I have used Limewire Pro for several years now. I remember when the upheavel about the free version of the installer haveing spyware. I personally dislike any method of of tracking that is not fully disclosed large enough for all to see and realize you are being tracked. I have just discovered web bugs on the Limewire pages and yep, this forum.

If you do not know what web bugs are, they are invisible or near invisible images with demensions of 0 x 0 or 1 x 1 and whose source URL is different than the host pages. Most of the URLs originiate from ad servers such as doublclick and are used for the sole purpose of tracking people as they enter a site.

Are they legal? That is for lawyers to decide. Unethical? In my opinion YEP if it is not fully disclosed (and I do not mean in the small print no one reads but in plain site as you enter the web site). Personally, I perfer a big bold statement or banner that says "this site tracks its visitors" this way you either visit or not, but you know where you stand.

I do know that Limewire as well as MANY commercial sites use these web buts to relay information back to ad servers.

????

"WebBugs" are used for access statistics for example. They are both legal and completely harmless. They are not used to track you either, - if a website wants to track you, it will excessively use cookies (like google.com does for example).

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Morgens ess ich Cornflakes und abends ess ich Brot
Und wenn ich lang genug gelebt hab, dann sterb ich und bin tot

--Fischmob

I realize web bugs are for statistics, but as for harmless, that is only for each individual to decide. Some web bugs use cookies and that can be used to track (as you pointed out). The statistics are use to supply ad servers more information so they can supply more ads.

If you want your internet experience full of ads, popups, popunders, animated gifs and web bugs then yep, you are correct, for you it's harmless. I like to actually enjoy my internet experience without all of this. I would rather not conform, call it what you will, but I call it harmful to my piece of mind and enjoyment of the internet experience. It did not use to be like this, and I am sentimental of the "old" days when I did not have to feel put out, taken advantage of all in the name of a little profit, and might I add, profit at the expense of my sanity.

Most browsers have an option to deactivate cookies.

Btw. your "old days" must have been the early nineties of the last century.

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Morgens ess ich Cornflakes und abends ess ich Brot
Und wenn ich lang genug gelebt hab, dann sterb ich und bin tot

--Fischmob

Gee you are good. Go to school for that or is it a gift.

I really don't see what your problem is. I deactivated popups, certain cookies and all ads with Mozilla, so - maybe I don't have experienced that 'loss of sanity' yet.

__________________
Morgens ess ich Cornflakes und abends ess ich Brot
Und wenn ich lang genug gelebt hab, dann sterb ich und bin tot

--Fischmob