Facebook's Beacon More Intrusive Than Previously Thought

News Type: Event — Seeded on Mon Dec 3, 2007 11:52 AM EST

Article Source: PC World

technology, facebook, spyware, beacon, online-privacy

A Computer Associates security researcher is sounding the alarm that Facebook's controversial Beacon online ad system goes much further than anyone has imagined in tracking people's Web activities outside the popular social networking site.

Beacon will report back to Facebook on members' activities on third-party sites that participate in Beacon even if the users are logged off from Facebook and have declined having their activities broadcast to their Facebook friends.

Of particular concern is that users aren't informed that data on their activities at these sites is flowing back to Facebook, nor given the option to block that information from being transmitted, Berteau said in an interview.

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{"commentId":1237419,"authorDomain":"thelimeybrit"}

theLimeyBrit

I've noticed this happening when I've played games on Kongregate. I generally only use Facebook for sharing pictures with family, and this sort of behavior completely rubs me the wrong way. At this point, I'm leaning very strongly towards ditching it.

{"commentId":1237419,"threadId":"184381","contentId":"1138421","authorDomain":"thelimeybrit"}

2 votes

#1 - Mon Dec 3, 2007 11:53 AM EST

{"commentId":1238396,"authorDomain":"djproctor"}

djproctor

I'm also considering deleting my account. The initial idea was a good one, but Facebook doesn't seem to be getting the message. Even if they completely revamp their product, I don't know if they'll regain the trust they've lost.

{"commentId":1238396,"threadId":"184381","contentId":"1138421","authorDomain":"djproctor"}

2 votes

#2 - Mon Dec 3, 2007 4:49 PM EST

{"commentId":1239655,"authorDomain":"melonhead"}

urbane gorilla

my hard drive "vaporized" a week after my kid, and then i , got facebook accounts. I wonder. . .

{"commentId":1239655,"threadId":"184381","contentId":"1138421","authorDomain":"melonhead"}

2 votes

#3 - Tue Dec 4, 2007 3:02 AM EST

{"canLink":false,"threadId":"184381","isPrivate":false}

Facebook's Beacon More Intrusive Than Previously Thought	PC World	Sun Dec 2	6
Facebook admits Beacon tracks logged-off users	Richard Beach	Tue Dec 4	0
Facebook Admits Ad Service Tracks Logged-Off Users	Yahoo! News	Wed Dec 5	0
How Far Does Facebooks Beacon Go?	Chris Abraham	Tue Dec 4	0
41 sites using Facebook Beacon - Facebook to know your porn viewing?	dcoates.com	Tue Dec 4	1

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Facebook's Beacon More Intrusive Than Previously Thought

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