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Date:         Mon, 19 Oct 1998 20:10:51 -0400
Reply-To:     "ErikO@ebyte.com" <ErikO@EBYTE.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "ErikO@ebyte.com" <ErikO@EBYTE.COM>
Organization: Ebyte Communications
Subject:      Re: Why Porn attack...With van content???
Comments: To: DanielisOk@AOL.COM, "Vanagon@VANAGON.COM" <Vanagon@VANAGON.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

I'm afraid not. Cookies cannot be used to gather sensitive information from the fields in a Netscape preference file. Cookies are passive data structures that are delivered to the client, stored on the client's hard drive in a .txt file, and returned in certain situations to the same server that provided the information in the first place. There was a beta release of Navigator 3.0 that was flawed and allowed servers to access some of the preference fields, including email address, but this was a beta version and the bug was fixed. This had nothing to do with cookies. This was a Netscape flaw. ActiveX and Java have had similar breaches, all not cookie related.

Here's what a webserver can find out about you when you request a file.

Service provider. Operating System. Browser type. Screen resolution and amount of colors. (only in IE) CPU type. Your service provider's server Your IP address What server you were on last

This information may be stored in a cookie and redelivered back only to the originating server at a later visit. Also, any information that you may have submitted to the site VIA a form, such as email addresses, credit cards numbers, ect. This is where the problem is. The site you submitted the info to can give this info to others if they want, regardless if they set a cookie or not. Ad networks like "Doubleclick" use an intricate network of partner sites that all share this info with each other (yes cookies are involved) in order to discover your "profile" to target advertising to you. You may think this is a violation of privacy and alot of people do, but the problem lye in the confidence breach by the website that YOU submitted the info to. You gave them the info way before any cookies were set.

If you're curious about what's in your cookie file use your find files program and do a search for cookies.txt

Speaking of net porn and to cover my obligatory vanagon content... someone sent me a pretty anonymous email with pics of people naked around vanagons. Mostly people changing and stuff. I really wasn't able to tell where it came from as the IP number was somehow masked as a LAN subnet. Sort of a hard thing to do. It was sent to one of my vanagon site email accounts so it probably was just someone surfing around. Who was it ???

:) send more!

Daniel Bey wrote: > > Thanks for the info. I still have alot to learn about all of this. > SeeYa > DAN > > In a message dated 10/19/98 6:02:11 PM, you wrote: > > <<Dear Eric, > > Not quite. > > IF you have your email address set in your browser (under > Preferences/email/identity), then ANY website can get your email address > whenever you logon to it with your browser, IF you have enabled cookies. > > Thus, if you don't want junk mail AND you like to surf porn sites, then I > strongly suggest you disable your email address settings in your preferences. > Otherwise, in no time flat you will be gettin' a ton o' junk! > > Cheers,>>

-- _________________________ Erik O Akron, Oh '82 GTI Powered Westfalia

West.of.Wolfsburg http://ebyte.com/wow

Greatlakes.Camping.Info http://ebyte.com/gl _________________________ Ebyte Communications http://ebyte.com


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