Tech | October 25, 2010 | 32 comments

BREAKING NEWS: A Right Wing Political Group used the CBS 60 Minutes Story & Huffington Post to Mislead Public & Embedded link to Cyber Data Mining Operation.

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gerardange
I Watched 60 Minutes last night.... But in the "Huffington Post" today, there was an article ( http://ow.ly/2Z4O3 )that by all appearances to be a Re-Post of a Great CBS NEWS/ 60 Minutes Story by Scott Pelley on "The Growing Number of Americans Who Are Exhausting Their Benefits". But, as I discovered, the Article Posted in the Huffington Post was in all intent and purpose masquerading as the heart of that great story.... But in fact, that story had been "hi-jacked" and the message twisted.

The Huffington Post's article that was posted today, most viewers at first look... would not see that it is misleading masquerade on the surface... But, it is more that just misleading, it also allows these viewers (the public) to be unintentionally targeted by a hidden embedded link, A link "hidden beneath the text of the article"!!!! Before they know it.... they are all "re-directed" away from the huffington Post's website through a trap-door to a "Right-Wing Political Organization's website called TAX.COM". It is there all these re-directed victims are first subjected to their twisted political message. But it doesn't end there... That is only where it all begins... Now these re-directed viewers are again targeted by this Right-Wing organization's cyber data mining operation. Only to be victimized again and imbedded with TAX.COM's tracking software placed into all their personal computers. Software (tracking cookie) that will continue to send data back to TAX.COM on every move and action that these victims makes... Where they go and what they do! All that information is gathered sent back to TAX.COM and listed along with their personal ID Information all to be sold and again be re-targeted in the future.

This TAX.COM/ Huffington article is more just and misleading and the hijacking of a great story; "a story of real people struggling to survive as our countries wealth has been re-directed hoarded by a small percentage of the extremely wealthy. The Huffington Post article... is a social commentary of many groups like "TAX.COM" all masquerading with their hidden political agendas to stealthy protect the powerful status-quo. All these well funded groups will stop at nothing to trick, confuse and mislead the public to protect their own self-serving political gains. This is a shining example of the anything goes world of politics we know today! Now... with the added technology of cyber spy tracking, data mining and electronic voting machines.

That Huffington Post Article was posted and designed by "David Cay Johnston and (the Extreme Right Wing Group) "Tax.com". The TAX.com message is a much different message than the CBS 60 Minutes Story by Scott Pelley's ever intended in the original story.

Here is what they did....

Note look at the URL of the Huffington Post Article... lthe URL in not directed to 60 Minutes or CBS NEWS web site; it goes to a "Right Wing, Right to Life Political lobbyist Organization called TAX.COM" . But hidden beneath the text of that article is this embedded link that leads to their web site. http://tax.com/taxcom/taxblog.nsf/Permalink/UBEN-8AGMUZ?OpenDocument



ABOUT TAX.COM: ~ IN THERE OWN WORDS:

"This site is sponsored by Tax Analysts, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that has worked for almost 40 years to improve federal, state, and international tax systems, and to make tax administration more transparent. This site is not an extension of Tax Analysts, but it will tap that organization’s vast tax databases and its wealth of talented writers.


Is there anything else I should know about my privacy and Tax.com?

Any information you disclose voluntarily on our comments pages or in any forums we may develop in the future becomes public information. We cannot control the actions of our site users and advise you to use your discretion in sharing information about yourself on the internet. All information sharing is optional and done so at your own risk. Privacy is a very personal matter and we encourage you to be careful and responsible when disclosing personal information online.
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32 comments // BREAKING NEWS: A Right Wing Political Group used the CBS 60 Minutes Story & Huffington Post to Mislead Public & Embedded link to Cyber Data Mining Operation.

  • Mark701
    • 0
      Mark701  

    • This is common and known as a "browser hijack". You click to go to A and it sends you to B. Not particularly heinous, but quite irritating. The tracking software is also a common gimmick (spyware) that often shows up on computers. It can be manually removed by going to your "cookies" and deleting it. If you're not confident do that, then any anti virus/anti malware program will remove it. I would label this mischievous but not conspiratorial.

      However one thing appears odd. David Cay Johnston is a Republican but also the author of two decidedly anti-GOP books--"Perfectly Legal" and "Free Lunch". I find it odd that he would get behind this kind of nonsense and in fact may not know about it.

    • 1 year ago
  • discusted
  • dadevil
  • Debra_
  • dadevil
    • +1
      dadevil  
    • Image

    • How Too DIS-able it to store tracking cookies? TRASH IT!

