Big Brother is Watching: An Update on Web Bugs

The majority of web bugs are not persistent in the sense that once a user has visited a bugged site they are then tracked at every site they visit. A network of web bugs on many different sites act as trip wires to report back to the hidden web site what websites have been visited. A company interested in tracking user's web site habits plants a network of bugs on various sites. All of the bugs will phone home to the same location when tripped by the user. Each of these bugs can read cookies on the user's computer (if cookies are enabled). With the cookie and website information, the company can create a profile on the user's surfing habits and then target their ads for the user's specific interests. Email marketers use Web bugs in email to valid email addresses and to determine who read the message. Application web bugs can track confidential documents, newsletters and even spreadsheets. Script bugs can be more powerful than GIF bugs and can bypass some bug detectors. The most dangerous web bugs do not rely on images but on executables. These web bugs can bypass browser preferences and perform almost any task they are programmed to do.