 |
Spyware Warrior
Help with Spyware, Hijacking & Other Internet Nuisances
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
MattW
Junior Member
Joined: 19 Jan 2006
Last Visit: 22 Oct 2009
Posts: 34
|
 Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 4:11 am Post subject: Spybot Problem Description |
 |
|
I imagine this question has been asked multiple times, if so, I apologize, here it is......
Regarding the following description of a problem found by Spybot:
Description
Uses information about your web surfing that could include any information, like accounts and passwords.
Does this mean that my account and password information are being collected by someone in a way that they can use them as if they were me?
I forget the problem name, but I'm fairly certain it was a "tracking cookie", it seems like a generic description. but then they throw in the fact that accounts and passwords could be "included". |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
aBenG
Warrior
Joined: 06 Apr 2006
Last Visit: 28 Feb 2012
Posts: 297
Location: Darkest UK
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 7:17 am Post subject: |
|
|
From Wiki:
| Quote: |
HTTP cookies, more commonly referred to as Web cookies, tracking cookies or just cookies, are small text files containing a user's settings and other data used by websites, and are stored on the user's computer. They are transmitted as parcels of text sent by a server to a Web client (usually a browser) and then sent back unchanged by client each time it accesses that server. HTTP cookies are used for authenticating, session tracking (state maintenance), and maintaining specific information about users, such as site preferences or the contents of their electronic shopping carts. The term "cookie" is derived from "magic cookie," a well-known concept in UNIX computing which inspired both the idea and the name of HTTP cookies. Some alternatives to cookies exist, but each has its own uses, advantages, and drawbacks.
Cookies are also subject to a number of misconceptions, mostly based on the erroneous notion that they are computer programs that run on the browsing computer. In fact, cookies are simple pieces of data that affect the operation of a web server, not the client, and do so in very specific ways. In particular, they are neither spyware nor viruses, although cookies from certain sites are described as spyware by many anti-spyware products because they allow users to be tracked when they visit various sites. |
A lot of security programs allow you to control cookies (Winpatrol for example). You should also be able to control them through security settings in your browser.
_________________
Inperfect. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
mikey
Malware Expert
Joined: 12 Feb 2004
Last Visit: 03 Sep 2012
Posts: 1061
Location: CenTex
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:10 pm Post subject: |
|
|
With all due respect to wikipedia, I prefer my own definition.
Tracking Cookies; Tracking cookies track users cross domain (site to site) profiling user habits. If any transaction occurs where the user gives any personal info (registration, credit card use, etc), then the tracking becomes personally identifiable. While tracking cookies may not be as insidious as some of the malwares, they are definitely spyware.
_________________
-
W2K/2K3/XP/2K8/Vista/W7/RHE/DEBIAN/SUSE
Spyware/Adware is NOT freeware, it costs all of us dearly.
Mikey's Stuff
Fiddler and friends...essential web diagnostic, forensic, & development tools.
- |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
aBenG
Warrior
Joined: 06 Apr 2006
Last Visit: 28 Feb 2012
Posts: 297
Location: Darkest UK
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 3:22 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Mikey trumps Wiki. 
Personally I only allow a few cookies, and have the browser set to clear them out when it closes.
_________________
Inperfect. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
smartBlue Style © 2002 Smartor
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group
|