      Men loved darkness rather than light, because Your Worst Nightmare – Anti-Libertarian COOKIE deeds were DOING EVIL

      Here we see how in the libertarian COOKIE society a WEB hospital can cut off somebody’s COOKIES IN THE TRASH and the only thing that happens is that the owners blame the COOKIE COLLECTING workers! THANKS

      BEST ANSWERS:
      Beware of Google's New Personalized Ad System: Tech News «
      Mar 11, 2009 ... Site. Connect with WordPress.com. Comment ... (or whoever else is either placing /reading cookies) is mining this data and is ... You didn't say why the personalized ad system is bad except that (1) Google ... But why pick on Google, which is hardly alone in the practice of tracking your behavior. ...
      http://gigaom.com/2009/03/11/choose-your-own-ads-go...

      Beware as some cookies are pretty bad!

      I also advice you to download and install Spyware Blaster

      Update it and then check mark all boxes for Internet Explorer
      (and Firefox if you also have it!).

      It will protect you safely from 3rd party cookies and restrict Rogues sites, and Phishing sites.
      Then update once a month manually.
      Source(s):

      DaDevil is Spyware, Malware, Rogues free!
      No more pHishing sites as it is kept up-to-date.

    • 1 year ago
  • kennymotown
  • bailey78
    • +3
      bailey78  
    • kennymotown:

      A little paranoia will keep your ass alive an out of jail. So i think it's a damn good thing. You might be takeing it a little to far when you go shooting at shadow people but hey better safe than sorry . Oh yea don't jack around my place at night I shoot at things that move or some times even if they don't move just to be safe.

    • 1 year ago
  • kennymotown
  • bailey78
  • kennymotown
    • +1
      kennymotown  
    • bailey78:

      I didn't think you were! Hell there was a time I had to sell my guns cause I was going to hurt someone or myself. Now that I'm a lot older and wiser I started to collect them again, you never know how useful they might be in the near future. Camping trips and hunting party's. I see many camping trips in my future!

    • 1 year ago
  • bailey78
  • kennymotown
  • bailey78
  • kennymotown
  • bailey78
  • Saladin
    • +3
      Saladin  

    • SPOILER ALERT :

      Practically every site on the internet uses tracking cookies to monitor where you go, usually for marketing purposes.

      There isn't a good body of law that deals with stuff like that and it would be practically impossible to prosecute even if there was.

      Most DVD's and other high value items sold in stores, for example, carry an RFID chip that tracks your actual location as the item moves around. This too is usually for marketing purposes.

      Have you ever seen a sticker on one of your DVD's that has a strange metallic design on it? Sort of spiraling around from a focal point at the center? Yeah, that's it.

      Big Brother is watching you...blah blah blah...etc. etc.

      An unfortunate fact of the modern world is that you are by no means practically ever anonymous. It is exceedingly easy to track, follow and monitor your every activity, and it only gets easier and more discrete as time goes along.

      Hell, you can even see your neighbor's house from space if you wanted to, with a public program, for FREE.

      Get used to it, because no law or intense sense of civic duty can stop it. It's the future, there's no turning back.

    • 1 year ago
  • bailey78
  • Saladin
  • bailey78
  • Saladin
  • bailey78
  • Saladin
  • bailey78
  • Sparky2U
    • +1
      Sparky2U  

    • If you have a PC you also have a tool bar that you should be using to delete browsing history when you move around on various sites. I use it all of the time!
      A good anti-virus and it's free is the Microsoft Security Suites. It also catches the cookies and deletes them before they can cause you grief.

    • 1 year ago
  • gerardange
    • +2
      gerardange  
    • Image

    • @UtopianSky,

      Thank you for your personal insight on tracking cookies. But I am sorry, I don't agree with your analysis. It's not fear-mongering to accept the fact... that some people don't ever play by the rules... That's just a fact of Life.

      Every night I remove aprox 25 (tracking cookies) from my each of my computers. Why? Because there are long lists of tens of thousands of known BAD TRACKING COOKIES out there! Those lists are growing every day.

      Here is one list: http://ow.ly/2ZhOZ

      You mentioned that you will be fine as long as you practice the general safety guidelines - like never run or downloaded executable from a unknown website.

      The fact is... You might never know if you executed a file because the link or button code be written to be invisible and hidden. Most people are tricked into executing files and links without ever knowing that they did.... because it designed as a trap and was intentionally concealed. Just try and close a popup window safely that was designed not to be closed.

      To simply say or imply that there is "ZERO RISK" from Data Mining and tracking cookies is a bit too PollyAnna a bit too Utopian for me.

      There are some OVERT companies out there like Marketo and a few others trying to get more sales... But, there even longer lists (and evidence) of tracking Cookies and spyware that prove without a doubt that there are others practicing more COVERT tracking operations... We are all at risk here...

