7-9-2012
While checking out Walter Mossberg's website "www.allthingsd.com" last night, we noticed something new posted to the top of his site that has been gaining a lot of chatter online. And, it may not make every advertiser who uses the web very happy. Mossberg gave very specific details about tracking cookies that are placed on your computer when you visit sites, including his. And, he explains what you can do to avoid them. Cookies are used to determine how you behave online which, in turn, advertisers use to target ads. Here's Mossberg's entire post.
A note about tracking cookies
Some of the advertisers and Web analytics firms used on this site may place ?tracking cookies? on your computer. We are telling you about them right upfront, and we want you to know how to get rid of these tracking cookies if you like. Read more ?
Tracking cookies are small text files that can tell such companies what you are doing online, even though they usually don?t record your name or other personably identifiable information. These cookies are used by these companies to try and match ads to a user?s interests. They are used all over the Web, but in most cases, their presence is only disclosed deep inside privacy policies.
We want you to know how to get rid of these tracking cookies if you like. Here are links to pages where you can manage the cookies set by some of the third parties that help us deliver online advertising:
The Wall Street Journal Digital Network Registry, powered by BlueKai
http://www.google.com/privacy/ads/
http://www.omniture.com/privacy/2o7
If you would like more information about this practice or to opt out of having this information used by third-party ad servers that are part of the Network Advertising Initiative to provide targeted ads, please visit: http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp.
We?d prefer a totally opt-in system, but, as far as we know, the ad industry doesn?t have a practical one as of now.
If you want to clean out all tracking cookies from all your Web sites, here are links where you can download three programs that can clean out tracking cookies:
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad-aware_se_personal.php
http://www.spybot.info/en/download/index.html
http://www.webroot.com/consumer/products/spysweeper/
You can also change the preferences or settings in your Web browser to control cookies. In some cases, you can choose to accept cookies from the primary site, but block them from third parties. In others, you can block cookies from specific advertisers, or clear out all cookies.
Not all cookies are tracking cookies. Like most other Web sites, ours may place cookies on your computer, in addition to any placed by advertisers. But ours aren?t ?tracking cookies.? They merely do things like save your registration information, if you choose to register. They do not tell us what you do or where you go online.
This policy will always be available at:
allthingsd.com/trackingcookies
This notice is intended to appear only the first time you visit the site on any computer.
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