diff --git a/analyses/2009_03_noahwalugembe__Internet-Jones-evolution.txt b/analyses/2009_03_noahwalugembe__Internet-Jones-evolution.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7576e9f --- /dev/null +++ b/analyses/2009_03_noahwalugembe__Internet-Jones-evolution.txt @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +Verification / evolution of "Internet Jones" paper #26 + + +Introduction + +Third-party web tracking is the practice by which entities (“trackers”) embedded in webpages re-identify users as they browse the web, collecting information about the websites that they visit. A cording to According to Lerner, Simpson, Kohno and Roesner, (2016) web Tracking is typically done for the purposes of website analytics, targeted advertising, and other forms of personalization (e.g., social media content). In this work I am evaluating the contribution of "Internet Jones" paper starting with its insight on TrackingExcavator and a longitudinal measurement study of third-party cookie-based web tracking on Wayback Machine1. I will also show how has the third-party web tracking ecosystem evolved since its beginnings according to "Internet Jones" paper. + +TrackingExcavator + +The Wayback Machine1 contains archives of full webpages, including JavaScript, stylesheets, and embedded resources, dating back to 1996. To leverage this archive, According to Lerner, Simpson, Kohno and Roesner, (2016) designed and implemented a retrospective tracking detection and analysis platform called TrackingExcavator which allowed them to conduct a longitudinal study of third-party tracking from 1996 to present (2016). TrackingExcavator logs in-browser behaviors related to web tracking, including: third-party requests, cookies attached to requests, cookies programmatically set by JavaScript, and the use of other relevantJavaScript APIs (e.g., HTML5 LocalStorage and APIsused in browser fingerprinting, such as enumerating installed plugins). TrackingExcavator also run on both live as well as archived versions of websites. + +Wayback Machine + +According to Lerner, Simpson, Kohno and Roesner, (2016) Reported that "The Wayback Machine provides a unique and comprehensive source of historical web data. However, it was not created for the purpose of studying third-party web tracking and is thus imperfect for that use but they stated that Nevertheless, the only way to study web tracking prior to explicit measurements targeting it is to leverage materials previously archived for other purposes which is true because it is a good approach to start from some thing than reinventing from scratch." Also Lerner, Simpson, Kohno and Roesner, (2016) mention that "Wayback Machine may fail to archive resources for any number of reasons. For example, the domain serving a certain resource may have been unavailable at the time of the archive, or changes in the Wayback Machine’s crawler may result in different archiving behaviors over time." + +longitudinal measurement study. + +After evaluating the Wayback Machine’s According to Lerner, Simpson, Kohno and Roesner, (2016) explored how web traclikng ecosystem changed over time, including the prevalence of different web tracking behaviors, the identities and scope of popular trackers, and the complexity of relationships within the ecosystem. In the "Internet Jones" paper it was observed the rise and fall of important players like Google Analytics in the ecosystem occurred. It was noted that websites contacted an increasing number of third parties over time and the top trackers could track users across an increasing percentage of most popular web sites. + + +Conclusion + +All "Internet Jones" paper findings show that third-party web tracking is a rapidly growing practice in an increasingly complex ecosystem— suggesting that users’ and policymakers’ concerns about privacy require sustained, and perhaps increasing, attention. The Internet Jones" paper #26 research results also provide hitherto unavailable historical context for today’s technical and policy discussions. It is also stated The Internet Jones paper notes that "the Wayback Machine provides a unique and comprehensive source of historical web data. However, it was not created for the purpose of studying third-party web-tracking and is thus imperfect for that use." + + +Reference + +Lerner A., Simpson A. K., Kohno T., and Roesner F.,(2016). Internet Jones and the Raiders of the lost trackers: An archaeological study of web tracking from 1996 to 2016. University of Washington. Retrieved from https://www.usenix.org/conference/usenixsecurity16/technical-sessions/presentation/lerner +