RizSilverthorn.net

I have just finished signing up for the anti-Phorm petition over at the UK governments epetition website. If you do not know what/what Phorm is, read these links:

http://www.antiphorm.co.uk

http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article6091811...

http://www.lightbluetouchpaper.org/2008/04/04/the-phorm-webwise-system/

As someone explained what they do in layman's terms:

It's like someone at the Post Office central sorting office opening every letter, package, box and parcel, looking at the contents, reading the private information, then inserting leaflets depending on the contents. They then re-seal the envelope/package/box/parcel in such a way you are not aware they have done this and only then deliver your mail to you.

A more technical explanation from Light Blue Touch Paper (any emphasis mine):

Phorm explained the process by which an initial web request is redirected three times (using HTTP 307 responses) within their system so that they can inspect cookies to determine if the user has opted out of their system, so that they can set a unique identifier for the user (or collect it if it already exists), and finally to add a cookie that they forge to appear to come from someone else’s website.

So you have to opt out of this system (if it were so good why is it not opt in?), every user has a unique ID so any web browsing can and will be tracked, monitored and traced back to a specific user/computer. Finally the most insidious part of the whole thing - a forged cookie so you do not know you have been phorm-ed! So if you suddenly start seeing adverts appearing on websites which did not have any before, you probably have been a victim of this ill-conceived form of spying.