> A widely used, yet virtually undetectable, means of tracking people's
> Internet surfing habits is joining its better-known cousin, the cookie,
> as the subject of several lawsuits and a privacy initiative by the
> government.
>
> The technology, often called Web bugs or 1-pixel gifs, is prompting
> further concern that the once-freewheeling Web is becoming more like an
> Orwellian Big Browser.
>
> Like cookies, Web bugs are electronic tags that help Web sites and
> advertisers track visitors' whereabouts in cyberspace. But Web bugs are
> invisible on the page and are much smaller, about the size of the period
> at the end of this sentence.
>
> A Web bug "is like a beacon, so that every time you hit a Web page it
> sends a ping or call-back to the server saying 'Hi, this is who I am and
> this is where I am,'" said Craig Nathan, chief technology officer for
> privacy start-up Meconomy.com..
>
> Most computers have cookies, which are placed on a person's hard drive
> when a banner ad is displayed or a person signs up for an online
> service. Savvy Web surfers know they are being tracked when they see a
> banner ad. But people can't see Web bugs, and anti-cookie filters won't
> catch them. So the Web bugs wind up tracking surfers in areas online
> where banner ads are not present or on sites where people may not expect
> to be trailed.
>
> Web bugs were developed to not let you know (you're being tracked) and
> for the simple design aspect of an invisible dot.
>
> Richard Smith, a computer security expert, said that a wide variety of
> medical and pornography sites are using the tags. He said there are Web
> bugs on such sites as Procrit, which has information about AIDS drugs,
> and iFriends.net, an online version of an adult peep show.
>
> Privacy advocates see an insidious side to the tiny tag. "Web bugs are
> like carbon monoxide for Internet privacy," said Jason Catlett, a
> privacy advocate with Junkbusters. "You can't see them, but they can
> damage your privacy anyway." The problem is magnified, when a company
> can tie your cookie number to personal identifying information such as a
> phone number and address.