Privacy Index

Another Hidden MS 'Super Cookie'

If you have a cookie blocker application or or if you have your browser set to block cookies, there is one cookie that will be completely unaffected, along the lines of the one pertaining to Explorer in the article Here.

This 'supercookie' is the result of a serious privacy problem due to flaws in Windows Media Player, which leaves you open to being tracked by any website that uses the right JavaScipt code or ActiveX to grab the unique identifier number that Media Player assigns to every user right off your computer.

Microsoft has included certain new privacy and security features in Windows XP and Internet Explorer 6, but of course these features do nothing to protect you from Microsoft. But there is a fix, thanks to Ken Frazier "The Wile E. Coyote". You can download his patch Here. When you have it downloaded, just right-click on it and choose "Install" from the menu.

You can also find a little more information on the problem Here in a good article by Richard M. Smith.