Turning off the cookies in your browser has no effect. The Web bugs are becoming quite a big concern. Another potential path for capturing information has been applications downloads. According to Gibson, some versions of a number of programs, including Netscape SmartDownload and RealNetworks' RealDownload, would report back to the software vendor the name of each file downloaded along with a unique user identifier. Her own company never stored the information, says Keela Robison, a manager in the consumer division of RealNetworks, but she adds that dealing with online companies is a matter of trust.
Privacy policies are now a target of controversy.
The Federal Trade Commission intervened, saying Toysmart was violating its privacy policy, which promised customers that data would never be shared with another party. Of course, privacy policies can be ambiguous. Some companies promise that they use the information only in the aggregate, combined with the data from all users. But Jackson, a veteran of that world, is dubious. Now they just talk about it behind closed doors.