Fw: [OT] Yahoo! spies!

From: Kaj Sotala <Tspro_at_...>
Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2002 18:21:50 +0300


Warning for those who care: message cross-posted to several groups.

> On the web site you will see in the privacy statement a
> reference to "Web Beacons" you need to click on the OPT-OUT button
> to opt-out. If you don't Yahoo will follow you around on the
> Internet tracking the sites you visit and every thing you do and
> sends this info back to Yahoo for "marketing" info. This is a Web
> Bug. It is not cool and it is an invasion of your privacy, but it
> is still legal.
>
> All Yahoo HTML email that you receive also includes a Web Beacon
> (Web Bug) this is so they can keep track of live email addy's and
> to see who is opening up the email. All Commercial and HTML email
> you receive has a web bug, not just that from Yahoo."
>
> Here's the link to opt-out:
> http://privacy.yahoo.com/privacy/us/pixels/details.html
>
>To turn your HTML off in mail you receive from Yahoogroups, go to:
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/myprefs
>
>It will list all of your email addresses, and you need to click
"options" for
>each address. Scroll down, and you will see "Convert to HTML"
buttons -
>click on do not convert.
>
>FYI - if you need to add an email address to receive group mail at,
you can
>add them at the /myprefs address. You do not need to contact a list
>moderator to do so.
>
>-------------------------------------------------------------------
>here's what it says at the above page:
>-------------------------------------------------------------------
>Yahoo! Privacy Center
>-------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Web Beacons
>
>Web pages may contain electronic images (called a "single-pixel
>GIF" or "web beacon") that allow a web site to count users who have
>visited that page or to access certain cookies. Yahoo! uses web
>beacons in the following ways:
>Within the Yahoo! Network
>
>
>Yahoo! uses web beacons within the Yahoo! network of web sites in
>order to count users and to recognize registered users by accessing
>Yahoo! cookies.
>Being able to access Yahoo! cookies allows us to personalize your
>experience when you visit Yahoo! web sites that are not on the
>yahoo.com domain (like Yahoo! GeoCities that has pages on
>www.geocities.com.).
>Outside the Yahoo! Network
>
>Yahoo! uses web beacons to conduct research on behalf of certain
>partners on their web sites and also for auditing purposes.
>
>Information recorded through these web beacons is used to report
>aggregate information about Yahoo! users to our partners. This
>aggregate information may include demographic and usage
>information. No personally identifiable information about you is
>shared with partners from this research.
>When conducting research Yahoo!'s practice is to require our
>partners to disclose the presence of these web beacons on their
>pages in their privacy policies and state what choices are
>available to users regarding the collection and use of this
>information. You may choose to opt-out of Yahoo! collecting and
>using this information for this research. Please click here to
>opt-out.
>Note: This opt-out applies to a specific browser rather than a
>specific user. Therefore you will have to opt-out separately from
>each computer or browser that you use.
>
>HTML Mail
>
>Yahoo!'s practice is to include web beacons in HTML-formatted email
>messages (messages that include graphics) that Yahoo! itself sends
>in order to determine which email messages were opened and to note
>whether a message was acted upon.
>Yahoo! Points
>
>Occasionally, Yahoo! Delivers messages may award you Yahoo! Points
>upon opening the message. Yahoo! Delivers messages include a web
>beacon that displays a message informing you of this award or
>inviting you to join Yahoo! Points if you are not a member.
>Yahoo! Points may be awarded when you act on a banner or message
>offering points for visiting an advertiser's web site. The
>advertiser places web beacons on their page to allow Yahoo! to
>award you points for your visit if you are a Yahoo! Points member.
>In general, any electronic image viewed as part of a web page,
>including an ad banner, can act as a web beacon. Advertising
>networks that serve ads onto Yahoo! may use web beacons in their
>advertisements.
>
>BTW - it has now been noted that 'opting out' must be done for each
>computer and browser used on that computer - in other words if you
use
>Netscape and IE on one computer - you must opt-out from each browser
and
>then if you have another computer you use - you must do the same for
each
>browser on that one, etc. etc.
>
> Here's the link to opt-out:
> http://privacy.yahoo.com/privacy/us/pixels/details.html

Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live. - Oscar Wilde ICQ 18051088/AIM Xuenay/MSN Xuenay_at_...

Powered by hypermail