The Answer to the Cookie Deletion Problem?
Source Title:
Frenzy Begins Over Cookie Alternative
Frenzy Begins Over Cookie Alternative
Source Url:
http://www.clickz.com/news/article.php/3494101
http://www.clickz.com/news/article.php/3494101
Story Text:
Zachary Rodgers reports for clickz on an alternative to cookies following Jupiters contraversial report stating that as many as 38% of users could be deleting cookies regulary, fouling marketers tracking efforts.
Zachary Rodgers reports for clickz on an alternative to cookies following Jupiters contraversial report stating that as many as 38% of users could be deleting cookies regulary, fouling marketers tracking efforts.
Does the Answer lie in Flash?
The technology is based on a feature of Flash MX called "local shared objects" (SOs), which can easily be placed on a user's machine by adding a piece of Javacript to a Web page. SOs are similar to cookies in concept and function. The main difference is Web users don't know what SOs are, and are therefore unlikely to delete them. Additionally, commercial anti-spyware applications do not typically block these files, as they do cookies.
The obvoius question is: How long before users start to notice them and delete them? And will anti-spyware software vendors factor them into their products?
- Y! MyWeb
Thank you for something new to research Nick.
I don't have a cookie deletion problem as far as I am aware but the only way to test it is to track in other ways and compare the data.
This technology (Which is something I didn't know directly about) seems to be a potential answer. I have looked at other client side ways of grabbing user data (for legitimate use) but the concern would be, as you rightly pointed out, that if this becomes mainstream cookie deletion becomes cookie and SO Flash deletion.
I'll definately look further into this but I think a personal and non standard approach will be the answer so that your users info is accessable in a way that the majority of users (and more importantly spyware style cleanup apps etc.) aren't so aware of.
P.S. I've just seen my very 1st Google Adwords banner ad on this post.
It's ugly and horrible IMHO but at least it is relevantish - It's for an anti popup, spyware, style app.
Get the word out
Time to start getting the word out:
Turn off JavaScript/Active Scripting when you surf. If you can't negotiate the site without it, you can probably find another site that will give you what you need.
We do this but not for that reason
I know flash developers that dont know about it or how to delete them :O)
One site I have done recently feeds in data using the swf url (eg. something.swf?referrer=123) and redirects to another page supplying the customer number, really simple and the flash file is only 63 bytes :O)
New cookies
Last week I wanted to reset the properties that a web application developed in Shockwave (not Flash, but I guess it's a similar method) had stored in my PC, and it took me a good while to find where the cookie hid (it's browser-independent, if I accessed it with Firefox, it read the cookie that had been set using Explorer, so flushing the browser cache/cookies didn't work). But if it starts to be widely used, it won't take long for the antispyware-antiads programs to thwart it.
Can't see what the problem is
Everyman, why do you not like cookies?
Anyone using windows who wants to see which sites are setting SOs (I have always called them flash cookies, go figure) navigate to
C:\Documents and Settings\YOURUSERNAME\Application Data\Macromedia\Flash Player\#SharedObjects\
There will be a folder in there containing folders for each web site you have visited that has saved anything to your machine
"storing persistent shared objects in unpredictable locations"
Flash 7, as a security feature, started storing persistent objects in "unpredictable locations". I have no idea what has happened since then.
from marcromedia
"Flash Player now stores persistent shared objects in unpredictable locations. This improves client-side web security."
On one of my systems I see flickr and mgmmirage objects right where chirsgarraet says they can be found. They have survived many, many adware/spyware scans over almost a year.