Ever in Flux My mind...flash-filtered for smooth consumption

Tracking usage data on commercial websites

About 4 or so years ago, I began using a Firefox extension called Adblock Plus. This add-on uses a subscription-based list of advertising websites to block ads in the browser. From that point on, the web was what it once was: a repository of information without the distractions of marketing.

About a year ago, on the suggestion of a friend, I began using another extension called NoScript. This add-on allows you to selectively determine what sites can load JavaScript into your browser as you visit various sites. JavaScript can be used to add interactivity to a website through manipulation of code. Most sites you visit use JavaScript for various reasons.

One of the more common uses these days is to provide your usage data about a site you're visiting to a third-party site, often to advertising partners. Let me provide an example:

In this screenshot, I am browsing to CNN's website. I've been there before, and without going in to the details of NoScript, and have already allowed and disallowed some JavaScript from the site.

On the right, turner.com and cnn.com are allowed and clicking on "Forbid" will block those scripts. I'm at CNN's website and CNN is owned by Turner Broadcasting, so allowing CNN and Turner.com seems a safe bet.

On the left, however, are the third-party sites I have blocked from loading JavaScript while I'm browsing CNN. We can ignore about:blank since that's just a blank page in the browser. However, the other two domains listed are significant: dl-rms.com and revsci.net.

A whois (a way to check who owns a website) of dl-rms.com shows it is owned by a company called Dynamic Logic whose DNS servers are hosted at questionmarket.com. This isn't a Turner property. A whois of revsci.net shows that site as being owned by Revenue Science. The name says it all: marketing data collection.


What's going on here?

As you browse CNN's website, the various portions of their site and the ads that are displayed are provided remotely from these other two domains. This allows those sites to track the number of people who visit the site, what browsers they use, which ads get clicked on, etc.

Why should you care?

They're merely contracting out their ad services for revenue. Seems fair enough, right? Wrong. While CNN.com may have its own privacy policy, the subcontractor may have an entirely different privacy policy and you don't even know what data is being collected. Also, unless you're running something like NoScript, you wouldn't even know it was happening.

What to do?
It's time to start taking back the web and the use of our browsing habits. Start using tools like NoScript and AdBlock Plus. While at times inconvenient and can even break functionality of some websites, it's one of the only ways to ensure that third-parties aren't getting your information. You can disable JavaScript altogether, but I can assure you some of your favorite sites may cease functioning.

The other thing we can do is start letting companies know (I'll be contacting CNN and a few others right after this post is done) that it's okay for them to track our usage data. We're browsing their site after all, but that it's not okay to share that information without CLEARLY stating it up front.

I am loathe to return to browsing the web without these two add-ons. The web has become such a filthy mess of ad banners, webbugs and malicious scripts that I feel unprotected without them.

I do allow some JavaScript for advertisers through. doubleclick.net, for example. I know it's owned by Google and I use Google's services, so I feel comfortable sharing my usage habits there. Other sites that host their own adservers also get allowed and unblocked from AdBlock Plus. All I'm asking is that companies collect their own data or make it clear how that information is shared elsewhere and to whom.