Browser History – Some people delete it, others don’t care. Some people don’t know how much data people can get from when you are online, but the reality is a webmaster can get a lot of data from the user. Now we’re not talking secure data (unless you do not update your browser), but more of what kind of computer you have, what browser you use, etc.

But Browser history?

Well, think about it. If I can go back to sponsors and say this person uses a Mac with Firefox, and this is the last 30 websites they were on; that will give the webmaster a marketing advantage. They can then find out (for example) 30% of users go to website.com, so the webmaster can head to that website to get more targeted ads or affiliations.

It could also give people an insight of what you are doing illegally. Then you can be watched closer by websites and maybe even Internet Service Providers. It’s a stretch, but it could happen.

Do you want to see this in action? Well here is a way to do it. Web2.0collage.com is a website that can show you where you have been in a nifty little collage of icons. It will scan your history and create the collage.This is the collage I had created for me:

Now let’s look at this picture closer. From it I know that I have been on Google, Yahoo, CNN, CNet, Facebook, Dell, HP, Microsoft and many more. It also shows I have been on AdBrite and Commission Junction – two sites I get advertising from. It says I was on AT&T’s website – which is true because I am an AT&T customer. I use CCleaner, Flickr, OpenDNS and lot of other sites.

Do you see where this data can become usefull?

There are ways to counter it – Google Chrome has the incognito mode for example. Firefox also has an Add-on that will allow you to block sites in the History.

It is something to think about when browsing. Of course, someone is always collecting data while you are online. This is not a scare tactic: just a reminder on how much of a mirror your computer can be.