Cîteva chestii simpatice s-au anunţat săptămîna asta. Ce mi-a atras mie atenţia:
- Romtelecom a anunţat myClicknet. Abonaţilor Clicknet care intră pe myclicknet.romtelecom.ro şi activează serviciul li se vor livra informaţii targetate, în funcţie de interesele lor. De behavioural advertising aţi auzit, probabil. Cam asta se întîmplă şi cu serviciul ăsta, doar că nu rulează reclame, ci pune algoritmii la treabă şi, în funcţie de istoricul navigării, “calculează” ce potenţiale subiecte (ştiri, clipuri video, muzică etc.) ar putea să-i placă utilizatorului. Complet gratuit, complet anonim.
Mai exact, odată activat, utilizatorul primeşte un cookie care generează un număr de utilizator din foarte multe cifre. Cookie-ul nu stochează nici un fel de date, nici măcar IP-ul. Dacă ai dat clear cookies în browser, cel mai probabil se dezactivează serviciul. Din păcate, nu sînt abonat Clicknet, deci nu ştiu cum se comportă. Dar mi-aş dori. - WuXing a împlinit 12 ani. Probabil primul serviciu de livrare mîncare chinezească de la noi. Şi cel mai bun. Am încercat Templul Soarelui şi n-aveau gust. Partea proastă, la WuXing, e că au un bucătar care trebuie dat afară că nu respectă reţetele, iar mîncarea are alt gust dacă nimereşti pe tura lui. Altfel, să trăiască, să avem de unde comanda.
Am fost la petrecerea lor, dar am stat foarte puţin. Am plecat cu foarte puţin înainte ca maestrul bucătar Tushin să-şi facă demonstraţia. Cetin a filmat-o. - Fundaţia Post Privatizare organizează o serie de cursuri de business mentoring. Traineri sînt nişte amărîţi de profesori de la MIT, antreprenori vai de steaua lor care se ocupă cu investiţii în start-up-uri şi care n-au scos nimic pînă acum din business-urile lor în afară de nişte mărunţis de cîteva sute de milioane de dolari. D-alde ăştia.
Partea şi mai nasoală e că un curs costă doar 2.400 de euro. Bani de ţigări… - UniCredit a deschis o nouă sucursală în Bucureşti, la Gara de Nord, fix la ieşirea de la metrou, pe Gh. Duca. Aştept să deschidă una şi la Iancului.
Ar mai fi vreo cîteva, dar nu mai ştiu pe unde să le caut acum. Am vreo cinci adrese de mail în ultima vreme. Deh.
Keith Alexander Mallen @ 2.10.2011, 12:56 pm
Myclicknet
Regarding Cookies: The system now uses Flash LSO cookies which, unless you take action to delete them, are ‘permanent’. Previously with ‘normal’ cookies then deletion would result in you being asked if you wanted to use the system again. This has been the experience in Brasil where they have used the customers of Oi to test the system and try to get it to work properly.
In operation all of your browsing requests are sent via servers in the UK at a.oix.net or b.oix.net to check for the existence of these cookies and your status. If you do not have a cookie then you will be presented with an ‘interstitial’ page asking if you want to use the service. In Brasil the system is presented as being ON and the notice is hidden at the bottom of the page. The system slows browsing and in some cases breaks it.
http://w.oix.net/?p=oi
It is a deception many will miss and end up consenting without their knowledge and will subsequently be unaware that they are being profiled. Turning off the system is convoluted and misleading. Naturally although ‘free’ Phorm and Romtelecom expect to make large profits from their users by implementing Behaviourally Targeted Advertising.
They do not mention this or the profiling or the use of Deep Packet Inspection, DPI, to operate the system. Again, now all of your browsing requests will be routed via servers in the UK. If you wish to visit,
http://subiectiv.ro
and do not have a cookie your browsing will be ‘hi-jacked’ and you will be presented with the ‘interstitial’ page before you are allowed to continue. If you have the cookie then although this is meant to be transparent you will notice a.oix.net or b.oix.net appearing in your status bar as the check is made. Many times the system fails and you are left looking at a blank page.
