Myspace Trackers
I visited someone else's Myspace profile and saw a little graphic that said You've been tracked! Can people really track who is visiting their Myspace pages? |
Leaving a Trace on Myspace?
You don't have to watch the evening news regularly to know there are plenty of good reasons why CuteBlonde13 would want to know if WackoPerv56 has been spending hours gazing at her Myspace site. Myspace has been under fire from many sides recently because it is a means for millions of teenagers to freely exchange sensitive personal information -- and it's sometimes just as easy for outsiders to abuse the open access Myspace offers.
That's why some Myspacers are now using "trackers" that offer to keep them informed about everyone who has been visiting their pages. These services claim to provide detailed information about every visitor, plotting the locations of visitors on a map and giving a link to their pictures and profiles. There are many such services - MStracker, HitsLink, ProfileSnitch, Hitslog, TrackMyspace and TheSpaceTracker among them. Trakzor, which developed a 2.0 version recently, is the most sophisticated and best designed among a pretty sorry looking group.
Adding a Tracker to Your Myspace Page
To use a Myspace tracker, you open an account at a site, download a tracking code and insert it into your Myspace page. Anyone visiting your Myspace page will be tracked thereafter. However, you will ONLY be able to identify and access the profile of a visitor IF that person also has an account with the same tracking service.
If the visitor does not have an account, the tracking service can identify them only via their IP address, which at best can provide an approximate guess at their (or their ISP's) physical location. In my test of the Trakzor service, the stats showed one visitor to my test site, but listed their city as Dulles, VA. That's actually the location of AOL (that person's service provider) which is a thousand miles from the visitor's home.
Is It Safe To Add a Myspace Tracker?
Here's another downside... once you have an account with a tracking service, any other member of that service will be able to track YOUR access to THEIR Myspace pages - including entry into your profile. The implications are obvious. The price of knowing who has been watching you is someone else's knowledge that you've been watching them. Some sites also offer tracker blocking options, either built into the tracking service, or based on a block list of known trackers. Trakzor removed this option in their latest version because too many people were using it, making the entire system of even less value.
The tracking services claim that the more people open accounts with them, the more useful their systems will be. But right now, the numbers using individual tracking services are miniscule (about 1/10 of one percent) in relation to the numbers using Myspace. In any case, it's not likely that WackoPerv56 will have helpfully joined Trakzor or ProfileSnitch, so it's not a very good or reliable method of easily identifying unwelcome visitors.
Many Myspace users still find tracking services useful. If a circle of friends all decide on one tracking system, each member can see how often the others eyeballed their pages. But that's networking, not security.
A Zephyr On The Horizon
Meanwhile, Myspace is developing a system which will allow parents to keep track of their child's Myspace use. It's called Zephyr and is expected to be released soon. It's unclear exactly how much access it will give parents to their children's accounts. And since Zephyr will place the onus on parents to ensure that children give their real ages in their profiles, it remains to be seen how useful it will be.
Other social networking sites such as Facebook and Xanga don't allow tracking services - and they have opted not to join Myspace in the development of Zephyr. As with so much in cyberspace, technology is way ahead of the law. There are some serious privacy and security issues tied up in the use of Myspace, trackers, blockers and stalkers. We'll have to wait and see how it shakes out in the courts.
Got comments about Myspace privacy or trackers? Post your thoughts below...
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Posted by Bob Rankin on 12 Feb 2007
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Article information: AskBobRankin -- Myspace Trackers (Posted: 12 Feb 2007)
Source: http://askbobrankin.com/myspace_trackers.html
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Most recent comments on "Myspace Trackers"
Posted by:
Justin
03 Sep 2007
I have a personal tracker using my server. It has been very useful when I get users messaging me with demeaning words. I just give Myspace information about what the user said and their IP address and 99% of the time the message me back saying the issue has been fixed.
Posted by:
K
29 Nov 2007
I really don't understand a tracker in some peoples lives. Yes if there is an actual stalker or perv who is out to harm you, has sent you threatening notes, taking pictures of you etc. you have the right to keep track but those just to be having it and then calling someone a stalker just because they go on their site maybe too many times that member wants should not be considered a stalker and therefore I think the things are dumb. How well can a tracker hold up in legal matters?
Posted by:
Dave
30 Jan 2008
In response to K. I don't think it is possible for a tracker to really help in tracking stalkers, especially in a legal situation. 1) A stalker would be unlikely to be a member of a MySpace tracker. This is because in order for someone to be fully tracked (for most MySpace trackers) they must also be a member of that very same tracker. 2) Even if they were a member, and you got to their myspace profile, and it wasn't private (unlikely) then how are you going to know it is really them in the pictures? If the person is truely dangerous they have likely kept a high level of anonymity. However, I would not say myspace trackers are pointless. With myspace trackers you can be informed if people often visit your profile. If you see a myspace visitor who keeps on visiting, it may encourage you to put up less 'revealing' profile photos, or to make your profile private. It is also helpful if you are a band and trying to get more people to your profile, for some trackers, you would be able to view your myspace traffic and if your marketing efforts are paying off. Finding a myspace tracker that actually works is usually difficult though, there are many and few that work correctly. However, it has been made a little easier by this myspace tracker reviews site i just found searching live. Says it is in beta, but it seems to already have a few reviews and seems pretty organized. So in conclusion, my opinion is that myspace trackers do have value depending on your intention. It should also be understood that what you expect of myspace trackers should be within reason. cheers
Posted by:
baptizedbyfire
11 Nov 2008
Whether a myspace tracker is ethical or not, I feel it is a very useful learning tool on how scripts actually work, and for many, using http://. Trackers, in a sense, are no different then credit card validation systems in which many of you purchases can be tracked. Although credit information is confidential to the public, many creditors, lenders and bureaus share your information and general statistics with one another. This helps them in decision-making when it comes to new lines of credit, loans, etc. \
How many of you own a Garmin GPS? You're being tracked, duh! Your Garmin or TomTom is a beacon which help to map out your coordinates via GPS (Global Positioning System). So for the people who think trackers are simply "dumb", you should think again. There is a lot of ingenuity behind these little things, and if you actually looked at how they really worked, you might be convinced. As for the ethical comments...please, get a life. If they are so unethical, don't bother downloading them. Better yet, WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON MYSPACE? If you don't want to be found, don't plaster your mug on the web. Also, you might as well think hard about the half-dozen, additional HUGE conveniences in your life in which you were unknowingly tracked. Like the frequent flyer miles you used to get. Maybe even that bonus card at your local super market. (Yeah, remember the little paper you had to fill out to get that?)
Posted by:
Elaine
10 Mar 2009
I used a Stalker/Tracker on my space and it worked great. But since my space is changing everything I can no longer use it. My daughters ex in laws would leave hateful comments on our blogs and have STOLEN pictures of my grandchildren (even made a fake I.D. and profile to get on our pages for the purpose of stealing pictures) I got their I.P.s and my space accounts with dates and times of visits from the Stalker/Tracker and posted those in a blog and that pretty much stopped their my space stalking of us. I am currently looking for another place to get a Stalker/Tracker to add my space just for them.
Posted by:
nacho
08 Jul 2009
******is it still only possible to be tracked with a myspace tracker if your using the tracker yourself? **********
i dont have one and yet someone knows i have been on their page and other things that only a tracker could tell her.. unless she has my computer hacked lol