Recognizing your computer via cookies? IP? Flash Objects? - New proposed EBAY policy

[Jonas]

eBay - The Chatter - Trust & Safety Corner

Notice eBay is using flash objects, too. Beware of that seller dashboard as it's all flash.

[ebay-sucks]

Martisinc
If you are referring to my post I was telling someone above that I do not use it. I did atone time but Firefox slowed my computer down to a crawl and I got rid of it.

[GreenBean]

xxsucks, I found that after I installed firefox everything was faster. As well as hating paypal
I am not so fond of Bill Gates so I try to avoid microsoft & IE.
But I guess we are all different. LOL.

[mantisinc]

Ah okay ebay-sucks. But I agree with greebean, firefox is fab, I'd reccomend it to anyone.

[NowWhat]

Originally Posted by ESTEBANWT

On this tracking question: how does it work that on my laptop I run ccleaner on turning off and on opening - yet I go to this forum and am recognized (don't have to sign in)? Is it the IP address?

As a companion to the question above:

Using AOL 7, I run ccleaner, then start to type a web address in the www bar of AOL 7, and it auto fills the address. How does this happen if the cookies/beacons are gone and the IP shown is proxy (according to IPBURGER.COM)?

[imjustme]

I doubt they check user agents. A browser upgrade would mess with that and from now to June, most people will probably update their browsers.

[mantisinc]

Personally, I think eBay should just ban new users when they try and list their second item. Would save them loads of time messing with user cookies, IP's and user agents

[ebayaintstupid]

doing just that.

[Van Player]

thats because the auto complete is not part of the cookies you deleted.. its built into the browser itself.

try logging out of AOL and logging as a different guest. i bet it will not happen again

[NowWhat]

Originally Posted by Van Player

thats because the auto complete is not part of the cookies you deleted.. its built into the browser itself.

try logging out of AOL and logging as a different guest. i bet it will not happen again

OK, thanks Van Player. So the auto complete is built into the browser itself, and h is different fron cookies, beacons and IP address.

But how is it that when I come to this forum in FoxFire, I am automatically signed in? Is it the same answer?

[ebayaintstupid]

your MAC address, computer serial number, host name, IP Address, etc.

OK, we know how they get IP Address right?

And if they could get your MAC Address and Computer Serial Number, what in the heck would they need cookies for? They would have you identified already. Cookies would be totally unnecessary.

Now folks, show me one site on the internet, the entire internet, that displays your mac address and/or your host name and/or your computer serial number during a check of your system.

If anyone could do it, they would have.

EBAY wants to keep your cookies around because it is all they can truly depend upon to identify you. Even IP address is transient, in case you didn't understand dial-up, proxies, etc.

Geesh.

[tuanom]

Is there a way to get around the tracking from ebay Aus when selling after june? Hopefully they can't find out that I have a suspended account in the past and dump me!

Should I reboot my hard drive and get rid of all the old ebay junk?

Any help is help!

[ebayaintstupid]

but the subtle things are. First, a company that installs software on your computer, like an active X control, can find out much more about you. Don't ever allow active X controls to be installed unless you are certain you know the company, because when they are run, they have access to your computer information. Spyware is often disguised as an Active X Control.

Similarly, any executable that they want to run or download. Don't do it.

But EBAY doesn't do this. They use other means. Addressing Modee's question earlier, I think the reason that even though you deleted cookies and tried again, there was so much coincidental about your computer they allowed you to continue. Or, I have noticed, in some instances, that exiting the browser and going back in and suddenly it doesn't work anymore. Like the browser caches them.

The other thing they can use to a degree, although imperfect, are your computer settings. This is a vast amount of data available to any web site. OS you are running for example. Resolution of your screen. Among other stuff.

What would be interesting, Modee, is this.

1. Repeat what you did in your original test.
2. Now change IP Address and close your browser.
3. Log back in. Did they recognize your computer?

If not, it is likely a combination of IP Address and coincidental configuration information.

Obviously they are getting sneakier.

[imjustme]

I work in the IT industry for many years. Believe me, there is no way they can track you other than by your IP address and cookies. The user-agent wouldn't be a reliable method. Too many people use the same browser these days.

If they will make you verify your phone line every time you clear your cookies, that will:

1. Cost eBay millions in phone fees. Not a good business idea.
2. Cause hundreds of thousands of sellers, who clear their cookies every time they close their browser or restart their computer, to have to verify their phone line.

In short, HUGE problems for eBay. It's not going to happen, forget it.

[NowWhat]

Originally Posted by ebayaintstupid

your MAC address, computer serial number, host name, IP Address, etc.

OK, we know how they get IP Address right?

And if they could get your MAC Address and Computer Serial Number, what in the heck would they need cookies for? They would have you identified already. Cookies would be totally unnecessary.

Now folks, show me one site on the internet, the entire internet, that displays your mac address and/or your host name and/or your computer serial number during a check of your system.

If anyone could do it, they would have.

EBAY wants to keep your cookies around because it is all they can truly depend upon to identify you. Even IP address is transient, in case you didn't understand dial-up, proxies, etc.

Geesh.

Would you be more secure - make eBay/PP less suspicious you opened a user account in XP only for that one fake account, set up an AOL account just for that user account, and didn't clear cookies. EBay/PP would have cookies reporting, but there would be nothing negative to report since you only used this XP user account for the fake EB/PP business?

[ebayaintstupid]

I already made that statement about two weeks ago. You are right, to a degree, having an independent user dedicated to use on EBAY makes it seem safer to leave your cookies hanging out.

There is an issue there though, there is cross pollenization of cookies that allow sites to share information. So, you might want a separate account for Paypal as well. But that won't do any good, because EBAY and Paypal are linked now. So, Paypal and EBAY can share info via their cookies.

What I was saying in my last note, though, is that a web site cannot remotely get your computer serial number unless they install software on your computer to retrieve it. And they can't get your computer MAC address either.

But on the other hand, they don't need to. They can obviously nail you and spy on you quite effectively without it.

[NowWhat]

There is an issue there though, there is cross pollenization of cookies that allow sites to share information. So, you might want a separate account for Paypal as well.

Why two XP accounts, ebayaintstupid, if in an XP user account you are using EB and PP accounts that are set up to work together?