MCSI is a 46% shareholder of Romtelecom,
http://www.romtelecom.ro/companie/relatii-cu-investitorii/actionari/
MCSI is also responsible for the implementation and enforcement of EC legislation which would be likely to make such operations illegal,
http://www.mcsi.ro/Minister/MCSI-in-plan-intern-i-international/MCSI-in-plan-european/Legislatie-europeana
http://www.mcsi.ro/Minister/MCSI-in-plan-intern-i-international/MCSI-in-plan-european/Legislatie-europeana/LEGISLATIA-ADOPTATA-LA-NIVEL-EUROPEAN
http://www.mcsi.ro/Minister/MCSI-in-plan-intern-i-international/MCSI-in-plan-european/Legislatie-europeana/Legislatia–Nationala-ce-transpune-Legislatia-Comu/Directiva-58CE
Would you like to know more?
Keith Alexander Mallen @ 2.10.2011, 5:41 pm
Thank you for publishing my previous post. I hope the following is not too lengthy, meandering or ‘non-factual’. I will state that in part some of it is supposition.
Based on the publicity in Romania then visiting from the UK, outside of the Romtelecom network, I see,
http://myclicknet.romtelecom.ro/
http://myclicknet.romtelecom.ro/moreinfo
http://myclicknet.romtelecom.ro/privacy
The third link makes mention of the Flash Cookies.
This is the same behaviour as witnessed on the system as implemented in Brasil,
http://navegador.oi.com.br
You are immediately told that ‘The Application is not Available in Your Region’.
This is because they are checking by network IP address to see whether they might present it to you. Given the DPI equipment is installed in the Romtelecom network it would be pointless to offer the ‘service’ to others.
However in the case of Brasil and Oi, in fact TNL-PCS Telenorte Leste who operate the network, then if you use a ‘proxy server’ on their network you are immediately presented with,
http://w.oix.net/?p=oi
This is actually delivered within an . Sorry for the technicalities. As such you may never become aware of the pages used to say you do not wish to use the system or even how to access them.
Phorms other, hoped for, partner in Brasil is Telefonica. I do not believe they are ‘live’.
http://w.oix.net/p?=telefonica
By deduction in Romania,
http://w.oix.net/p?=romtel
Which does not give the same response. In this case, ‘Not Available. Check back later’.
A poster from Romania has however published,
http://w.oix.net/portal/rhsl/?tagid=2495
I would note that these pages may change or be taken down..
You will see that it is the same thing as the ‘real’ pages being used in Brasil. Notice that at the bottom of the page there is the Phorm Logo. This is the company that is providing the system,
http://www.phorm.com/assets/reports/Product_Launch_Sep-28-2011.pdf
You may have noticed, it would be hard to miss, that Romtelecom have extensively publicised this new service on the internet. For example,
http://www.comunic.ro/article.php/MyClicknet-de-la-Romtelecom-focalizeaz%C4%83-navigarea-pe-Internet-dup%C4%83-interes/8812/
I choose that article because at the top right of the page there is an item that pictures EC Commissioner Kneelie Kroes. It is her department that deals with the associated directives and legislation that address these matters within the European Union.
The picture for Myclicknet is,
http://www.comunic.ro/publ_images/productimage/8812.jpg
The Brasilian equivalent is,
http://rainydayss.com/como-desativar-o-navegador-oi-phorm-invasao-de-privacidade/
Brasil is learning how to turn this off if you believe the network level opt-out functions and can find it.
However, as I suggest, Romtelecom customers are unlikely to see this. As is the case in Brasil they will immediately be presented with,
http://w.oix.net/portal/rhsl/?tagid=2495
With the system, presumably, switched ON by default and whereas the Brasilian version hides the ‘opt-out’ at the bottom of the page the Romanian version hides it at the top right of the page,
“Verificǎ sau schimbǎ statusul tǎu MyClicknet”
Romtelecom publicise one thing and will be offering something else to their customers.
Consider that many people are unlikely to have read the publicity and will therefore be unaware. They are relying on this. It is likely that as soon as you are presented this page you will have had the ‘flash’ cookie stored, and hidden, on your computer. Apparently you have given consent.
Phorm make great play about their ‘opt-in’ rates.
Many peoples first reaction when, if on clicking on http://subiectiv.ro in their favourites, they are instead presented with this interstitial page will be to click on http://subiectiv.ro in their favourites again and, now the cookie has been set and ‘consent’ given with the customer supposedly ‘opted-in’, they will finally arrive at http://subiectiv.ro none the wiser that now their browsing is being profiled by Phorm.
It is a deception.
I should describe what Myclicknet is actually offering but for the moment that is enough typing..
Thank you again.
Keith Alexander Mallen @ 2.10.2011, 8:46 pm
Sorry for the italics. I included a HTML tag as part of the explanation.
