Re: Supercookies

[Praedor Atrebates <praedor@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Thursday 20 August 2009 09:36:40 am Ted Smith wrote:
> On Thu, 2009-08-20 at 08:55 +0200, Matej Kovacic wrote:
> > Hi,
> > 
> > I am not sure if this was on this list, but it is an interesting
> > information:
> > 
> > http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/08/you-deleted-your-cookies-think-again/
> > it seems cookies could be "respawned"...
> > 
> > And there is a plugin to remove this LSO's:
> > https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/6623
> > 
> > You need to set Flash directory (autodetection does not always work):
> > - Windows: %APPDATA%\Macromedia\Flash Player\
> > - Macintosh: ~/Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash Player/
> > - Linux/Unix: ~/.macromedia/Flash_Player/
> > 
> > Maybe something like that should be integraded into TorButton...
> > However, the question is what about Silverlight and other non-flash
> > plugins...
> > 
> > There is also a Windows tool called CCleaner (http://www.ccleaner.com/)...
> > 
> > bye, Matej
> 
> The best solution here is not to use non-free software as a general
> rule, and stay the f*** away from non-free software peddled by companies
> that have their software phone home to "192.168.1.2o7.net". IIRC, Gnash,
> the GNU swf decoder/player/interpreter/whatever, does not have these
> flash cookies, and if it did, you could easily disable or find a way to
> purge them. 

There is a nice writeup on these cookies and simple (non-firefox/global) protection from such cookies at:
http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/tutorials/6709/1/

No need to go extreme and lose most functionality by going 10000% free/open software.  You simply lose a lot of nice, desireable web functionality if you do.  At the end of the above article is a quick write about Gnash, the open/free flashplayer (though lacking a lot of functionality/compatibility) and how it handles flash cookies.

-- 
“We can have a democratic society or we can have the concentration of great wealth in the hands of the few. We cannot have both.” 
— Louis Brandeis, Supreme Court Justice, 1916-1939