Mozilla outs automatic browser audio and video recording
The Rainbow add-on generates files for video and audio data in either Theora or Vorbis formats respectively, storing them in an Ogg container. The files are accessible through the document object model (DOM) via the HTML5 file API, which can then be used to upload the files onto a server.
Mozilla provides sample code to show how simple the whole process is, and coming in at less than 30 lines, it's hard to argue against the outfit's claims.
However, the idea of browsers being able to record audio and video by some simple Javascript commands does lead to privacy concerns. One has to hope that any permissions mechanisms Mozilla and others come up with will be able to successfully prevent any malicious use.
http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-20022442-12.html
Firefox 4 beta 7 gets much, much faster.
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/11/opera-browser-shows-off-tab-stacking-in-new-beta/
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/12/microsoft-tracking-protection/
Microsoft Builds Online Tracking Blocking Feature Into IE9
The new feature will let users easily keep lists of websites that track what they do online, and block any site from logging their web activity, the company announced Tuesday.
The new feature, called “Tracking Protection,” will be bundled into IE9’s next beta release early next year, and is intended to give users control over what widgets and scripts display — and pull in data — when they visit a given website.
Online tracking firm Quantcast has agreed to pay $2.4 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging it secretly used Adobe’s ubiquitous Flash plug-in to re-create tracking cookies after users deleted them, the company said Saturday.
More than $1 million of the settlement will go to fund privacy groups chosen by the plaintiffs, and 25% will go to the lawyers who filed the suit. It’s unlikely that any money will go to the class, since it essentially includes every internet user in the U.S.
“zombie cookies,” since unique ids handed out by Quantcast would return in a user’s browser even after deleting the company’s cookie. Quantcast is used by thousands of sites to measure the number of unique visitors and to get information on the kinds of people visiting their site — athletic, older, interested in food, etc.
The company’s clients include of the net’s biggest websites including ESPN, Hulu and MTV.com.
Those who are looking to have more control over their cookies in all forms can find some help in two add-ons for Firefox: BetterPrivacy and Abine.
