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Web Bugs

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Author:      Xayto
Submitted:      09-Oct-2003 23:00:00
Imported From:      zZine (original author: xayto)


Web Bugs are being used by Companies to gain information on people viewing their web sites, and reading their Email's. A web Bug is usually a -1 * -1 Gif, but can be any Graphic viewed on-line.
For example the nice banners across the top of web sites, an example of the code behind a Web Bug

is :

---CODE----

<img src="http://ad.doubleclick.

net/ad/pixel.quicken/NEW"

width=1 height=1 border=0>

----------

<IMG WIDTH=1

HEIGHT=1border=0SRC=

"http://media.preferences.com/ping?

ML_SD=IntuitTE_Intuit_1x1_RunOfSite_A

ny&db_afcr=4B31-C2FB-10E2C&event=

reghome&group=register&time=

1999.10.27.20.5 6.37]

---END CODE---

A web Bug can be used by a company to retrieve a person's IP address, previously set cookie values, the time at which the site is viewed, the type of browser used, and the URL of the image. Some ses of the web bug on web sites are: to produce a profile of users viewing their sites, an accurate figure of viewings of the site. And uses of the web bug in emails include: to reveal the identity of recipients trying to remain anonymous, in spam to remove users not viewing the email's from the mailing list.

Web bugs can be detected on web pages and emails. The first way is to view the source and locate the offending img tags for the Web Bugs to be disabled once you have found them all you need

to do is disable cookies within your browser. But if you want this to be taken care of for you by software, the Bugnosis Program is great; I have used it myself and it is extremely effective.

This article was originally published by CyberArmy.net in the CyberArmy Library.

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