Post on 07-Jan-2016
description
By: Justin Mauss
Privacy vs. Convenience
Privacy vs. Convenience
Agenda
Finding the Balance: Privacy vs. Convenience
Revisit Privacy vs. Convenience
Overview of Online Tracking Methods
Tracking: An Average Day of Surfing the Web
Examine Social Networking Sites
Examples of Tracking and Uses of Consumer Data
Tools to View and Block Online Tracking
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Let’s say you’re browsing online,
shopping on different sites.
Advertising companies are always there behind the scenes,
collecting lots of information about you.
as if they have a tracking device on you at all times.
They can see what you’re looking at
and where you are.
They follow you across the web, always adding more information to their profile of you.
Based on all they know about you, they can change the ads you see,
and provide different prices than other users based on your spending habits.
You know who else can see all this stuff?
Insurance companies, hiring managers, creditors…
Really, anyone who’s curious.
If you want to stop sharing with people and businesses you don’t know,
but keep using the internet you know & love, you have to do something about it.
Privacy vs. ConvenienceFinding the Balance
• Sharing Information is Voluntary– Twitter = Your Opinions of Current Topics– Foursquare = Your Location– LinkedIn = Past and Current Professional Life– Facebook = Possibly Everything and More
• #1 Social Networking Site: Facebook– Facebook Statistics Video
Social Networking Sites
• Currently Criticized: Information Availability– Strangers– Co-workers/Managers– Professors– Law Enforcement
• Past Studies: Surveys about Privacy
• Claimed vs. Observed Information Disclosure on Social Networking Sites
• 131 Participants– Questionnaires about Information Disclosure
on Facebook– Observed Disclosure (Not Facebook Friends
of Participants)
Facebook StudyNelson Mandela Metropolitan University (ICT)
• Categories of Data– Personal identifiable information
• Gender, Hometown, Birthday, Photos
– Sensitive personal information• Employer, School, Relationship Status
– Potentially stigmatizing information• Religious Status, Political Views, Favorite Media
Facebook StudyNelson Mandela Metropolitan University (ICT)
Personal Identifiable Information
Claimed Disclosure Observed Disclosure
Difference between behaviors
Hometown 92% 61% 31%
Gender 99% 91% 8%
Birthday 90% 19% 71%
Birth year 68% 11% 57%
E-mail Address 74% 5% 69%
Address 25% 2% 24%
Profile Photo 100% 97% 3%
Personal Website 13% 2% 11%
Facebook StudyNelson Mandela Metropolitan University (ICT)
Sensitive Personal Information
Claimed Disclosure Observed Disclosure
Difference between behaviors
Employer 18% 13% 5%
Secondary School 77% 68% 9%
University 94% 77% 17%
Current Location 71% 57% 14%
Mobile Number 60% 7% 53%
Friends List 71% 87% -16%
Relationship Status 59% 21% 38%
Facebook StudyNelson Mandela Metropolitan University (ICT)
Potential Stigmatizing Information
Claimed Disclosure
Observed Disclosure
Difference between behaviors
Religious Status 61% 23% 38%
Political Views 42% 10% 32%
Activities 58% 41% 17%
Interests 68% 37% 31%
Gender interest 55% 39% 16%
Language 72% 25% 47%
Personal Description 29% 27% 2%
Facebook StudyNelson Mandela Metropolitan University (ICT)
• Conclusion: Counterintuitive Results– Drastically Different than other Studies
• More Publicly Protected than Thought– From a Stranger Searching Information
• Future Studies include Friend’s View
Facebook StudyNelson Mandela Metropolitan University (ICT)
• Where is the issue?– Privacy too focused on User via User
• Real Attention: Facebook– Centralized Information– Ultimate Control
Social Media Networks
• Why am I being tracked?– Target Advertising– Sell information to others
• Why does it matter?– Unknown Data Retention– If something is free, you are the product
Online Tracking Introduction
• Cookies• Browser History• Beacons• IP Address
How am I Tracked?Four Main Methods
• Cookies (“tag”)– HTTP Cookies
• From Visited Site; Stays on Computer Permanently
– Session Cookies• Functional Purpose; Expires When Session Ends