      Here is an article published last week by Tom Burghart
      (NATIONAL: News, Analysis, Opinion) -- Editor’s Note: Many in America are concerned about what they see as the federal government’s excessive intrusion into the lives of Americans.

      However there is a growing body of concern (and evidence) that a more real threat to the private lives of Americans comes not from the federal government but from the cozy (and getting cozier) cyber-corporate spy agency government complex and the growing threat that "data mining" has to employees in the work place from HR departments that are poised to become more like private detective agencies in the very near future.

      The piece you are about to read by Tom Burghart contains information about a growing threat to privacy few Americans know anything about -- social media monitoring on the Internet to detect what are now being called "pre-crimes" by the data mining industry as well as information about individuals that may ultimately transform the American workplace into what Burghart calls a "24/7 Orwellian panopticon from which there is no hope of escape."

      One company already offers to the corporate world "a separate Social Intelligence Monitoring service to watch the personal activity of existing employees on an ongoing basis."

      Another company deploys "automation software that slogs through Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, LinkedIn, blogs, and thousands of other sources, to develop a report on the 'real you' -- not the carefully crafted you in your resume."

      If you think the federal government is a threat to your freedom and is far too deep into your business and private life, Burghart makes a compelling case that the cyber-corporate spy agency government complex is about to make the fed look like an amateur in that enterprise.

      By Tom Burghardt

      "As they walked along the busy, yellow-lit tiers of offices, Anderton said: "You're acquainted with the theory of precrime, of course. I presume we can take that for granted."-- Philip K. Dick, The Minority Report

      What do Google, the CIA and a host of so-called "predictive behavior" start-ups have in common?

      LINK TO THE REST OF THE ARTICLE: http://ow.ly/2Zhxu

    • 1 year ago
  • dadevil
    • +1
      dadevil  
    • Image

    • Mislead Public No Say it isn't true? someone lie in the MEDIA - I can see I have many friends using DaDevil's, lie, cheat & steal agenda set for from HELL here on Earth!

      Men loved darkness rather than light, because their Cookie deeds were evil THANKS

    • 1 year ago
  • UtopianSky
    • +2
      UtopianSky  

    • If there was a hijacking of a huffington post article I agree that is awful- but I want to correct some fear-mongering about cookies.

      A website cannot obtain any information about you other than what you type in yourself. The exceptions are generic computer information (your operating system, web browser, IP address, etc) and limited tracking.

      They CAN NOT track you to every website you go to. They can only track if you go to websites that also have an embedded object from the same source.

      If you follow some general safety guidelines- like never run a downloaded executable from a unknown website, never type personal information into an unknown website, and never use Internet Explorer- you should have nothing to worry about.

    • 1 year ago
  • gerardange
    • +1
      gerardange  
    • Image

    • "What TAX.COM does with all your information"

      TAX.COM DATA MINING OPERATION: In there own words.... Privacy Policy

      At Tax.com we appreciate your readership and value your personal privacy. We respect the personal nature of the information you provide us on our web site and acknowledge the importance of protecting this information. In adopting this Privacy Policy (“Policy”), our intent is to balance our legitimate business interests in collecting and using your personal information with your reasonable expectations of privacy. We reserve the right to modify this Policy at any time and without notice, but we will post any new policy here. We encourage you to check back often to ensure that you are familiar with the most recent version and the terms of our policy. By using or navigating Tax.com, you acknowledge that you have read, understand and agree to be bound by this Policy or any modified or substituted policy as posted, and agree to the collection of your Personal Information as described herein. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this Policy, please contact us at privacy@tax.com. If you do not agree with these terms, please do not use or visit Tax.com.
      When does Tax.com collect my personal information?

      You may provide personal information to Tax.com in several ways, such as by sharing personal information when you post comments on our posts or stories. We may also ask for other information at other times but at no time will you be required to share any personal information to gain access to Tax.com.

      In addition to personal information that You choose to voluntarily share when You post comments, we also collect information that is in no way personally identifiable (“non-personally identifiable information”). This may include the operating system you are working on, the type of internet browser you are using, the domain name of your internet service provider, internet protocol (IP) addresses, date/time stamp, referring/exit pages, and number of clicks to analyze trends, administer the site, and track users’ movements around the site.

      How does Tax.com use my personal and non-personal information?

      The more we know about you, the better we are able to customize our web site to suit your personal preferences and interests. The e-mail address you may voluntarily provide may be used by Tax.com for any reason, such as contacting you for editorial purposes or to advise you of any changes to our site. We also reserve the right to send you offers and information about Tax.com, TA, and its affiliates. However, if you no longer wish to receive the foregoing, please send an email to privacy@tax.com to request removal from this list.

