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<span style="color: #660000">Web bugs are small graphic/image files of about 1 pixel x 1 pixel, in size. They are also called; <span style="font-style: italic">clear GIFs</span>, <span style="font-style: italic">invisible GIFs</span>, or <span style="font-style: italic">web beacons</span>. These are embedded in e-mail messages, and on web pages on the Internet, and they automatically send information about the user and page that is being viewed to a monitoring server. This information tells the sender that the e-mail was opened, or the web page was viewed.
There are so-called <span style="font-style: italic">executable bugs</span> that can install themselves on a host hard-drive and record data such as bank account numbers, online account balances, etc.
They can be seen by using the <span style="font-weight: bold">view source</span> option in most web browser menu bars (view, page source for Firefox), and then look for an image file with height = 1 pixel, and width = 1 pixel.
Eg. from Quicken's web site, according to The Web Bug FAQ:
<span style="color: #000000"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/pixel.quicken/NEW" <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'"><span style="color: #000099">width=1 height=1</span></span> border=0></span>
Or,
<span style="color: #000000"><IMG <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'"><span style="color: #000099">WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=1</span></span> border=0 SRC="http://media.preferences.com/ping?ML..._RunOfSite_Any &db_afcr=4B31-C2FB-10E2C&event=reghome&group=register& time=1999.10.27.20.5 6.37"></span></span>
<span style="color: #660000">
<span style="color: #660000">Mozilla's Thunderbird e-mail client will automatically block images, to defeat the purpose of Web bugs, leaving the user with the choice to view the image, at their risk, and according to their expressed decision.
Lycos, and Hotmail's web portal client, will also block graphic images.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold">Reference:</span>
The Web Bug FAQ. (n.d.). Web bugs basics. Retrieved on August 5, 2008, from http://w2.eff.org/Privacy/Marketing/web_bug.html</span>
There are so-called <span style="font-style: italic">executable bugs</span> that can install themselves on a host hard-drive and record data such as bank account numbers, online account balances, etc.
They can be seen by using the <span style="font-weight: bold">view source</span> option in most web browser menu bars (view, page source for Firefox), and then look for an image file with height = 1 pixel, and width = 1 pixel.
Eg. from Quicken's web site, according to The Web Bug FAQ:
<span style="color: #000000"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/pixel.quicken/NEW" <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'"><span style="color: #000099">width=1 height=1</span></span> border=0></span>
Or,
<span style="color: #000000"><IMG <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'"><span style="color: #000099">WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=1</span></span> border=0 SRC="http://media.preferences.com/ping?ML..._RunOfSite_Any &db_afcr=4B31-C2FB-10E2C&event=reghome&group=register& time=1999.10.27.20.5 6.37"></span></span>
<span style="color: #660000">
<span style="color: #660000">Mozilla's Thunderbird e-mail client will automatically block images, to defeat the purpose of Web bugs, leaving the user with the choice to view the image, at their risk, and according to their expressed decision.
Lycos, and Hotmail's web portal client, will also block graphic images.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold">Reference:</span>
The Web Bug FAQ. (n.d.). Web bugs basics. Retrieved on August 5, 2008, from http://w2.eff.org/Privacy/Marketing/web_bug.html</span>