AtomicScripter Posted:

These are a bit more sophisticated. They aren’t cookie based; but ActiveX based, which means that any time you log on, they could be temporarily installing such a beacon on your actual computer, not just tracking your IP.

Previous web bugs weren’t cookie-based either. Also, I don’t let random pages install ActiveX crap on my computer, and I think most browsers default to at least giving a confirmation prompt. (I think IE is actually the only browser that supports ActiveX controls, but I’m not sure.) This only threatens the privacy of the clueless, who probably don’t care.

EDIT: Wait, who says Yahoo is using ActiveX web beacons? I don’t see any mention of ActiveX anywhere.

EDIT 2: After further searching, it seems that most browsers don’t support ActiveX. There’s a Firefox plugin for it, but who would want that?