Firefox soln to stop firms from tracking online

LONDON, UK: The makers of web-browser Firefox are working on a system which will allow internet users to stop themselves from being tracked online.

Mozilla wants to build a mechanism which will allow people to opt out of companies secretly monitoring which websites they visit, currently a common practice.

Also read: Mozilla delays Firefox 4 release until 2011

Internet giants like Google and Facebook use such information to sell targeted adverts and make money without ever asking the consent of the user.

Mozilla executives and other developers are to appear before a special panel this week in the US to discuss how they will put an end to this, reports the Daily Mail.

Such a move would be welcomed by privacy campaigners who have long complained that Google and Facebook are taking liberties with the information they gather without properly consulting the wider public.

Also read: Mozilla intros new API for Firefox add-ons

Currently companies like Google and Facebook make a fortune using 'cookies' that automatically save themselves onto your computer when you surf the web, and then monitor your browsing history.

This data is then sold on to advertisers who put highly lucrative targeted ads on the individual's screen, depending on what internet pages they have recently been looking at.

Officials from Mozilla and online advertising company Lotame want to come up with a way of stopping this amid fears the US government will at some point step in and do it for them.

Mike Shaver, vice president of engineering at Mozilla, summed up the plan by saying the aim was to "put the user in control but not overwhelm them".

Internet Explorer is the most popular web browser with 59 percent market share and Google's Chrome is used by nine percent, it is at the third place.