LJ Privacy Alert
Copied from the inimitable droewyn:
Privacy Alert: LiveJournal Tracking Outbound Links!
LiveJournal has started snooping on outbound clicks, sliently redirecting outbound links through "outboundlink.net." This is enabled even for paid users, and the opt-out is so hidden/out of the way that what they're doing is simply unconscionable.
Here's an example link: http://www.amazon.com/Applied-Cryptography-Protocols-Algorithms-Source/dp/0471117099/
Javascript is used to make the url in the status bar appear normal when you hover over it, until you actually click on the link. To see that it is actually being redirected for tracking, right-click on the link and copy the url, then paste it into something like notepad.
Fortunately, there is a way to opt out:
I also recommend adding the following to your ad-blocker:
Privacy Alert: LiveJournal Tracking Outbound Links!
LiveJournal has started snooping on outbound clicks, sliently redirecting outbound links through "outboundlink.net." This is enabled even for paid users, and the opt-out is so hidden/out of the way that what they're doing is simply unconscionable.
Here's an example link: http://www.amazon.com/Applied-Cryptography-Protocols-Algorithms-Source/dp/0471117099/
Javascript is used to make the url in the status bar appear normal when you hover over it, until you actually click on the link. To see that it is actually being redirected for tracking, right-click on the link and copy the url, then paste it into something like notepad.
Fortunately, there is a way to opt out:
- Open the Admin Console at http://www.livejournal.com/admin/console/
- Execute the following command: set opt_exclude_stats 1
I also recommend adding the following to your ad-blocker:
- outboundlink.net
- l-stat.livejournal.com/js/pagestats/dRev.js