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Dia 12/08/2003 das 10:30 às 11:30 –
Sala H-301
Abstract - Most Web users
realize that sites are collecting information about them, though few realize
how much data is gathered or how that gathering occurs. Although some companies
publish privacy policies to inform users about their practices, most policy
statements are full of technical and legal jargon and are difficult to
understand. Further, the Pew Internet & American Life Project's privacy
survey revealed that, although US users are anxious about having their
activities monitored, only 5 percent use tools to "anonymize" their
requests, and only 10 percent reject cookies. Still other surveys (see, for
example, www.pandab.org/ doubleclicksummary.html) have found that users have a
strong desire for personalization, which enhances services by customizing sites
to users needs—but also requires sites to gather data to that end.
To bridge these conflicting needs, we developed
Managing Anonymity while Sharing Knowledge to Servers, a Web-based framework
that balances users' privacy concerns during Web browsing activities with their
desire for personalized Web services. Masks uses a selective revelation scheme
that erects an anonymity barrier between the user's private data and Web
services, and controls the information that flows across that barrier to the
service. This kind of filtering minimizes user information exposure while still
permitting some form of service personalization. Also, because it addresses
privacy at the data-collection level, Masks prevents third parties from
building user profiles based on links to sites and information that might
reveal personal information, such as religion, travel preferences, sexual
orientation, and so on.
O Prof. Virgilio é professor e chefe do Departamento
de Ciência da Computação da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais e Ph.D. em
Ciência da Computação pela Vanderbilt University. Virgílio ocupou os cargos de
professor visitante na Boston University e pesquisador visitante na XEROX PARC
e HP Research Labs. em Palo Alto, CA, EUA. Seus interesses em pesquisa são
voltados para a área de modelagem e análise de desempenho em sistemas
distribuídos em larga escala.