The implicit collection of personal information by cookies and other browsers

With the popularity of online life, more and more people are accepting and familiar with this lifestyle. People can register users online, provide personal identities, and accept the services provided by the website.

But the problem that comes with it is that many websites do not specify what information they collect when collecting personal information, or force or induce users to submit information that is not needed by the provided service itself. . Since there is no mandatory management measure for the collection of personal information on the website, there are no laws, regulations or national standards to specify the content and methods of collection. Therefore, the network is flooded with and flows a large amount of personal information of users. The behavior of websites or other stakeholders using personal information for business activities is endless.

For example, when you sign up for a dating site, you will be asked to fill in your email address and password, claiming that you will automatically contact your friends. But the problem is that after the password is submitted to the website, there will be behaviors that the user does not know and can't control, but the website does not explain anything about it.

Above: IE browser Internet option provides the option to delete cookies

This example of using users' self-protection awareness is not uncommon, another A more subtle collection is done using web and computer technology. If you go online often, you must have heard of cookies, but it doesn't necessarily know what it does when you browse the site.

What is a cookie?

Cookies are a technology that allows a web server to store small amounts of data on a client's hard drive or memory, or to read data from a client's hard drive. Cookies are a very small text file placed on your hard drive by a web server when you browse a website. It records your user ID, password, page viewed, time spent, and more. When you come to the website again, the website can read the cookies and know the relevant information, you can make the corresponding actions, such as displaying the welcome slogan on the page, or letting you log in directly without entering the ID and password. and many more.

Essentially, it can be seen as a user's identity card on the network. However, cookies cannot be executed as code, nor will they transmit viruses, and are proprietary to you and can only be read by the server that provides them.

Almost all website designers use cookies when designing their websites, because they want to provide a more user-friendly, culturally immersive browsing environment for users browsing the website, while also collecting them more accurately. Visitor information and knowledge of website visitors.

Cookies are widely used and can do things that are not possible with other technologies. But there are also some aspects that are not perfect enough to cause inconvenience to the application.

Any public computer or many computers used in the office or at home will be used by more than two people at the same time. In this way, when you use it to shop in an online supermarket, an online supermarket or website will leave a cookie on this machine. In the future, someone may try to use your account to shop, which may bring insecurity. Of course, this is not a problem on some computers that use multi-user operating systems such as Windows NT or UNIX. Because the accounts of different accounts are placed in different places under the multi-user operating system.

Most foreign websites use instructions for cookies, but relatively speaking, the domestic websites specifically explain the information stored in the cookies to the users.

Google’s Privacy Policy states:

“Cookies & rdquo; is a small string of characters sent to your computer when you visit a website. file. When you visit the site again, this small file will help the site identify your browser. Cookies can store user preferences and other information. You can reset your browser to reject all cookies or have the browser give you a hint before accepting cookies. However, some of the featured features or services of the website may not function properly due to the absence of cookies.

Nike China's Privacy Policy states:

Cookies are a technology that is used by users of this website to automatically send cookies to users when they visit this website with cookies. Inside the browser and store it on your computer's hard drive. This cookie will track and record various activities and related information about your visit to the Site in the future. Using cookies, this website will be able to better serve you with personalized services and personalized services.

Although the two websites did some explanations on the collection of cookies, they were not detailed enough to guide users on how to refuse the use of cookies, nor did they express the consequences of refusal. Therefore, on the one hand, I hope that the website will pay more attention to the issue of collecting personal information of cookies. At the same time, users should also enhance their self-protection awareness, improve computer use skills, and avoid becoming an excellent tool for businesses to use without knowing.