Hidden inside Ashley Hayes-Beaty's computer, a tiny file helps gather personal details about her, all to be put up for sale for a tenth of a penny.You can read it over here.
The file consists of a single code— 4c812db292272995e5416a323e79bd37—that secretly identifies her as a 26-year-old female in Nashville, Tenn.
The code knows that her favorite movies include "The Princess Bride," "50 First Dates" and "10 Things I Hate About You." It knows she enjoys the "Sex and the City" series. It knows she browses entertainment news and likes to take quizzes.
"Well, I like to think I have some mystery left to me, but apparently not!" Ms. Hayes-Beaty said when told what that snippet of code reveals about her. "The profile is eerily correct."
Your privacy is the latest Internet gold mine
Posted on Tuesday, August 03 2010 @ 7:00 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
Wall Street Journal has a piece on one of the fastest-growing businesses on the Internet; the business of spying on consumers to pass information about you and your interests to tracking companies and advertisers.