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Closed AccountAug 16, 2010
Tracking cookies are all over the place, what makes these so different?
nevariusAug 17, 2010
A bit more than a regular tracking cookie. Whats being used is a flash cookie which doesn't get wiped when you clean out cookies. Also the flash cookies are re spawning regular cookies that users erased.
bosskeyAug 17, 2010
I actually use a cookie manager that wipes (or optionally whitelists) both HTML and Flash cookies.
nevariusAug 17, 2010
I use the betterprivacy firefox addon myself.
trax852Aug 18, 2010
I was a regular on the usenet group: 24hoursupport.helpdesk
I dropped out when vista and win7 became the dominate OS as I'm staying with XP and VM win7.
But a lot of regulars there wouldn't use flash, I could never understand why until now.
I thought I knew all my directories, that flash cookie directory really woke me up - I have to find out more about this.
For the time being I'm just going to use a log off script or batch file to delete the flash cookies.
The way the article reads the cookies are someplace else on your computer, then Re-spawned when needed or you revisit the site.
I don't know, but look up the definition for surreptitious (the word used for the location of these re-spawned cookies), a root kit would of been mentioned, MRU's?
I sent this article to a few others who are security conscious, as I'm sure they would of mentioned this before if they knew.
Thanks to the poster, while a Disney basing article it let me know of two back doors I didn't know existed.
I use a large HOSTS file so most of the cooking trackers are stopped before they start, but the Flash directory says otherwise.
trax852Aug 18, 2010
Darn missed it, thought I had deleted the above but missed it by seconds. Really I had it at 5 seconds, but the system took it anyways.
As soon as I started looking I found everything, just a simple search with Agent Ransack.
Found the re-spawners, (XP system)
Cookies are located:
X:\Documents and Settings\myself\Application Data\Macromedia\Flash Player\#SharedObjects\V4K44XXM (V4K44XXM directory will be different for everybody)
I dual boot and both are different.
The Re-Spawners are located at:
X:\Documents and Settings\myself\Application Data\Macromedia\Flash player\macromedia.com\support\flashplayer\sys
They start with a # I'm only two off on one OS and three on the other, so a total of 5 re-spawners that haven't yet.
Just delete both directories, and a batch file at log off to clean both directories and no more worries about flash cookies.
A program to delete anything going to those directories, I think Comodo firewall will do this.
----
I don't have a facebook account,I took all the concern expressed on Digg and else where and deleted my account many months ago.
Heck I was just getting farm reports on how good two people were doing anyways.
I have the 1.5 million facebook names file - I want to know if my account was really deleted or kept for the numbers game. Ultra Edit can't read the 1.5Gig text file so I haven't read it yet.
But if you are logged in to facebook, every time you hit a website that lets you digg or facebook (two of many) the article, facebook gets another cookie on your where abouts.
Same with Digg, Digg isn't listed by name, they could be using a company to do it for them, I could find out but that would be three post in a row.... leave that to the one's with concerns with flash cookies.
Log off each site when you leave, Chrome is very good at remembering and using passwords for your haunts.
Closed AccountAug 17, 2010
I think flash cookies are a bit different, there's even a special firefox extension to remove them. I'm not really sure what the deal is, but I bet it's quite serious.
w1cked1Aug 17, 2010
obviously they exist solely as a work around to user choice in privacy/security controls. Anyone making use of them is a serious assh**e.
overdrivenAug 17, 2010
Ummm no. They exist to store data between uses of online Flex/Flash based applications. That is the purpose with which Adobe created them. Of course like all technology, there is going to be some assh**e who takes advantage and used it for something it wasn't intended for.
w1cked1Aug 17, 2010
I'm obviously not talking about why the fuctionality exists, but why it is used in the way pertinent to the topic.
However, if your argument held water, it is still adobe's fault for leaving it open as such an exploitable feature, Therefore, point stands.
punkcatAug 17, 2010
key here is children. there are strict laws in how you market to children, you are not allowed to gather any info on a child unless you have parental consent.
they run a site catering to children so it has to be assumed that the visitors are such.
Closed AccountAug 17, 2010
Those kids need to keep off Disney's website!
How was Disney which markets to children, suppose to know that children would visit their website!?!
I'm just poking fun, but seriously, thank you for the explanation.
libertyfrogAug 18, 2010
Bingo!
Closed AccountAug 17, 2010
The article seems like it made the problem pretty clear to me. Tracking cookies are used to track what you do on a particular site. These cookies did not stop there and kept tracking your activities no matter what site you went on. That's a problem right there, because I am sure people were never asked permission. The fact that it involves children would be considered even more heinous to some.
libertyfrogAug 18, 2010
RTFA
""Flash Cookies" are not affected when users try to remove traditional cookies with their browser's privacy controls.
