Speaking of Spyware

[Lilith]

I saw this at another site and decided to share.

Yahoo is now using something called "Web Beacons" to track Yahoo Group users around the net and see what you're doing and where you are going -- similar to cookies. Yahoo is recording every website and every group you visit. Take a look at their updated privacy statement:

Yahoo! Privacy Policy (http://privacy.yahoo.com/privacy)

About half-way down the page, in the section on cookies, you will see a link that says "Web Beacons."

Click on the phrase "web beacons." That will bring you to a paragraph entitled "Outside the Yahoo Network."

In this section you'll see a little "click here to opt out" link that will let you "opt-out" of their new method of snooping.

Once you have clicked that link, you are exempted.

Notice the "Success" message on the top of the next page. Be careful, because on that page there is a "Cancel Opt-out" button that, if clicked, will *undo** the opt-out.

[BigBear57]

Thanks Lil, I just handled that. Damn a nosey buncha crap! LOL

[Steph]

From Yahoo's web beacon page:

When conducting research Yahoo!'s practice is to require our partners to disclose the presence of these web beacons on their pages in their privacy policies and state what choices are available to users regarding the collection and use of this information.

I'm thinking it's fairly harmless. I know it pays to be wary of any Big Brother moves but in Thomas Friedman's new book, The World is Flat, he shows how your personal emails will never be released by the Yahoo!, even if you're the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq (a sad but true story in the book, alas).

If they want to track my actions on the Web, I'm not too concerned. It helps them tailor ads to keep my reliable service free, their 'Ask Yahoo!' stuff is more interesting because they are completely tuned in to marketing & it helps me be a smarter consumer. Sure, they can be a little puritanical but what company isn't, in my eyes? :cents: