-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- On Thu, 13 Jun 1996, Hal wrote:
One question is whether enough information to uniquely identify users is routinely provided by widely used browsers like Netscape. I have refrained from telling my Netscape browser my name and email address out of fear that it would reveal this information; as a result, I can't use mailto: links, which is annoying (and also suspicious; lynx allows me to do mailto: without permanently entering an email address).
I do this too. Until recently, it was trivial for a server to either force the browser to download something via FTP and record the e-mail address or use the infamous Javascript hack. I currently have Netscape setup to disable Java, and issue warnings whenever sending a form via e-mail or accepting a cookie. I think this will prevent my e-mail address from being revealed to any server, but it is not enough to satisfy my paranoia. I would be truely satisfied if Netscape would prompt for an e-mail address whenever it sends mail or post to usenet.
This points out the need for browser providers to be sensitive to the privacy needs of their users and to clearly explain when and under what circumstances private information is revealed. It also suggests that services like www.anonymizer.com will be increasingly important for people to protect their privacy while browsing.
Definitely. Although they will never be as secure as anonymous remailers (messages can not be delayed), this will be much better protection against information gatherers. - -- Mark =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= markm@voicenet.com | finger -l for PGP key 0xe3bf2169 http://www.voicenet.com/~markm/ | d61734f2800486ae6f79bfeb70f95348 "In Christianity neither morality nor religion come into contact with reality at any point." -- Friedrich Nietzsche -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.3 Charset: noconv iQCVAwUBMcHiaLZc+sv5siulAQF6DwQAqjNIai5zPDqCUxyCq2Y9BuM7EjUjp7IF 7GhSalQAilThBB+v4N6cQ6glkGOE+9heGBqsob0HKdQdIP2/AdbVCCgobO5JRGy+ kUPpMBve51PWjBu+ey85AlcJIwi0d8Upkb8aC4HYf79UTfzkOd2/84eBY0F5iY4X iuoTsUwcFt4= =RfVo -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----