Web Bugs Are Crawling Everywhere

One of the advertisers greatest allies is called a web bug. These are small, usually 1x1 pixel graphic images used to track various statistics. Most often, these track the performance (impressions) of advertisements. They can also be used to build profiles of your travels through the internet.

And you thought banner ad tracking and profile building was something to worry about! Web bugs are a far more insidious threat to privacy because they are usually unseen and virtually undetectable to the naked eye. Yet their impact is tremendous - and growing.

Here's a quick synopsis of how these critters work. An advertiser wants to track the number of impressions of a text link. They generate HTML code for their affiliate members (their sales force) which includes a load of a 1x1 pixel graphic image from their server. The purpose of this small graphic is to measure the number of impressions (how often the text link has been displayed) so the advertiser (and affiliate) can determine how effective their advertising has been.

So far it's pretty innocent, and if that's all web bugs did there would be no cause for concern. However, because a web bug is an image (exactly the same as a banner only smaller and invisible) it can be used to set a cookie on your computer. Once a web bug sets a cookie your privacy more or less disappears. You see, the cookie "tags" you with a number, and that number can be (and is) used to track your surfing habits.

Some companies state, well hey, "it's written in the privacy policy". Other's either don't have privacy polices, don't follow them, or don't mention web bugs at all.

To tell you the truth, lots of words are being written lately about privacy policies, and, in my humble opinion, it's all a smokescreen. How many consumers really read these things? And even when they do, all privacy policies are subject to change without notice at any time. So what you've got, in the current state of internet affairs, is a comforting, but absolutely useless, document. (I understand that Internet Explorer 6 is going to start enforcing privacy policies - we'll see if this really works).

The horrifying fact is that web bug usage is up - over 500% according to Cyveillance, a company which performs research on internet technology and usage patterns. That's a whole lot of web bugs crawling all over every single page! You will only see this increase over the coming years, as web bugs are too useful to advertisers and marketers to be discarded.

So what's a poor consumer to do? To begin with, get educated. Read all of the articles about web bugs, cookies and other threats to privacy that you can find. Knowledge is power.

Next, get some products. I would heartily recommend AdSubtract PRO as a permanent solution to not only web bugs, but banners ads, cookies and even background music. Before you install that excellent product, however, check out Bugnosis. This small freeware program will replace every occurrence of a web bug with a graphic of a bug - which makes them totally obvious.

Another thing you can do is send off some emails to companies which use web bugs. Politely explain your opinions on the subject. If enough people let companies know that these practices are not appreciated and are hurting business, then things will change.

But wait - isn't removing web bugs from web pages somehow, well, wrong? Absolutely not! It does not matter what the privacy policy states and what the company thinks about your efforts to remove their infestations, you have the right to take them out. You were not asked if it was okay to track your movements through the internet. You are not compensated for the vast profiles that are being compiled by the various marketing companies. You in no way profit from these activities and they are being done secretly and behind your back. You don't need to go along with it.

Sometimes you will run across a web site that simply will not work if you do this. Why not? Because these web sites require the use of cookies, and the web bugs aid in setting those. You will have to decide if you want to do business with these folks. My advice is simple. If you decide not to do business with them (and I wouldn't), then send them an email telling them exactly why they lost your money. If they get enough of that kind of feedback, then the company may very well change it's ways.

Additional Information

Ad Blocking Banner ads are everywhere, and they take up valuable bandwidth. In addition, they are ugly and distracting. Here's how to remove them.
Products - AdSubtract Pro You want to eliminate banner ads and web bugs? AdSubtract Pro does an excellent job.
Products - Bugnosis Want to zap those pesky web bugs? Or just interested in seeing how many of them are on a web page? If so, then Bugnosis is perfect for you!
Web Bugs Web bugs are little graphic images inserted into web pages, emails and other web-aware documents to allow companies to gather information about you without your knowledge.