– 3rd Party Cookies• Mainly Advertising; Tracking Across Many Sites
– Flash Cookies• “Local Shared Objects”; Functional & Tracking
How am I Tracked?Four Main Methods
• Browser History– Companies View your History
• JavaScript (CSS)
– Used for Placing in a Demographic– Now Mostly Automatically Blocked
How am I Tracked?Four Main Methods
• Beacons– Embedded in Website– Tracks Views, Time, IP Address, Browser– Helps Build your Information Profile
How am I Tracked?Four Main Methods
• IP Address• Determine Geographic Location
– Down to the Zip Code
• Track All Connections From Same IP– Easily Identified for Future Visits
How am I Tracked?Four Main Methods
• Tracking Service That Can’t Be Evaded– Turning Off Flash Storage– Blocking Cookies– Surfing in “Privacy” Mode
• Used to Track:– Number of Visitors– What Visitors Do on the Site– Other Sites They are Visiting
KISSmetrics Tracking ExampleResearchers at U.C. Berkeley (2011)
• On the Web’s Most Popular Sites– Hulu, Spotify, AOL, Groupon, Microsoft,
Foursquare, Adobe, and many more
• How it is Accomplished:
KISSmetrics Tracking ExampleResearchers at U.C. Berkeley (2011)
• KISSmetrics Defended Themselves– Minor lawsuits, but laws & regulations are
playing catch up
• Main Issue: Tough to Block Tracking– Browsers - Advance Privacy Settings– Extra Extensions Need to be Installed
KISSmetrics Tracking ExampleResearchers at U.C. Berkeley (2011)
Google+: 21.5%
Twitter: 41.7%
Facebook: 49.3%
Twitter: 10.0%
Google+: 13.3%
Facebook: 24.3%
% Integrated with Official Social Plugins on Homepage
% Integrated with any Social Networking Site Links on Homepage
Top 10,000 Websites
Google #1; Facebook #2; Twitter #10 as of 2/16/2013
Common Method to Aggregate Data
Different Approach Than Other CompanieseBay’s AdChoice
AdChoice Opted Out
AdChoice Service Running
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• Collusion– Experimental Add-On– Track 3rd Party Companies– Connections between Trackers
and Businesses in Real Time
Average Day of SurfingTool to View Trackers: Collusion
• Visit Sites As Usual (10 Sites)
Average Day of SurfingTool to View Trackers: Collusion
Uwplatt.edu eBayDiscover PayPayWired GoogleWall Street Journal AppleTwitter Facebook
• Four Different Cases (All Homepage Visits)– Before Anti-Tracking Tools; Not Signed In– Before Anti-Tracking Tools; Signed In– After Anti-Tracking Tools; Not Signed In– After Anti-Tracking Tools; Signed In
Average Day of SurfingTool to View Trackers: Collusion
CollusionBefore Anti-Tracking Tool; Not Signed In
CollusionBefore Anti-Tracking Tool; Not Signed In
CollusionBefore Anti-Tracking Tool; Not Signed In
CollusionBefore Anti-Tracking Tool; Not Signed In
CollusionBefore Anti-Tracking Tools; Signed In
CollusionBefore Anti-Tracking Tools; Signed In
CollusionBefore Anti-Tracking Tools; Signed In
CollusionBefore Anti-Tracking Tools; Signed In
• Detects Cookies, Web Bugs, Beacons• Trackers over 1,200 Trackers
Tools to View and Stop TrackingGhostery
Tools to View and Stop TrackingGhostery
• Open Source• Blocks Pop-ups, Video Ads, and Banners
Tools to View and Stop TrackingAdblock Plus
• Researchers from International Computer Science Institute in Berkeley
• Focused on Understanding Social Networking Sites– Facebook– Twitter– Google +– LinkedIn
Tools to View and Stop TrackingPriv3
CollusionAfter Anti-Tracking Tools; Not Signed In
CollusionAfter Anti-Tracking Tools; Signed In
CollusionSigned In: Before vs. After Anti-Tracking
• Realistic Issue: Everyone is Tracking• Internet Users Worldwide:
– 2,405,517,376 as of June 30, 2012
• Internet Users Worldwide Actively Using the Top 3 Anti-Tracking Tools: – 28,100,000 as of December, 2012
• About 1.2% Block Major Trackers
Users Need to be Aware
Privacy vs. ConvenienceDecide Your Own Balance
Privacy vs. Convenience Review
Finding the Balance: Privacy vs. Convenience
Revisit Privacy vs. Convenience
Overview of Online Tracking
Tracking: An Average Day of Surfing the Web
Examine Social Networking Sites
Examples of Tracking and Use of Consumer Data
Tools to View and Block Online Tracking
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Thank you for your time!
Any Questions?