I have mentioned a.oix.net and b.oix.net. You will also have seen w.oix.net The rest is here,
http://www.robtex.com/cnet/91.205.220.html
OIX.net is part of Phorms ‘Open Internet Exchange’, OIX. It is where they sell or rather auction your profiled browsing history to advertisers such that ‘relevant advertising’ will be delivered to you when you visit websites who choose to host such advertisements.
It is an emotive description and in fact this already happens using other methods which you will be similarly ‘unaware’ of. Phorm will attempt to paint a ‘nicer’ picture.
Phorms ‘value add’, the enticement that hides what is beneath it and assumes you want it anyway is, in the case of Romtelecom, Myclicknet,
http://w.oix.net/?p=oi
http://w.oix.net/?p=telefonica
http://w.oix.net/portal/rhsl/?tagid=2495
Another part of Phorms system involves the domain d.oix.net
From Phorms website,
http://www.phorm.com/technology/delivering_personalisation.html
“2. Delivering personalised content and advertising
2.1 Content content
To bring users personalised content, Phorm’s technology automatically scours public RSS feeds from around the web looking for new relevant content that matches their interests. This could be anything – videos, articles, product offers, music downloads, etc. The content is then displayed either within an in-page widget on a participating website or within a personalised homepage.”
Your ‘Personalised Web Page’ is constructed from “public RSS feeds” which you are able to find for yourselves. This ‘content’ is ‘free’ but it does come with ‘terms and conditions’ regarding commercial exploitation or at least it should do. Naturally Phorm is prone to ignoring such considerations.
d.oix.net is the RSS NewsFeed Aggregator. The server was previously visible but now it is hidden but,
http://www.overkill.talktalk.net/yahoo/
This is what is used as a back end to construct,
http://w.oix.net/?p=oi
http://w.oix.net/?p=telefonica
http://w.oix.net/portal/rhsl/?tagid=2495
You are being offered free RSS newsfeeds you can discover for yourselves such that Phorm and Romtelecom can profit from your browsing.
In my mind this is not a fair exchange and it is not being fairly offered or described.
There is more…….
Keith Alexander Mallen @ 2.10.2011, 10:12 pm
Other companies wish to enter this Deep Packet Inspection, DPI, market. One of them is Kindsight.
http://www.kindsight.net
http://www.kindsight.net/en/advertising/ad-network
“Using the Kindsight Intent Targeting Technology, the Kindsight
Advertising Network can understand, in a privacy-centric manner, a
user’s current intent and deliver more relevant ads to more prospects
than ever before.
For example, auto-buyers typically spend a small percentage of their
total time online browsing auto-specific sites in the months or weeks
before purchasing a vehicle. Of the time online that is dedicated to
researching the purchase, the reality is that most auto-buyers will
spend a significant portion at auto brand sites and dealership sites.
Most cookie-tracking mechanisms miss many of these auto-buyers since ad
networks and platforms cannot cover brand and other frequently visited
commercial sites.
Being able to analyze activity on auto brand and dealer sites as well,
gives Kindsight the unique ability to help advertisers discover more
prospective buyers through its comprehensive coverage. Compared to other
approaches, which can be limited in reach, sparse and outdated, the
Kindsight Advertising Network leverages persistence, thorough data and
privacy-by-design to offer a complete and accurate targeting platform
that delivers performance superior to standard behavioral targeting
technologies for advertisers with an industry-leading privacy
architecture for consumers.”
Ignore the mentions of ‘Privacy’, it is something this industry feels that they can explain and argue for in order to avoid other problems. I might be certain the sites Kindsight mentions may not be happy about such a situation.
Kindsight is stating that via the use of Deep Packet Inspection, DPI, they are able to profile customers visiting sites who would or may not wish to be involved with them. This is done without the sites knowledge.
Subsequently Kindsight advertises competitors product elsewhere and ‘steals’ the customer. Given Phorm and Romtelecom uses the same technology they, although they will not admit to it, are in a position to do the same.
Perhaps you pay for and run your own website in Romania for a Hotel, I apologise for the facile example…There will be more to Romania than I know.
You craft and invest in your site as part of your business, time and money, to attract holiday visitors who come to look at your website and those visitors from Romtelecom have Phorm in the network who profile them without your knowledge or permission and offer ‘deals’ elsewhere and your customers are stolen from you.
Phorm, supposedly, asked for your customers consent to this. Did they ask for yours?
To be continued..
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