Credit Card Spies

Chris357

I didn't know whether to put this post in the computer section or here. Anyway here it is.

I'm thinking of applying for the Nat West card sometime in the future so I went to their site and clicked on apply to see what would happen. My spy protection programs immediatley killed the connection because of an attempt to install spyware. I think it was just Double Click but it could have been more.

Previously, I attempted to apply for a Halifax One card online but this was impossible until I reduced my Proxomitron protection from the default level to Level 1. After I completed the application, I removed any information Halifax might have gained by using the System Mechanic maintenance tool. It can also be done manually.

Anyway, the point is, these companies are trying to build a profile on you by tracking all the sites you visit, including this one, and monitoring what you spend on. This is a concern for everyone but it is of particular concern for stoozers who want to keep their activites secret from the credit card companies.

So, be careful when you apply online.

Niteflyer

A lot of Card application applets use Java and your spyware blocker will have a problem with Java

Chris357

This is true but I have been able to use Proxomitron in default mode on many Java based applets. In the case of Halifax, however, I had to turn off "Hide Browser's Referrer from JS" before it would work. It is this that tracks your activities on the web.

As for the Nat West incident, that had nothing to do with Java. They tried to put a piece of spyware on my computer and it was picked up by IE-Spyad, SpywareBlaster, Spybot or PestPatrol (I'm not sure which one caught it first).

WSO

Chris357 wrote:

This is true but I have been able to use Proxomitron in default mode on many Java based applets. In the case of Halifax, however, I had to turn off "Hide Browser's Referrer from JS" before it would work. It is this that tracks your activities on the web.

I am not sure how much you know about the browser's referrer (HTTP_REFERRER) header - however it does not bother me too much that I leave this enabled. The header itself does not track anything per se... it merely reports to the site you are visiting the last page that you were at and can be quite useful in helping to make sure you are coming from a valid page at the site (Halifax probably don't want fake sites forwarding details for an application that is later sucessful).

While the HTTP_REFERRER header could be used by spyware on your system to trace your browsing habits - the actual websites you visit on a day to day basis do not get your full browsing history simply because you left it turned on! The most they are likely to get from this particular header is the URL of the page that linked to them (likely) or the page you were viewing just before you typed in the address (shouldn't give the details, but I've not tested this recently).

It is spyware that tracks your activities on the web, not the "Browser's Referrer" header, which in some cases can actually help protect you as a user (as seems to be the case going by your experience with Halifax).

Robert_Sterling_3

I have a MINT credit card so what about MINT Spies.