Funny Pixels
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Google it. That's one of the oldest things in the book. If you put an image in an HTML email, your browser will make a request to the server hosting the image and download it so it can be rendered...which is enough proof to tell the originator that the email was opened. And at the very least, that'll provide them with your current public IP. And whatever additional data your email reader sent as part of its request header. Typically the image is just 1x1 pixel (hence "pixel tracking") and the same color as the background window, so you can't tell just by looking, visually, at the rendered page.
dandy72 wrote:
Google it. That's one of the oldest things in the book. If you put an image in an HTML email,
Yes, but OP was referring to websites, not emails.
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I have a blocker for such things but here's how it works: The pixel is actually requesting data (a graphic) and in order to get the data it must send you address to the source of the data so it can respond. Often called a "pixel beacon".
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010
But that's for emails, not websites.
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Lately I have noticed on some websites, there appear to be a lone pixel that does not fit in with the pixels around it. One such website is from our pharmacy. I'm beginning to suspect that these pixels serve some purpose other than what you would suspect. Has anyone else noticed this phenomenon or am I being overly suspicious?
Get me coffee and no one gets hurt!
You ought to post a picture and a url. Then we can use dev tools to see what it is.
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But that's for emails, not websites.
???????? You do realize that 'address' refers to more than just email.
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010
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You ought to post a picture and a url. Then we can use dev tools to see what it is.
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???????? You do realize that 'address' refers to more than just email.
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010
Why would you put a pixel beacon on a website?
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Why would you put a pixel beacon on a website?
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Sounds like classic pixel tracking to me. Why they can't have it blend in with the rest of their page however is beyond me.
If it's done by anyone with half a brain / any knowledge of HTML, it won't be visible anyway. It can be styled to be display:none or visibility:hidden or have a z-index that hides it behind some other element, or it can be positioned off the visible screen, or... Since CSS will normally be applied after the page HTML is parsed and external requests issued, display:none will still trigger the request to the remote server.
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Lately I have noticed on some websites, there appear to be a lone pixel that does not fit in with the pixels around it. One such website is from our pharmacy. I'm beginning to suspect that these pixels serve some purpose other than what you would suspect. Has anyone else noticed this phenomenon or am I being overly suspicious?
Get me coffee and no one gets hurt!
To the tune of Sesame Street's "One of these things doesn't belong"... ;)
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dandy72 wrote:
pixel tracking
That's used in emails. Why would you do it on your own web page when it's 100% html and it can all track you?
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To see which IP addresses have viewed you website. That includes not only the IP address, but also things like identifying web browser used, language preferences, cookies etc. etc.
You don't need a pixel beacon on your site to do that.
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You don't need a pixel beacon on your site to do that.
Last msg on this thread: You don't need a pixel beacon to do it. You don't need cookies to do it. You don't need "fingerprinting" to do it. But you can use any and all of them. You need to spend some time thinking about this.
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010
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Last msg on this thread: You don't need a pixel beacon to do it. You don't need cookies to do it. You don't need "fingerprinting" to do it. But you can use any and all of them. You need to spend some time thinking about this.
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010
W∴ Balboos, GHB wrote:
But you can use any and all of them
It's foolish to use a pixel beacon on your own site, silly. Just use a regular image, instead of trying to hide something on your own site. But you are correct, someone could do it. Someone who has no idea what they are doing could do it.
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But that's for emails, not websites.
It was a thing for websites way back in the day as an access point for all the 3rd party spyvertizers to get a tracking data point. Today I suspect most don't bother with a pixel since by delivering a javascript file instead they can hope to harvest far more information than your IP and the website you're visiting. OTOH the cost of sending the pixel is near zero, and if it can catch a few people who blocked their js is probably worth their while.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius