BetterPrivacy 1.48.3

Ever wondered why you are still tracked though you tried everything to prevent it?
BetterPrivacy is a safeguard which protects from usually not deletable LSO's on Google, YouTube, Ebay...

Better Privacy serves to protect against not deletable longterm cookies, a new generation of 'Super-Cookie', which silently conquered the internet. This new cookie generation offers unlimited user tracking to industry and market research. Concerning privacy Flash- and DOM Storage objects are most critical.
This addon was made to make users aware of those hidden, never expiring objects and to offer an easy way to get rid of them - since browsers are unable to do that for you.

Flash-cookies (Local Shared Objects, LSO) are pieces of information placed on your computer by a Flash plugin. Those Super-Cookies are placed in central system folders and so protected from deletion. They are frequently used like standard browser cookies. Although their thread potential is much higher as of conventional cookies, only few users began to take notice of them. It is of frequent occurrence that -after a time- hundreds of those Flash-cookies reside in special folders. And they won't be deleted - never.

BetterPrivacy can stop them, . by allowing to silently remove those objects on every browser exit. So this extension becomes sort of "install and forget add-on". Usually automatic deletion is safe (no negative impact on your browsing), especially if the deletion timer is activated. The timer can delay automatic deletion for new or modified Flash-cookies which might be in use. It also allows to delete those objects immediately if desired.

With BetterPrivacy it is possible to review, protect or delete new Flash-cookies individually. Users who wish to to manage all cookies manually can disable the automatic functions. BetterPrivacy also protects against 'DOM Storage' longterm tracking, a browser feature which has been granted by the major browser manufactures.

Some flash LSO-cookie properties in short...
- they are never expiring - staying on your computer for an unlimited time.
- by default they offer a storage of 100 KB (compare: Usual cookies 4 KB).
- browsers are not aware of those cookies, LSO's usually cannot be removed by browsers.
- via Flash they can access and store highly specific personal and technical information (system, user name, files,...).
- ability to send the stored information to the appropriate server, without user's permission.
- flash applications do not need to be visible
- there is no easy way to tell which flash-cookie sites are tracking you.
- shared folders allow cross-browser tracking, LSO's work in every flash-enabled application
- the company doesn't provide a user-friendly way to manage LSO's, in fact it's incredible cumbersome.
- many domains and tracking companies make extensive use of flash-cookies.
These cookies are not harmless.



------------------------- IMPORTANT -------------------------
IF YOU PERMIT DELETION OF LSO's,
THEN COOKIE-STORED INFORMATION LIKE
GAME SETTINGS OR LOGIN DATA (YAHOO SEAL)
MIGHT BE LOST! MAKE SURE THAT YOU EXCLUDED
IMPORTANT COOKIES FROM DELETION (SEE FAQ)



Frequently asked questions (FAQ):
Please scroll to the bottom of the page.

Recommended comprehensive Flash cookie article (topic: UC Berkeley research report)
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/08/you-deleted-your-cookies-think-again/

Wikipedia LSO information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_Shared_Object

See what Google finds:
http://google.com/search?q=flash-cookie+super-cookie

Privacy test:
http://netticat.ath.cx/extensions.html
Navigate to BetterPrivacy (right column)