March 18 2015 by Raul Zeppenfeldt
Websites with tracking tools to extract user’s habits and
navigation history have proliferated faster than ever. Nowadays, it is easier
to see news, retail and social webs using online ads based on end-user profile
and behaviour. These tracking tools are known as cookies and explore browsing history;
hence, the visited web site displays the most appropriated gif to you.
User data is travelling in certain cases unencrypted. This
is valuable data for third parties like governments, ad companies and also
hackers; hackers make use of this data to target profiled attacks. They can
gather the latest information in users’ behaviour to create phishing emails or
fake links to infect with malware and expose terminals.
Chrome has recently released an extension called “TrackerSSL”,
which warns you when visiting a page that is using third party tracker ads and
is not HTTPS protected. Users also have the option to change settings in the
browser to stop third party cookies or use extensions for Google Chrome,
Firefox like Ghostery, AdBlock Plus and Do Not Track Plus.
I personally suggest customizing your web browser settings
to disable tracker cookies and using tools available online to protect your
information when surfing the net. Most of the information gathered by hackers
will be done in a seamless approach, which will not be detected by your AV or
IPS; they will then apply social engineering and use your browsing activity to
establish what seems a legitimate email or link based on your profile to
target harmful attacks.
