Online Behavioral Monitoring Is Monitoring All Surfing You Do On The Net – Do You Worry Or Not Or Not
Online tracking is used to accumulate very important information from web users. Data gathered could be used by companies that do target advertising and effective marketing tactics could surely enhance revenues of these companies. It used to be that data gathering was done through surveys of readers’ preferences and applications. Online tracking was born as modern technology developed and flourished. Today, marketing firms collect data simply by just monitoring a user’s online “movements”.
In its earlier days, online data collection from users seemed innocent. Privacy issues began to surface as more and more internet marketing companies made use of such methods. Retaining privacy on the web became more and more complicated. A user’s online conduct is left unguarded, making him or her “target” for internet advertising companies. Claims of unlawful intrusiveness by internet data increasingly became commonplace. Users questioned whether such techniques could be considered legal. Others contend that such procedures are violations of individual privacy.
User data that is uploaded holds so much important information with vast marketing potentials. As a whole, these contain the user’s data and those of his or her friends, linkages, locations, and influences. With some transformations, these could tell not only what the individual user wants but also the wants of his or her friends. Abuse of personal data becomes a never ending likelihood.
Websites place cookies on the computers of users who visit them. With these cookies, user information can be collected. The use of cookies in collecting data is becoming more prevalent. Out of the 100 most popular websites examined, one report says that more than 50 percent used cookies. Cookies make internet use easy for the user, particularly for those sites that are frequently visited. Cookies help in storing user preferences; he or she does not have to go through the same procedure each time he or she visits the sites.
Companies that use behavioral marketing should self-regulate to avoid claims of privacy violation. The Federal Trade Commission recommends that this should be put into law. Websites should have full disclosure of the company’s behavioral targeting procedures. Under Federal Trade Commission Act Section 5(a), there were some website owners who were prosecuted due to violations.
If you are at all concerned about your online identity or your Internet privacy, you might consider using an Anonymous Proxy to defend yourself from web-based behavioral tracking. Try our PrivateProxy for free and start protecting yourself today!
May 21, 2011 | Posted by Andrew Virender
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