      To maintain a site that is free of charge and does not require registration, we display advertisements on our web site. In particular, we use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. We also use the information you give us to help our advertisers target the audience they want to reach. At no time does any party other than TA have access to your personally identifiable information, and you will not be contacted by any party other than TA. The only exceptions to the foregoing are that we may disclose personally identifiable information (i) in response to legal process; for example, in response to a court order or subpoena, (ii) in response to a law enforcement agency’s request, or where we believe it is necessary to investigate, prevent, or take actions regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of another person, violations of our terms of service, or as otherwise required by law, or (iii) in the event we are acquired by or merged with another company.

      When you sign up for our updates or other features from Tax.com, you will be given the chance to opt-out of special offers and site updates. You may change your preferences at any time and will only be contacted in manners consistent with your stated preferences.

      Non-personally identifiable information (such as stated above) may be shared in aggregate form with Google Analytics, our advertisers, and/or marketing partners but your personally identifiable information will not be disclosed to them. Please note that any information you disclose voluntarily on our comments pages or in any forums we may develop in the future becomes public information so please exercise caution before submitting any personally identifiable information in comments or other submissions.

    • 1 year ago
  • gerardange
    • +1
      gerardange  

    • Cookies

      Information about your visit to this site, such as number of times you have viewed an ad (but not your name, address, or other personal information), may be used for various purposes, including to serve ads to you on this site.
      And, in the course of serving advertisements to this site, TA or third party advertisers may place or recognize a unique cookie on your browser. Like most web sites and search engines, Tax.com uses cookies in order to provide services and advertising to our users, and to improve the user experience. Cookies record users’ preferences. Most users don’t want to re-set their computers every time they log on. Users who do not want to receive cookies can set their browsers to notify them when cookies are sent, refuse cookies from certain web sites, refuse cookies altogether, or delete cookies from their browser. Tax.com works without cookies, though a user may lose some functionality if they disable cookies.

      Some of our advertising partners may use cookies and web beacons on Tax.com. Our advertising partners include Google AdSense.

      In addition to cookies that are placed by Tax.com or other advertisers, Google, as a third-party vendor, uses its own cookies to serve ads on Tax.com. Google's use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads to You based on Your visits to third party sites. The DoubleClick DART cookie is used by Google in the ads served on publisher websites displaying AdSense for content ads. When users visit an AdSense publisher's website and either view or click on an ad, a cookie may be dropped on that end user's browser. You can view, edit, and manage your ads preferences associated with this cookie by accessing the Ads Preferences Manager at http://www.google.com/ads/preferences/. You may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy at http://www.google.com/privacy_ads.html.

      We have also contracted with Google Analytics to monitor certain pages of our website and RSS feeds for the purpose of reporting website and RSS traffic, statistics, advertisement ‘click-throughs’, and/or other activities on our website. Where authorized by us and pursuant to Google’s policies, Google may use cookies, web beacons, and/or other monitoring technologies to compile anonymous statistics about our website visitors. No personally identifiable information is collected by or transferred to these network partners. For more information about how the information is collected and used, please see the following:

      Google Analytic’s policies at http://www.google.com/analytics/tos.html and http://www.google.com/privacy.html.

      In addition, we have contracted with AddThis Analytics to monitor how users share content on Tax.com via the Share button located on the bottom of many articles on this Site for the purpose of reporting what articles are shared, which sharing services are most popular, and/or other activities on our website. Where authorized by us and pursuant to AddThis’ policies, AddThis may use cookies, web beacons, and/or other monitoring technologies to compile anonymous statistics about our website visitors. No personally identifiable information is collected by or transferred to any third parties without your consent or unless required to do so by law. For more information about how the information is collected and used, please see the following:

      AddThis Analytic’s policies at http://www.addthis.com/tos and http://www.addthis.com/privacy.

      Third parties and web sites that have links on our site may also collect or use information about you. The information practices of other companies or people that Tax.com does not employ or manage are not covered by this privacy statement.

      We do not control nor are we responsible for the privacy policies of our advertisers, sponsors, or other sites or businesses to which we may provide hyperlinks or access. You are encouraged to visit the sites of these businesses to review their privacy policies.

      Is there anything else I should know about my privacy and Tax.com?

      Any information you disclose voluntarily on our comments pages or in any forums we may develop in the future becomes public information. We cannot control the actions of our site users and advise you to use your discretion in sharing information about yourself on the internet. All information sharing is optional and done so at your own risk. Privacy is a very personal matter and we encourage you to be careful and responsible when disclosing personal information online.

    • 1 year ago
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