"What's even sneakier," Wired.com reporter Ryan Singel wrote then, is "several services even use the surreptitious data storage to reinstate traditional cookies that a user deleted, which is called 're-spawning,'" This means that a user may kill a cookie, but some technologies will bring it back to life by assigning that cookie's unique ID to a new cookie. "
Regular tracking cookies do not track every page you go to also.
chroniccolonicAug 16, 2010
Heh...It's a Small World after all.
doctorfaustAug 17, 2010
YEEEEAAAAAHHHHH!
clmollanAug 16, 2010
Yea, not enough detail to know what the deal is.
wjappeAug 17, 2010Submitter
thanks for the heads up
wjappeAug 16, 2010Submitter
There's a link on the last line going to a page with more information if you wish to go there:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20013672-261.html?tag=topTechContentWrap;editorPicks
wjappeAug 17, 2010Submitter
Update, I asked digg to change the link to the above, and it's been done.
Closed AccountAug 17, 2010
Go to http://www.nirsoft.net and download FlashCookiesView. You have them and they know what you are doing!
fasttadpoleAug 17, 2010
BetterPrivacy (FireFox Plug-in) deletes LSO / Flash / Super cookies. I regularly get ~20 a day. It's not just Disney.
captininsanityAug 17, 2010
Set your app data roaming Macromedia\Flash Player\#SharedObjects folder to get dumped every time you clean your cache if you use ccleaner or something. That way you can delete cookies from all browsers simultaneously, and use secure deletion if you want.
zebbersAug 17, 2010
On linux it is .macromedia folder in home folder. You could also just write protect the folder but that would prevent any useful lsos from being used by you.
Closed AccountAug 17, 2010
HACK THE PLANET!
Closed AccountAug 17, 2010
Where to find these flash cookies:
* Windows: LSO files are stored typically with a “.SOL” extension, within each user’s Application Data directory, under Macromedia\FlashPlayer\#SharedObjects.
Mac OS X: For Web sites, ~/Library/Preferences/Macromedia/FlashPlayer. For AIR Applications, ~/Library/Preferences/[package name (ID)of your app] and ~/Library/Preferences/Macromedia/FlashPlayer/macromedia.com/Support/flashplayer/sys
* GNU-Linux: ~/.macromedia
treehugger87Aug 17, 2010
In case you don't know, you can see and clear your Flash cookies here:
http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager07.html
treehugger87Aug 17, 2010
I'm a Web developer and we use them a lot. They're more persistent than browser cookies and most importantly remain across all browsers. As a web user, however, they're a nightmare.
w1cked1Aug 17, 2010
It's not up to you to decide that cookies should persist beyond the choice of the user. Using them all the time makes you an assh**e.
dshplsAug 17, 2010
YOU PLAYING GOD WITH YOUR FLASH COOKIES
treehugger87Aug 18, 2010
@wicked. I agree, it's not up to me. Adobe makes that decision through Flash persistent cookies. I have updated my settings so that Flash cookies cannot be used to persist data that I don't want persisted and tell everyone who will listen to do the same.
petemcfraserAug 17, 2010
The issue is around ClearSpring, but of course it wouldn't be worth clicking unless they call out a big brand like Disney...
Lame.
jasoncoxAug 17, 2010
"[...] by secretly tracking the Web movements of their users, including children."
Yes, because we must think of the children.
/s
snaxieAug 17, 2010
Oh god...."evil internet cookies are tracking me from space"......what is this....f**king 1997 again?
rmxzAug 17, 2010
No, it's 1984 (as in the book).
Amazing to me how indifferent people are becoming when it comes to privacy.
Closed AccountAug 17, 2010
Used to be they tracked what you do on their sites, these guys are tracking you all over the net.
snaxieAug 17, 2010
zzzzzzzzzzzzz.....leaning towards not giving a f**k....
FPSmotoAug 17, 2010
But! Who doesn't love flash cookies?
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/62/219402284_13c37563f5.jpg
envirochemAug 17, 2010
With Firefox you can control, block and/or delete Flash cookies with the Better Privacy extension at https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/6623/
maddoktor2Aug 17, 2010
There's also one for Safari (Mac version only):
http://www.sweetpproductions.com/safaricookies/index.htm
oninboninAug 17, 2010
I've been scarred ever since I watched a show on the underground crazy lives of the people in the different character suits at Disney.
topcat5Aug 17, 2010
Yep. Better get firefox and better privacy unless you want the world to know what videos you have been watching. Flash cookies keep track of this too.
cyber2uallAug 17, 2010
Legally spying for profit. The real web 2.0.
canudi9itAug 17, 2010
I use an extension for Chrome called 'FlashBlock' to disable flash by default. So flash cookies are disabled by default.
Closed AccountAug 17, 2010
Disney grabber: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cqz9ZXUoUcE
brbybeeAug 17, 2010
mmmmm...flash cookies.
saddinoAug 17, 2010
Time for an open source alternative to AddThis
fusedghostAug 18, 2010
This is why the same ads follow me all over the internet.
Thanks for the recommendation on BetterPrivacy add-on for Firefox.
lederhosedAug 19, 2010
Oh Disney
lamadave222Aug 20, 2010
Um, Norton disables tracking cookies. Of course, it you keep going back to those sites........