The White House is ILLEGALLY tracking people on their site, too

[liveoaktx]

U.S. to Probe Contractor's Web Tracking

This article is purposely written, I think, in an obscure fashion, but if you read closely it is NOT a hacker going after a government website but the WH using a contractor to track information via a "web bug"

Web bug

6. What information is sent to a server when a Web Bug is viewed?
The IP address of the computer that fetched the Web Bug
The URL of the page that the Web Bug is located on
The URL of the Web Bug image
The time the Web Bug was viewed
The type of browser that fetched the Web Bug image
A previously set cookie value
7. What are some of the uses of a Web Bug on a Web page?
Ad networks can use Web Bugs to add information to a personal profile of what sites a person is visiting. The personal profile is identified by the browser cookie of an ad network. At some later time, this personal profile which is stored in a data base server belonging to the ad network, determines what banner ad one is shown.

Another use of Web Bugs is to provide an independent accounting of how many people have visited a particular Web site.

Web Bugs are also used to gather statistics about Web browser usage at different places on the Internet.

[proud patriot]

1. my favorite WH link

http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/nationalsecurity/disarm.html

[HysteryDiagnosis]

2. Shocking!!!! nt.

[eyesroll]

3. And this is different from how any other website operates...how?

I'm not trying to be snarky -- I really have no idea what makes this illegal.
My own site stats tracker can tell me where you are, where you came from, what browser/OS you're using, etc. How is this different?

[RagingInMiami]

4. Does your site really tell you where people are located

Or only where their IP is based? This could be completely different.

[eyesroll]

7. OK, yeah -- it's where the IP (and perhaps server clock) is.

And it's not very specific at that -- country, time zone.

[DistressedAmerican]

11. Mine as well

[sandnsea]

10. It depends

MY IP address is unique to my router and it shows up in tracking as in my town. Wouldn't take a heck of alot to track me down. Now if I were in a big city, pretty worthless I would guess. I really ought to slap on a good firewall, I know.

[liveoaktx]

5. Government versus private websites-it's illegal for government to

use persistent cookies to track users to their site, as opposed to private corporations, which can do as they want. To my mind, this means the government would only be able to use session cookies. That's not what the web bug contractor is doing or there wouldn't have been an apparently complaint

[liveoaktx]

6. Here's an older article about the CIA using persistent cookies

and the article points out the illegality of the government doing it.

http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2118064/cia-illegal-snooper-cookie

[Garbo 2004]

18. Stating it's illegal doesn't make it so. And so far has anyone actually

documented that it's illegal by citing statute? This 2002 article certainly doesn't.

Furthermore, the article seriously mischaracterizes the cookie as "snooper software" which simply is not accurate. A cookie is just a text file, not an application, not "software" in the accepted use of the term. More FUD.

[Garbo 2004]

19. Note that the article you posted cites Fed policy promulgated by the OMB,

not federal law. Policy is not law and doesn't have the force of law.

[Ms. Toad]

8. Site tracking information is much more limited

As I understand it, the tracking or persistent cookies are placed on your first visit, collect information about where you surf after leave there, and report back the next time you visit the site (or another site which can read the cookie).

Site stats tracking just shows your IP address, and where you were referred from if you used a link or search engine to reach there. For example, if you click on the link in my sig line the site stats for equalityohio.org will show that you came from DU. It won't show EO anything about where you came from before that, or last week, or 10 years ago.

[liveoaktx]

9. Read these paragraphs again

<snip>
The White House's Web site uses what's known as a Web bug to anonymously keep track of who's visiting and when. A Web bug is essentially a tiny graphic image — a dot, really — that's virtually invisible. In this case, the bug is pulled from a server maintained by the contractor, WebTrends Inc., and lets the traffic analytic company know that another person has visited a specific page on the site.

Web bugs themselves are not prohibited.

But when these bugs are linked to a data file known as a "cookie" so that a site can tell if the same person has visited again, a federal agency using them must demonstrate a "compelling need," get a senior official's signoff and disclose such usage, said Peter Swire, a Clinton administration official who helped draft the original rules.

The White House's privacy policy does not specially mention cookies or Web bugs, and Almacy said the signoff was never sought because one was not thought to be required. He said his team was first informed of the cookie use by the AP.

</snip>

[Ms. Toad]

12. Not sure why you want me to.

I was responding to the question of why the site tracking stats (available through most web hosts) are different from the cookies used on the White House website.

(In addition to being illegal) they are different because the cookies contain provide a whole lot more information than the site tracking stats (and if they are persistent or tracking cookies they also provide a lot more information than whether the same person has visited that site again).

[liveoaktx]

15. Okay, you and I are on the same page

[madeline_con]

13. My question, too.

My meter does that, too. :shrug:

[wadestock]

14. CLUELESS

I already know several people within my immediate "friend of a friend" circle that have been contacted directly by the homeland security office....just because of "terroristic chat" on IM.

knocks on the door
....people come in.....take computers...etc....and there's nothing that can be done about it.

Calls to your local police?

<click>

[MazeRat7]

16. "web bugs" are not "illegal"... actually I use them often for email...

It helps me keep track of when people actually "read" the email I sent them. I have used them on web pages, but that is somewhat pointless if you are on my web site to start with. That is because your browser gives up the information in question when it contacts a web server. A web bug is simply a trick to make your browser access my server so I can capture said information.

That aside, unless you view the source of this post there is no way for you (or anyone else) to know if I did or did not plant a bug in this post. If I did, then each time this thread is read I would get information about the internet address and other things your browser tells me about you. So bottom line, I don't see what the problem is. "Web bugs" are an artifact of "web technology". Think of it as caller id for the net. If you don't want people like me to know where you are posting from, what web browser your using, and a few other details - use an anonymous web service or a proxy.

cheers
MZr7

[liveoaktx]

17. the article alludes to using web bugs in conjunction with cookies