RE: alexa - google toolbar behaviour

["Burton Strauss" <BStrauss3 () comcast net>]

Every web server request you ever make leaves a log record behind that shows
your IP address, information about your browser and the file you requested.
Is that spyware???


The difference between spyware and something that helps the browsing
experience isn't always totally clear.  In order to provide a personalized
web browsing experience across web sessions, personally identifiable
information needs to be recorded.  That's sort of a given.  The issue is
what else they do with the information.

While I think you have to draw a line somewhere, it's a fuzzy process.
Personally, I draw the line at how plainly they make it obvious what they're
doing.  By that standard, Alexa isn't that bad:

http://pages.alexa.com/help/privacy.html 

"ALEXA'S TOOLBAR SERVICE COLLECTS AND STORES INFORMATION ABOUT THE WEB PAGES
YOU VIEW, THE DATA YOU ENTER IN ONLINE FORMS AND SEARCH FIELDS, AND, WITH
VERSIONS 5.0 AND HIGHER, THE PRODUCTS YOU PURCHASE ONLINE WHILE USING THE
TOOLBAR SERVICE. ALTHOUGH ALEXA DOES NOT ATTEMPT TO ANALYZE WEB USAGE DATA
TO DETERMINE THE IDENTITY OF ANY ALEXA USER, SOME INFORMATION COLLECTED BY
THE TOOLBAR SERVICE IS PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE. ALEXA AGGREGATES AND
ANALYZES THE INFORMATION IT COLLECTS TO IMPROVE ITS SERVICE AND TO PREPARE
REPORTS ABOUT AGGREGATE WEB USAGE AND SHOPPING HABITS.

IN ADDITION, WHEN YOU PERFORM SEARCHES USING THE SEARCH FUNCTION AVAILABLE
ON ALEXA'S TOOLBAR SERVICE SOFTWARE VERSION 6.5 AND HIGHER OR ON THE ALEXA
WEBSITE, YOU OFTEN WILL BE TAKEN TO A WEBSITE DETAIL PAGE AT AMAZON.COM. IF
YOU HAVE AN ACCOUNT ON AMAZON.COM AND AN AMAZON.COM COOKIE ENABLED, YOUR
SEARCH RESULTS WILL BE TRANSMITTED TO AND LOGGED BY AMAZON.COM AND MAY BE
CORRELATED BY AMAZON.COM WITH ANY PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION YOU
MAY HAVE PREVIOUSLY PROVIDED TO AMAZON.COM.

Please read the following privacy policy carefully before downloading and
using Alexa's Toolbar Service software or using the Alexa website. If you
download and use Alexa's Toolbar Service software or use the Alexa website,
you will be bound by the terms of the Agreement, including this Privacy
Policy.  This policy may change from time to time so you should check it
frequently."

It's actually not that much different from Google's:

http://www.google.com/support/toolbar/?quick=privacy&v=3.0 except that
Google says they will notify you "...  if it materially changes these
policies ..."



-----Burton