Will Chrome become the Ultimate Cookie?

from JoeUser Forums

 

Sounds crazy, right? Except it isn’t.

As you might have heard, Firefox plans to block all third party cookies, which will drastically decrease the ability to track your browsing habits. That’s ok. Up until now, it’s been up to the user to do that or not. Some cookies are better/more functional than others. Those which help websites load faster are good.

When those cookies are blocked, what will happen? It won’t change where ads get displayed, but it will change which get displayed since cookies won’t be used (as much) to profile users.

That will make ad prices drop. Guess who doesn’t want that to happen (or if it does, to have a better strategy)? The largest advertising company in the world, that’s who: Google. Sooo…plan B.

Why not tie an anonymous identifier to Chrome? Then, sell the key to companies and advertisers yet still control the system, at a price. Your browser has just become your tracker. The NSA might already be doing that, and if not, will be.

Cookies shmookies. They didn’t tell you much. The browser? It will tell you everything. Google might play nicely and let you change the numbers in the identifier, or create a different ‘identity’.

Me? I’m heading to Firefox if Google does this.

I think they’re crazy…because if they do this to Chrome, what’s to say they won’t (or haven’t) do/done it to the Android OS? I think that would be close to corporate suicide.

But then, most will probably say, “meh” and buy stock.

Source:

http://www.ghacks.net/2013/09/20/google-chrome-potential-target-googles-post-cookies-plan/?_m=3n%2e0038%2e1010%2ehj0ao01hy5%2e11gd

46,246 views 21 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Just when you think you got the problem licked it comes back to bite you in the tush, go figure. I still have the installer for FF v24 just in case.

Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I would say that Google has been tracking you anyway, if you don't wan't to be watched don't use Chrome (or other Google products).

Android is a bit different it's open source, people would know ... 

The Political Machine 2024
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting tazgecko, reply 2
Android is a bit different it's open source, people would know ...
End of tazgecko's quote
Except we apparently don´t, so..... who knows ?;P

Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top

There is no privacy, they can link everything to your IP address.

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

Interesting!


If google decides to sell this theoretical browser identifier, it will still mean an increase in the cost of ads (just not for google). It seems like quite a clever way to take control of the third party cookie networks. But it would only work for people using Chrome - so it does indeed seem like a very good reason to ditch Chrome and head over to Firefox.

Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I have no choice but to run Chrome on one of the computers in the house. The APU just can't handle processing with any other browser. And it's dual core. Low end AMD at its best I guess. Even IE has issues.

Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

FF + Albine + Don't remember history + Startpage search engine.

Best security ever.

EDIT:

Quoting kona0197, reply 6

I have no choice but to run Chrome on one of the computers in the house. The APU just can't handle processing with any other browser. And it's dual core. Low end AMD at its best I guess. Even IE has issues.
End of kona0197's quote

Palemoon

FF minus 90% of the useless junk code.

Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I have Pale Moon installed. It has the same issues. 

Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I'll stop surfing the web and smash my pc to little bits before I EVER use FF again. Biggest POS memory leaking crap I've ever used, regardless of version. 

Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I'm going to have to agree with Phoon on that one. Firefox still has a huge memory leak problem.

Reply #11 from JoeUser Forums Top

No memory leak issues with Pale Moon in my experience (at least not yet).  On XP or Win7.

Reply #12 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Try using Pale Moon with a 1.4 GHz CPU. You will see a difference. 

Reply #13 from Sins Forums Top

So it jumps a couple dozen Kb a second, that's what I have 32 gigs for, so crappy programming isn't a bother. :)

Reply #14 from Elemental Forums Top

... heard of... google account? they could always shift everything server side.

Reply #15 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Quoting kona0197, reply 12

Try using Pale Moon with a 1.4 GHz CPU. You will see a difference. 
End of kona0197's quote

1.6 Ghz PC at home.

One core too, and no issues.

Reply #16 from WinCustomize Forums Top

My only negative about Pale Moon is that one guy updates it, and it therefore lags behind Firefox.

Reply #17 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I just did a comparison......Chrome used 46% memory and FireFox used 41%. Don't know how much of that is leakage.

Reply #18 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I think privacy is now a thing of the past. The only venue they have left to invade is your actual thoughts.

I think about the scene in '1984' where Winston Smith stands in absolute awe when a member of the Inner Party demonstrates that he can 'turn off' the Big Brother Telescreen . He's never seen one turned off before. Later, when he is being interrogated, it appears the device that was 'turned off' may have been recording their conversation the entire time it was supposedly 'off'. Something to consider when you go to purchase your new smart TV or Google TV ... or go to 'update' their software for the first time.

I think only a select few will know any 'real' form of privacy and even that will be limited.

I think the real fear here should be how anyone who tries to obtain privacy will be viewed or typed and that 'If you have nothing to hide..' will become an accusation and affirmation of guilt before or whether any true guilt is proven/exists.

There is no way to put the lid back on this box. There will always be someone who wants to know or feels they need to or has the right to...and they will always find a way.

Reply #19 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting PoSmedley, reply 18
'If you have nothing to hide..' will become an accusation and affirmation of guilt before or whether any true guilt is proven/exists.
End of PoSmedley's quote

In fact, the line of thinking (until an excuse was found to change it: "Security") was "innocent until proven guilty", and the Fourth Amendment actually meant something.

Reply #20 from Elemental Forums Top

The vast majority of users (not the kind posting in a thread here about hypothetical future browser tracking) long ago made the subconscious choice to trade privacy for features and convenience.  I honestly think this issue is dead.  The NSA stuff, which when it first started coming out was supposedly going to change everything related to privacy, hasn't even moved the needle.  Get off the tech sites, the internet outrage bubble and away from the few politicians who are talking to the issue and talk to the average person out in the world and they don't have any idea what PRISM is let alone what else people (government, Google, whoever) might be able to do with their phones, computers, browsers,etc.  

I've done a lot of family & friends computer and smartphone support over the years for dozens (or maybe hundreds, big family) of people and aside from the other tech-interested folks like myself not a one of them even thinks about what's on their phone or computer or what their browser might be doing.  It's a lost cause.  I can barely even get family members to pin/password protect their phones.  Usually I convince them and by the next time I work on their device they've disabled the pin/password.  

Reply #21 from WinCustomize Forums Top

 

 

The way I see it?  If you connect to anything.......and I do mean anything at all......you have a little less of your privacy each time.  Most of us are now so 'connected' that as Kantok stated any real semblance of privacy has long since vanished.