Re: UKNM: Underwriting phone bill

[Tom Hukins]

On Wed, Jul 28, 1999 at 05:41:14PM +0100, Jay wrote:

> 

> It's trivial (I just did it - 26 lines) to write a bit of javascript

> (Netscape 3+) that polls a server-side CGI and lets you know when your web

> page is being looked at. If the web page is left open, but another window on

> the user's desktop has focus (i.e. they ain't looking at your web page), it

> tells the CGI what time the page lost focus, and how long it was looked at.

> It also logs when the window regains focus (is being looked at), and can

> repeat this ad-infinitum.


I'm sure this is easy, but I expect any simple approach would be

open to fraud.


What's to stop me writing a rogue script which polls your CGI every

time I go online, subsidising my Internet connection whether or not

I visit the paying site?


I suspect the main reason that nobody has implemented anything like

this is that the cost of detecting and dealing with fraud would be

prohibitive. Banner networks have to spend huge amounts of time

doing this.


Tom


-- 

              Tom Hukins     SpiraHellic Multimedia

Designing effective communication systems for the Web and CD-ROM.

tomhspira [dot] co [dot] uk

    +44 (0)1908 367327    http://www.spira.co.uk/ 

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