“For years, online companies have told consumers that even
though they tracked their movements across the Internet, they
remained “anonymous.”
“Now, Richard S. Smith, a computer scientist with a long track
record of exposing online privacy violations, says a security flaw
in most current e-mail programs could help reveal Web users’
identities to thousands of Web sites.
“Smith says a feature in those programs lets e-mail messages
carry unique digital identification tags — known as ‘cookies’ —
once found only in Web browsers.”
“Junkbusters and a wide range of advocacy groups including The
Electronic Privacy Information Center, the Center for Media
Education, Privacy International, Ralph Nader’s Consumer Project on
Technology, The Consumer Federation of America and the Electronic
Frontier Foundation petitioned the FTC Friday afternoon to order
software makers to fix the flaw.”