Recognizing a device

Banks can remember... how?

[digitalv]

How can a script be made that allows a server to recognize a pc or smartphone like the banks do?

When I access for the first time from a computer they've never seen before it runs a couple of extra security questions, then remembers that pc forever - even if I clear my cookies, access from a different ip address or city, or even upgrade my browser. How are they doing this? Mac address? Some unique machine id?

How do I figure out this variable and get it into an asp script?

[bill]

That sounds like they're sharing a security certificate with you. The OS may be remembering the certificate.

[kaled]

Have you run proper tests? If yes, precisely what are the questions being asked?

I have never seen the behaviour you have described, but unless you install additional software, it's not possible to uniquely identify a computer via mac address etc.

Some years ago, this was a hot topic amongst privacy groups and from that followed the assurances that you frequently see that "no private or identifiable data will be sent" when a program wishes to connect to the internet after installation. (Of course, they ought to tell you precisely what data is sent but that's another subject altogether.)

Kaled.

[Jonesy]

They are probably guessing from inspection of the User Agent of the first GET request. And, 'they' oft times GET it wrong. E.g., going to Facebook - using just their bare domain name - with an older konqueror browser here -- returns their mobile page. (Which was a Very Useful discovery -- since my 'use' of Facebook only has need of such a stripped-down UI on any browser...)

Jonesy