Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
disable the sound option for this. I jumped out of my chair the first time the (very loud)
alarm went off, and kept going off almost every time I visited a new site. Unless you have
a serious love for air horns or are trying to induce a heart attack don't forget to do this!
Another way to measure your digital footprint is to see how much advertising companies
have been allowed to track your browsing habits. “But I never gave any companies per-
mission to know about sites I visit” you insist. The sad reality is that simply visiting cer-
tain sites allows advertising companies to place what are known as “tracking cookies” on
your computer. Cookies are small chunks of data created by web servers that are delivered
through a web browser and stored on your computer. They allow websites that you often
frequent to keep track of your online patterns and preferences, creating a personalized ex-
perience.
Leading the fight to raise awareness and provide solutions to this issue is the Network Ad-
vertising Initiative, a coalition of cooperative of online marketing and analytics companies
committed to “building consumer awareness and establishing responsible business and data
management practices and standards.”
According to the NAI, “Most of the advertising online today is provided by 3rd party ad
networks. These networks use tools such as cookies to track your Web preferences and us-
age patterns in order to tailor advertising content to your interests. What you may not real-
ize is that information gathered at one website may be used to direct ad content at another
site.”
To combat this, the NAI has created a service that scans your computer to identify those
member companies that have placed an advertising cookie file on your computer. The res-
ults from running this simple diagnostic can be eye-opening about how much your internet
habits are being monitored.
DIGITAL FOOTPRINTS
Another method of obtaining a simple estimate about your digital footprint is by using the
Digital Footprint Calculator, provided as a service from the EMC Corporation. The soft-
ware download, which is available for both Windows and Mac, measures user input about
the frequency of emails, photo and video uploads, phone usage, web browsing, and where
in the world you live. After submitting your estimates, the calculator will provide you with
an actual file size of your presence on the Internet. The software also ironically provides an
option of creating a ticker widget to share your results on a web page, thus expanding your
footprint in the process.
