cookies

The Clock Is Ticking For The Ad Cookie–With No Sure Alternative In Sight

Cookies are the basis for billions of dollars of online advertising. They’re also under fire from privacy advocates, the government, and even makers of Web browsers. But the key problem is the fragmentation of how people access online content (from phone to computer to tablet and back again).

And so the worries about how advertisers will be able to reach fragmented, increasingly privacy-aware audiences continue to consume the online ad business. Problem is, they haven’t yet come up with solutions–and the clock is ticking.

The Web Cookie Is Dying. Here’s The Creepier Technology That Comes Next

Many Internet advertisers rely on cookies. The problem for marketers is that some users set their browsers to reject cookies or quickly extinguish them. And mobile phones, which are taking an increasing chunk of the Web usage, do not use cookies.

Advertisers and publishers are increasingly turning to something called fingerprinting. It allows a web site to look at the characteristics of a computer such as what plugins and software you have installed, the size of the screen, the time zone, fonts and other features of any particular machine. These form a unique signature just like random skin patterns on a finger.

13 ways the NSA spies on us

Over the last year,  we’ve learned more and more about the National Security Agency’s spying programs. Indeed, there have now been so many revelations that it can be hard to keep them straight.

So here’s a handy guide to the most significant ways the NSA spies on people in the United States and around the world.

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