Yahoo beacons?

I have been reminded about yahoo beacons. They seem to be browser
based, an dsomething like, or use din conjunction with, cookies, which
yahoo requires for log on (I think).

Is a linux os in any better position re privacy with these in use?

Any other brief comments about what they really are would be
appreciated. There are a number of dramatic comments about loss of
privacy etc in various places.
tia
--
ac

ac <"aec$news"@candt.waitrose.com> wrote:
> I have been reminded about yahoo beacons. They seem to be browser
> based, an dsomething like, or use din conjunction with, cookies, which
> yahoo requires for log on (I think).
>
> Is a linux os in any better position re privacy with these in use?
>
> Any other brief comments about what they really are would be
> appreciated.

OK. First, "Web beacons" is a corporate euphemism invented by the
perpetrator (Yahoo, Inc.) to excuse itself, and there's no reason for us
to cooperate. (Likewise, their PR people promote the notion of these
1x1 GIF hyperlinks embedded into Yahoo Groups postings being called
"super cookies", which is equally distortive.) The real name for them
is "Web bugs". Don't let Yahoo or any other such firms get away with
corporate doublespeak, please.

Second, the appropriate remedy, on any OS, is to use a decent mail
reader. Good mail readers, be they graphical or not, should not
mindlessly fetch HTML hyperlinks in received e-mails automatically, for
no better reason than their being present. Graphical MUAs (mail user
agents) on Linux generally do the right thing.

List of all known Linux MUAs: "MUAs" on http://linuxmafia.com/kb/Mail/

--
Cheers, "He who hesitates is frost."
Rick Moen -- Inuit proverb
rick@linuxmafia.com