Hundreds of web pages monitor exactly what users are typing

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Hundreds of websites, even of well-known companies, use dedicated logging software to track exactly what the user is typing on his keyboard when he visits their web pages.

This practice -which is questionable by its legitimacy according to experts, since it is not done with the knowledge and consensus of the users- brings to light a new study of researchers from the University of Princeton, according to the BBC.

Many companies and other organizations (even newsgroups) want to have a clear picture of how customers and other visitors use corporate websites. That’s why they use a special session replay software, offered by several companies (FullStory, SessionCam, Clicktale, Smartlook, UserReplay, Hotjar, Yandex, etc.).

Everything the users write on their keyboard and any command they give with their “mouse” as well as the exact content of the websites they visit is recorded in detail. This, according to the researchers, may include sensitive medical and other personal data, credit card information, etc., which makes the users more vulnerable to the possibility of fraud.

The researchers found that 482 of the 50,000 most important websites worldwide follow this practice, including Samsung, Reuters, CBS News, Telegraph, Home Depot, and others.

Source: www.cnn.gr