They are cookies. It is what lets them know when you were there last, what you looked at, where you came from and where you went. Most websites also use statistics trackers that tell them what operating system you use, your browser, your screen resolution, your country, what website you came from to get there, search engine keywords you used to find their website, time you spent on their website and a whole lot more. They have been doing this for a couple of decades now. I used to use them when I did some web design to monitor traffic and where it was coming from. Sometimes you can see their tracker on a website if it is one of the free services. It is usually the hit counter. If a website uses a paid service then it will be invisible and only seen in the code of the page.

They are watching you! :-P

I spent an hour this morning opting out after getting a notice from a card company re: privacy. I wish the lawmakers would set it up so the companies had to structure this differently as in we could opt-in rather than having to opt-out. Some made it so difficult to opt out that I just gave up (wanted me to fill in name, address, email, etc-sort of defeats the purpose when I am trying to avoid having them get my info).

I use Firefox 3 and not the latest edition. Why? Because the latest does not work with my Norton Security Suite's Identity Safe. I do not let Firefox remember my passwords etc, and I guess they really want to for some reason.

It's amazing what information about us normal ordinary human beings is out there, being combined it will really add up to a big invasive picture. Even what we voluntarily reveal in our posts on these forums can reveal more. To check that out, put your screen name into the Google search and see what comes up. The web crawlers cover GardenWeb.

Just recently, I discovered that FBook WILL allow me to drop my account. But I also clicked the button which showed what they had "on me" during the time of my membership there. Over 93 mb of stuff, and I was idle for the previous year. Did not even sign in to it.

And I also created a gmail account when I got my new smartphone, android device, and for curiosity clicked on the google dashboard to see what was there about me. Well, it was surprising. In 2008, I'd ordered Google Earth paid subscription, and the credit card I'd used for that purchase was there. Among other things.....all of which let me know that the things the government CAN know about us is pretty wide in scope. And after 9/11, the phone company or communication channels in general, could know every call you made or received, and have eavesdropped conversations looking for key words in various languages, etc. So, in the name of national security, we are all having our personal freedoms compromised. It ain't the America it used to be.

And I am also horrified at what is happening in my home state of Alabama recently, with the immigration bill. It sends shivers down my back. This sounds like Germany before WWII, with the exception that SO FAR, the scapegoats are not required to wear arm bands....no JUDEN and Star of David....reckon they'll require a RED HOT CHILI PEPPER armband. Then the next step....reckon it will be rounding them all up into protective custody/concentration camps? It was done once to the Japanese-American community, another shameless episode in our history. And we have practiced genocide in this country from the very beginning, killing systematically the Native Americans who resided here before us.

This is far from the original topic, but it is heavy on my mind. Freedom is a very fragile and precious thing.