For those of you who may not know, standard forum image tags [IMG ] and [/IMG ] directly embed an external image from an external server in a thread.
When your browser loads that image as part of the thread, it will make a request to an outside server, sending along your IP, useragent, and (if not disabled and not on SSL), the referring URL. This can leak a trove of information dangerous to those not using a Tor bundle, especially if the image has been crafted by an infiltrator and is unique to one specific watched thread.
I was horrified to see images hotlinked from .gov servers in threads.
With our civil liberties on the decline every day, and obnoxious information warehousing and cross-correlation growing, it's easy to do the right thing. Use attachments, and set your browser to block third party images from external sites when viewing anything not approved by the upright morals brigade.
Advertisers have been using "beacon images" for over a decade. A beacon image is an image which, whether with or without content (although they're typically 1x1 and clear), is used to record the IP addresses and useragents of all browsers accessing a certain URL.
Forum attachments are safe. A forum attachment uses the forum's hosting, and keeps the forum as a safe intermediary between users.
When your browser loads that image as part of the thread, it will make a request to an outside server, sending along your IP, useragent, and (if not disabled and not on SSL), the referring URL. This can leak a trove of information dangerous to those not using a Tor bundle, especially if the image has been crafted by an infiltrator and is unique to one specific watched thread.
I was horrified to see images hotlinked from .gov servers in threads.
With our civil liberties on the decline every day, and obnoxious information warehousing and cross-correlation growing, it's easy to do the right thing. Use attachments, and set your browser to block third party images from external sites when viewing anything not approved by the upright morals brigade.
Advertisers have been using "beacon images" for over a decade. A beacon image is an image which, whether with or without content (although they're typically 1x1 and clear), is used to record the IP addresses and useragents of all browsers accessing a certain URL.
Forum attachments are safe. A forum attachment uses the forum's hosting, and keeps the forum as a safe intermediary between users.