Consumers Privacy on the Internet

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Consumers Privacy on the Internet
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Agenda

• Information on the Internet
• Cookies
• Anonymizers
• Digital Cash

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Strategy

• General search
• Altavista, AOL Net Find, Excite Search Engine
• Search Phone Records
• Canada411, Infospace.com, Anywho
• Use professional software for searching
• Net Detective
• Use USA search tool

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General Search

• yuanyuf_at_mcmaster.ca
• McMaster business conference
• Regulation and policy of e-commerce the trust
  agenda
• Fuzzy logic

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General Search

• Web based negotiation system
• Q778
• College of Artificial Intelligence member
• Member of International Journal of Computational
  Intelligence and Organizations

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Search Phone Records
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Search Phone Records
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Search Phone Record
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Search Phone Records
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Professional search - Net Detective

• By Name, e-mail, phone number
• By birthday, city, college
• By government, marine
• A lots of references
• Didnt provide useful information

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US Search

• Background check
• Find info about person you are dating
• Death records
• Vehice History records
• Real Estate records
• Professional license searches
• Business licenses searches

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Finding from simple search

• E-mail address
• Phone, name
• Location
• Interests

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Cookies

• Another privacy threat

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Cookies

• Short pieces of data used by browsers to help
  identify web users
• No file has been destroyed or compromised by
  cookie
• Tell if you have been there before
• Pass short bits of information

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Types of cookies

• Short lived cookies
• Only last until browser is turned off
• Hotmail account

• Persistent cookies
• Has an expiration date
• Tracks users browsing habits by idenifying
  him/her
• Info about previously visited site

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Cookies - how do they work

• A cookie is a short piece of data, not code,
  which is sent form a web server to a web server
  when the browser visits the servers site.
• Cookie is stored on the machine
• Not executable

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Cookie Example

• .doubleclick.net TRUE/FALSE 1920499140
  id800000030a95fb5
• .focalink.com TRUE/FALSE1293796790 SB_ID
  97217597600000818311761612125

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Cookie Configuration

• NameValue
• name of the cookie and its value
• ExpiresDate
• how long does a cookie persist on the system

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Cookie configuration

• Path Path
• attribute to further refine
• Domain Domain_Name
• Secure
• send only if secure communication

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Cookie configuration

• Entered altavista search engine
• Typed Yufei Yuan

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Cookie info from browser

• IP address
• The type of browser
• Operating system of the computer

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Cookies and shopping sites

• Keep track of your shopping cart
• Each time you make an addition to your shopping
  card a cookie is added
• Cookie contains ID of your purchase

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Cookies and Custom Home Pages

• A cookie is sent to browser for each item you
  expect to see in custom home page
• Without cookies you would have to be identified
  every time
• Also, the server would have to store custom
  settings for every customerm

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Cookies and buying habits

• Track what you visit
• Track how many times and how often
• What did you buy?
• Used for target advertising and infer your
  preference based on those

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Cookies- storage

• Netscape
• cookies.txt
• Netscape directory
• Internet Explorer
• yourname_at_site.txt
• C\\windows\cookies

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Privacy Issues

• Stored on users computer without knowledge or
  consent
• Users privacy and potential for abuse
• Cookies used for advertisement and profiles
• Cookie profiles can be sold
• User identity could be linked with cookie

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Privacy Implications

• Targeted junk paper mail or e-mail
• Information on personal interests
• Example researchers on controversial issues such
  as abortion, birth control, capital punishment,
  gun control
• Could find themselves harassed

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Infoseek and Lycos

• Both have detailed user profiles
• User search patterns
• Can match user profiles with cookies
• If resold, search pattern or research would be
  obvious

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Non-advertising identity

• Visited alcohol websites
• Your insurance company purchases this list
• The premium is higher
• Inaccurate credit report

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Cookies - government

• Law enforcement - pornography tracked through
  cookies
• Computer files may become part of admissible
  evidence
• Following a wrong link could lead you into
  trouble

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DoubleClick - Privacy statement

• DoubleClick does not collect any
  personally-identifiable information about you,
  such as your name, address, phone
  number or email address.
• DoubleClick does, however, collect
  non-personally identifiable information about
  you.

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Double Click - Privacy Statement

• DoubleClick combines the non-personally-identifia
  ble data collected by DoubleClick from a user's
  computer with the log-in name and demographic
  data
• DoubleClick has requested that this information
  be disclosed on the Web site's privacy statement

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Double Click

• Personal data sent to DoubleClick
• E-mail address, full name
• Mailing address, phone number
• Transactional data
• Names of VHS movies bought
• Details of plane trip
• Search phrases used at search engines

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Solutions?
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Solutions

• Putting proxy (Internet Junkbuster)
• www.anonymizer.com
• Erase cookies files and clean your cache manually
• Digital cash

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Anonymizer.com

• Cleans browsers cache, cookies and history
• Cleans recycle bin, temporary files, recently
  open document list, windows find history
• Allows to save cookies from some sites
• Files are unrecoverabale even by undelete
  programs
• Anonymize ISP connection, e-mail

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Digital Cash

• Simple
• Private
• Safe
• Lower processing costs
• www.internetcash.com
• www.ecashservices.com
• www.internetdollar.com

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How to protectprivacy?

• Be aware of information available about us
• Disable cookies or use cookie cutters
• Erase unnecessary files on your computer
• Dont give unnecessary information
• Anonymizers
• Digital cash

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Summary

• Privacy Threats
• Information on the Internet
• Cookies
• Solutions
• Anonymizers
• Being aware of information
• Digital Cash

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Questions?