Privacy expert Richard Smith Tuesday warned that Microsoft Corp. has implemented a feature in its Windows Media Player that could be used to track Internet users while they surf. Smith termed the feature a “SuperCookie,” but added that it currently doesn’t pose much risk to Internet users. Microsoft admits the feature could be used for malicious tracking, but several months ago updated Media Player to allow users to turn off the feature. Still, the existence of the ID number is a concern for privacy advocates — particularly because it’s turned on by default. The Windows Media Player ID number is actually worse than a cookie, Smith says, because only one is issued per computer. But since the Media Player ID is unique, it theoretically could be used by Web sites to track movements across the Net — several sites could get together and correlate their data for example, or a major Web advertising firm could do it for them.
- To turn off this feature: open Windows Media Player, click tools/options and in the main tab uncheck 'Allow Internet sites to uniquely identify your player'. Validate by clicking OK.
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