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GUIDS (Globally Unique Identifier ) 1

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Policekauk

Technical User
Jun 15, 2003
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What are they? How can I tell who they are from? How do I get rid of them? What risk do they pose?

Thanks,
Will
 
In regards to what? GUIDs are used in all sorts of networking environments but I've never heard of them being a security risk. What in the world are you looking at?
 
An example of that guid: (769756DE-26DB-AADE-161C-40836332Code)
 
Web definition - A Globally Unique Identifier or GUID is a pseudo-random number used in software applications. Each generated GUID is "statistically guaranteed" to be unique. This is based on the simple principle that the total number of unique keys ( or ) is so large that the possibility of the same number being generated twice is virtually zero.

Windows-specific definition - Short for Globally Unique Identifier, a unique 128-bit number that is produced by the Windows OS or by some Windows applications to identify a particular component, application, file, database entry, and/or user. For instance, a Web site may generate a GUID and assign it to a user's browser to record and track the session.

A GUID is also used in a Windows registry to identify COM DLLs. Knowing where to look in the registry and having the correct GUID yields a lot information about a COM object (i.e., information in the type library, its physical location, etc.). Windows also identifies user accounts by a username (computer/domain and username) and assigns it a GUID. Some database administrators even will use GUIDs as primary key values in databases.

GUIDs can be created in a number of ways, but usually they are a combination of a few unique settings based on specific point in time (e.g., an IP address, network MAC address, clock date/time, etc.).


[auto] The dumber they think you are, the more surprised they'll be when you kill them!
 
My thinking was that a website would use it to track my browsing for some reason. Thought maybe it contributed to my getting a load of a certain kind of junk everyday.


Thanks dhawthorn
 
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