托福閱讀素材之信息安全類解析

Today, tracking consumers is far more intrusive than the public realizes. For example, the top 50 websites in the US on average installed 64 pieces of tracking technology onto the computers of visitors, usually with no warning.

現(xiàn)如今，追蹤技術(shù)的植入程度已經(jīng)遠(yuǎn)超社會(huì)大眾的想象。例如，全美最大的50家網(wǎng)站平均在訪問者的電腦上安裝了64種追蹤技術(shù)，而且通常都沒有任何警告。

The "cookie"- a tiny text file put on your PC by websites or marketing firms which might be used to remember your preferences for one site,or to track you across many sites-is already old news. There are new and more complex tools such as "beacons" which scan in real time what people are doing on a webpage. These beacons instantly assess the Internet user's location, income, shopping interests and even medical conditions.

過去，網(wǎng)站或營銷公司會(huì)在你的電腦上安裝一個(gè)小文本(cookie)，用來記錄你對(duì)一個(gè)網(wǎng)站的喜好，或者跟蹤你訪問各個(gè)網(wǎng)站的情況。但如今，像beacon這種更新穎、更復(fù)雜的軟件可以在人們?yōu)g覽網(wǎng)頁時(shí)進(jìn)行實(shí)時(shí)掃描，然后立即對(duì)用戶的地址、收入、購物興趣，甚至醫(yī)療條件等因素進(jìn)行評(píng)估。

Tracking files get onto websites and are downloaded to a computer, in several ways. Often, companies simply pay sites to distribute their tracking files. But tracking companies sometimes hide their files within free software offered to websites, or hide them within other tracking files or ads. When this happens, websites aren't always aware that they're installing the files on visitors' computers.

網(wǎng)站安裝、下載追蹤文件的方式多種多樣。通常，公司付費(fèi)給網(wǎng)站來發(fā)布他們的追蹤文件。但是，追蹤公司偶爾也會(huì)將文件隱藏在網(wǎng)站上的免費(fèi)軟件或其他追蹤文件或廣告中。這種情況下，網(wǎng)站本身也不清楚他們?cè)谟脩綦娔X上安裝了追蹤文件。

Tracking companies are often staffed by math gurus with expertise in quantitative analysis. Some use probability algorithms to try to pair what they know about a person's online behavior with data from offline sources about household income, geography and education, among other things.

追蹤公司的員工多為精通定量分析的數(shù)學(xué)專家。他們通過使用幾率算法，根據(jù)了解到的用戶的線上行為來推算線下資料，比如家庭收入、所在地和教育程度等。

Personal data gathered from such tracking is now bought and sold on stock market-like exchanges.

通過此種追蹤手段收集來的個(gè)人信息會(huì)在交易所等證券市場進(jìn)行買賣交易。

The new technology is now exerting a profound impact on the Internet industry, especially on how retailers locate and sell to their customers. Millions of Internet users around the world also face unprecedented threats. Private, sensitive, personal and business information is being gathered and sold without their knowledge.

這項(xiàng)新技術(shù)已經(jīng)對(duì)時(shí)下的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)行業(yè)產(chǎn)生了巨大影響，尤其是對(duì)零售商尋找潛在用戶、銷售商品而言更是如此。與此同時(shí)，這對(duì)世界各地?cái)?shù)百萬的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)用戶們來說也是個(gè)前所未有的威脅。他們的私人、敏感甚至商業(yè)信息都在不知不覺中被收集和出售。

Companies insist the information they gather is anonymous and the data is used harmlessly. But the technology has grown so powerful and evasive that even some of the biggest websites in the US don't know that they were installing intrusive files on visitors' computers. These include MSN.com and Yahoo.com.

對(duì)此，追蹤公司表示，他們是以匿名的方式收集此類信息，而且這些信息的使用對(duì)用戶無害。但是，追蹤技術(shù)成長得如此強(qiáng)大，使用如此隱秘，就連美國最大的一些網(wǎng)站也不知道自己在用戶電腦上安裝了入侵文件。這其中就包括MSN網(wǎng)和Yahoo網(wǎng)。

Next time you visit a webpage and find an ad banner advertising something you've been planning to buy, don't be amazed that your computer can read your mind.

所以，下次瀏覽網(wǎng)頁的時(shí)候如果發(fā)現(xiàn)有廣告向你推薦商品，而這些商品恰恰是你最近想買的東西時(shí)，千萬別驚嘆什么“電腦居然能讀懂我的心”啦。