How Google Tracked Safari Users

Google and other advertising companies have been following iPhone and Apple users as they browse the Web, even though Apple’s Safari Web browser is set to block such tracking by default. How have they been able to do it? Well, first they made Safari think the user was submitting an invisible form associated with the ad. That technique allowed the companies to then place a “cookie†– a small text file that is stored on the user’s computer and can be used to track online activities. Google disabled its code after being contacted by The Wall Street Journal. By default, Apple’s Safari browser accepts cookies only from sites that a user visits; these cookies can help the site retain logins or other information. Safari generally blocks cookies that come from elsewhere – such as advertising networks or other trackers. But there are exceptions to this rule, including that if you interact with an advertisement or form in certain ways, it’s allowed to set a cookie even if you aren’t technically visiting the site.

How to Get Out of Tracking on Safari

It’s difficult for users to stop Web trackers that take advantage of a loophole in Apple’s Safari browser – at least for now.

Apple says it is working to put a stop to the practice. And Google, which had been tracking users after exploiting this loophole to put Google +1 buttons in ads, stopped the practice after being contacted by The Wall Street Journal.

But in the meantime, to stop such tracking by other advertising companies, the only options available to Safari users are problematic.

How to Tell If You’re Being Tracked on Safari

If you’re a Safari user, how can you tell if your Web browsing is being tracked? It depends on whether you use Safari on a mobile device or a computer. If you’re on an iPhone or iPad using the most recent version of Apple’s operating system, click on the “Settings†icon, and then click on “Safari.†Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click on “Advanced.†Then click on “Website Data.†Here you will see all the sites that have stored data on your device. If there is a site there that you don’t recognize, it could be a tracking company. In the Journal’s tests, one tracking company that stored data on the phone was doubleclick.net. If you see that site in this list, you most likely have a tracking tool on your device. If you use Safari on your computer, go to “Preferences†and “Privacy.†Click on the button that says “Details.†A screen will pop up showing all the websites that have stored data on your computer. If you see sites that you don’t recognize storing “Cookies†or “Local Storage,†those could be tracking companies. Apple says it is working to stop this type of tracking, but in the meantime to block it, users can follow the complicated instructions here.

Tim Cook on Hardware, Apple’s Structure and Being ‘Simpletons’

As Apple spotlights its software with a developer release of its new Mac operating system, Mountain Lion, Tim Cook mused about other areas of Apple’s business — including closely followed hardware trends — in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

When asked about whether Apple laptops will have touch-screens, like iPads and iPhones, Mr. Cook played the “secrecy†card.

“Well, our notebooks, I wouldn’t want to answer, because that’s sort of a roadmap question, and, you know, we like to be secretive on those things,†he said at Apple’s Cupertino, Calif., headquarters.

Facebook to Verify Celebrity Accounts

Facebook is stealing a page from Twitter’s social media book and verifying the accounts of famous users.

Facebook requires all of its 845 million members to sign up with their real name, and even celebrities like Stefani Germanotta – aka Lady Gaga – have to use their legal name on the site.

The social network has stuck so strictly to this policy that in November it took down the Facebook profile of novelist Salman Rushdie because his legal first name on his passport is “Ahmed.†Rushdie took to Twitter — where he has a verified account — to lambast Facebook’s policy.

FTC Urges Apps For Kids Must Disclose Data-Collecting Practices

The Federal Trade Commission urged developers of mobile apps for kids to provide more information on user-data collection and said it plans to review whether such software violates child privacy law.

The agency is taking a closer look at smartphone and tablet software mining phone numbers, subscriber IDs and other information from the devices, part of a broader push to toughen its privacy scrutiny. The FTC collected a $50,000 settlement from an app developer in August, in the agency’s first case involving such programs.

Apple’s Tim Cook Details New Mac OS Features

Apple Thursday started to give developers access to a new version of its Mac OS X operating system, called Mountain Lion. (Apple loves the felines; “Lion” was its last OS X release.)

The company’s chief executive Tim Cook discussed the changes, which consumers will see in late summer, in an exclusive interview with WSJ. They amount to a pretty sweeping attempt to port features from the iPhone and the iPad to the Mac OS. Noting their arrival just seven months after Apple’s last OS X release, Cook says Apple is innovating faster than ever. “To turn the crank this fast is jaw-dropping,” he said.

Here’s a rundown of some of the more than 100 changes and updates — interspersed with Cook’s bordering-on-giddy comments about them.

Microsoft’s Windows 8 Beta Launch To Gather Feedback, Win Converts

The goal of the forthcoming beta release of Windows 8 is to gather consumer feedback on the new operating system, Microsoft Corp.’s chief financial officer said Wednesday.

Peter Klein told the audience at a Goldman Sachs technology conference in San Francisco that Microsoft gave developers a preview of the new operating system in fall and will add consumers to the audience with a so-called “consumer release” later this month. The staged introduction will allow users to “absorb what is new in Windows 8 and why it really builds on traditional value,” Mr. Klein said.

Windows 8, which isn’t expected to go into commercial release until late this year, is designed to position Microsoft in the fast-growing tablet market dominated by Apple Inc.’s iPad and devices that run Google Inc.’s Android software. Windows 8 is critical to Microsoft’s mobile future, and insiders say it represents the most dramatic overhaul of the operating system since the release of Windows 95, 16 years ago.

Zynga Analysts Not Satisfied Stock Worth The Hype

The sharp rally in Zynga shares hit its first major stumbling block of 2012.

Zynga’s first quarterly report as a public company managed to exceed Wall Street’s expectations, but it wasn’t good enough to prevent a slew of analysts from slashing their ratings on the social gaming company.

Shares dropped 13% to $12.51 in afternoon trading.

The stock’s recent rally and lofty valuation are the main culprits for the downbeat assessments from the analyst community.

(This post was originally published on sister blog MarketBeat.)

Google Issues Fix For Wallet Security Flaw

Google Inc. took steps to address concerns about the security of the company’s Google Wallet mobile payment service, by issuing a precautionary fix.

In a statement on a Google website published Tuesday, executive Osama Bedier wrote that the company has restored the ability to issue new prepaid cards for Google Wallet, after having deployed a fix that “prevents an existing prepaid card from being re-provisioned to another user.”