02-19-2006, 11:35 AM
Quote:Consumers who shop online may be risking their privacy with every purchase, contends University of Massachusetts Amherst computer scientist Kevin Fu. His research suggests that a confluence of factors, including the widespread use of cookies and demand for quick and easy transactions, results in Web sites that are often insecure.
"Much Web security rests on illusion and hope," says Fu...
"Cookies are insecure, no matter what you do," says Fu. While they aren't that dangerous when used for things like storing preferences on personalized Web pages (they are how Yahoo remembers that a user wants science headlines displayed, for example) they are also employed to authenticate users who are shopping online. It's these so-called "authentication cookies" that are often exploitable, says Fu.
full article: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2...021606.php