Patent ID: 7730532

Claim:
A computer implemented method comprising steps of: using a computer processor configured to execute the method steps for detecting tracking cookies, the steps comprising: receiving a first third-party cookie in response to a first request for a third-party object within a primary web page; receiving a second third-party cookie in response to a second request for the third-party object, wherein the first request and the second request are transmitted from a single entity, the first request and the second request configured to appear to a server hosting the third party object as requests from different entities; examining the first third-party cookie and the second third-party cookie; determining whether the first third-party cookie and the second third-party cookie each include a user identifier; responsive to determining that the first third-party cookie and the second third-party cookie each include at least one user identifier, comparing the user identifiers to determine if they are different from each other; and responsive to the user identifiers being different, determining that the first and the second third-party cookies are tracking cookies.