with interests/segments for the user in the first place and 1st party data is well protected in that it's what gives the holder value.

I think privacy is important, but there a lot of levels here and browsing history (while valuable) for advertising is not as big of an issue as other wholesale data collection that we see out there.

Re: Verizon revives "zombie cookie" device tracking on AOL's ad network

#69

Post by wyattjoh »

kibibu wrote: post #61
wyattjoh wrote: post #45

I wrote a small Heroku app a while back for viewing request headers: http://rocky-brook-3183.herokuapp.com/ Source for the site is here if you're interested: https://github.com/wyattjoh/HeadersCheck

Some of those headers are generated by the Heroku infrastructure https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/http-routing > X-Forwarded-For > X-Forwarded-Proto > X-Forwarded-Port > X-Request-Start > X-Request-Id > Via Plus > X-Request-Id Are all Heroku-generated headers

Exactly. I wasn't sure at the time what the name for the Verizon headers was, so I just showed all of them.

Re: Verizon revives "zombie cookie" device tracking on AOL's ad network

#70

Post by manigandham »

ChrisLTD wrote: post #23
manigandham wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of this came about because of the "war" on the 3rd party cookie which was unfairly demonized. I get why zombie cookies are bad as it takes control away, but what is the issue surrounding plain tracking of behaviours? So what if a company knows the history of sites you've visited - what does this do against you?

Please, publish your browser history on Pastebin and let's see what we can figure out about you.

Ok, I get it. But then what? How is this being used against you? Better (so called) ads? Is it just a innate feeling of not wanting it tracked?
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