Alexa and privacy

[Harry M. Kriz]

A few columnists in the computer press have enthusiastically described a
new Web utility named Alexa. You can read about it at

http://www.alexa.com/

Alexa is advertised as a utility that can help you navigate the Web by
suggesting locations to go to from where you are now, along with other
navigation enhancements and site analysis.

To develop it's description of the Web, Alexa collects data from all its
users. Every time an Alexa user clicks on a link, that information is sent
to Alexa's computers. In other words, every Alexa user is being tracked
through the Web.

Alexa claims it will not use personal information that might be acquired as
part of this tracking. 

I am wondering about your thoughts on Alexa software that builds a
centralized database of a user's Web activity.

--Harry


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                                                         - H. M. Kriz (1994)