[meteorite-list] eBay's Spyware and Cookies

[Chris Peterson]

Tagasaurus is simple malware. It has no way to install itself on a properly 
configured system. You need to download and run something carrying it. In 
this respect it is no different from most other malware. Doubleclick and 
Mediaplex do not download executable code to your computer. All they do is 
set tracking cookies that are used to analyze your traffic patterns. They 
are harmless, but you may nevertheless consider them a violation of privacy. 
If so, it is trivial in any browser to either block those cookies, or 
convert them to session cookies.

There is a big difference between setting a cookie and downloading some kind 
of monitoring software! If eBay were actually doing the latter, it would be 
all over the news.

Chris

*****************************************
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "harlan trammell" <skyrox at hotmail.com>
To: <clp at alumni.caltech.edu>; <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 5:16 PM
Subject: RE: [meteorite-list] eBay's Spyware and Cookies



hitbox, tagasaurus, doubleclick, mediaplex, etc. ALL with AUTOMATICALLY 
UPLOAD themselves w/o your consent. they will reside in your unit until you 
discover+delete them.