When a visitor's browser requests the image, it also sends the server the desired information, along with the IP address of the computer requested. Steer denied that GIF file was intentionally made invisible. A Meantime tracker notes the exact time a Web bug is downloaded, effectively tagging the page it's on. When a visitor returns to a site and refreshes the page, the tracker learns the last time the Web bug was refreshed and thus, the last time that particular browser had been there, according to Curtin. When combined with cookies, knowledge of IP addresses or personal information gathered elsewhere, Web bugs can secretly track users all over the Internet, and can even be planted in bulk e-mail to let spammers learn who reads their messages.
Web bugs can defeat users who simply turn off cookies on their browsers.
We don't have a database with clients' data. We don't charge anyone to use the counter. That's not the issue for Interhack's Curtin, who said after talking to Internet. We will use the data in compliance with our privacy policy. Security professionals make evaluations based on capabilities and potential, not intent, Curtin explained.