Study: Some ISPs Still Hijacking Search Results (Lawsuit Follows)

Try this: open up a new tab and type "kindle" into the address bar. Chances are it will send you to a Google search results page. That is, unless the ISP is intercepting such rogue queries and doing what they will with them. A pair of computer scientists at UC Berkeley have found that at least a dozen ISPs are still doing this, the result being that, for example, when someone types "kindle" into the address bar, it doesn't go to your preferred search results, but directly to Amazon's Kindle page.

Harmless, in a way, but in fact deeply invasive when the conditions are examined. These ISPs are using third party contractors who monetize such erroneous or accidental queries. A broad set of search items, things like "kindle," "apple," and "bloomingdales" are being listened for, logged, and intercepted, and the user's intention ignored. As if that isn't enough, one company suspected of being behind this activity, Paxfire, has filed for a patent on ISP-level tracking of users for advertising purposes.

Source:
http://digg.com/news/technology/study_some_isps_still_hijacking_search_results_lawsuit_follows

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