Is your internet service provider (ISP) spying on you? Experts say there is no sure-fire way of knowing, but several technologically savvy subscribers have caught their ISPs in the act. It’s an issue I investigate in a news feature in this week’s magazine.
A couple of months ago, few people would have worried about ISPs eavesdropping on their internet use. But providers across North America, Asia and Europe are now known to be collecting information about their subscribers’ browsing habits. With the help of firms like Phorm, the ISPs sell that information to advertisers, who use it to target their products to people with appropriate interests. Someone that had previously visited holiday sites, for example, might be shown adverts for cheap flights.
Many subscribers are not bothered by this. Phorm and others do not collect information that can be used to link individuals to specific websites, for example. But some users do not like the idea of someone keeping tabs on their surfing. They face a problem, because ISPs often start collecting information without telling their subscribers.
Fortunately, some users have the technical know-how to catch their providers out. Last summer, for example, a subscriber realised that his browser was connecting with a website he did not recognise. With hindsight, it appears that his ISP - BT - had been trialling Phorm’s technology at the time. Another user realised that his provider had teamed up with a different advertising firm, Adzilla, based in Brisbane, California, by examining the traffic passing through his website.
One concerned coder has come up with a Firefox plug-in that stops Phorm from prying, but that won’t help if your ISP has partnered with one of the US firms doing that are doing the same thing, such as NebuAd or Front Porch.
So the odds are still stacked in ISPs favour. It is easy for them to try out new ways of monitoring their customers, and new ways of using that information without anyone knowing how their personal web history is being used.
A few savvy users have helped reveal what is happening. But new ways of checking up on ISPs are still needed.
Do any New Scientist readers know of other ways of doing that? If you have any suggestions, contact us via this form. If we learn of any useful tricks, we’ll publish the details.
Jim Giles, New Scientist contributor
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