It has been obvious to myself and a lot of other people that we are targets of "focused advertising." Big corporations are gathering data on those of us who search and shop on the web. This is supposed to be anonymous and not detailed to the last degree. It has become obvious over the last few years that far more detail is being gathered, and it is attached to one user or more likely one IP address. A relative works for Ebay as an "information specialist" and she provided me with some info as to how deep they dig into their user base, and to whom they divulge (sell) that info to. It's a bit deeper than you realize. I have purchased a few small items on Ebay in the last few years so there isn't much to find on me there, but one of their partners is Amazon where there is some considerable history. One of the most intrusive details showed up right after I bought a cheap Motorola cell phone on Amazon. Every time I drove past the Mercedes Benz dealership near Pittsburgh I would get a pop up advert for Mercedes cars on that phone. Obviously Big Brother doesn't know what kinds of cars I drive.......
After zero new car purchases since 2008, I bought my wife a new vehicle about 2 months ago. I guess Big Brother got wind of what we were looking at since the new object in our driveway looks EXACTLY like the one pictured in these pop-ups (two on every page) that started appearing on my Start page daily about a week ago. They even got the color right! We paid under $40K out the door. We also looked at about a dozen other vehicles in the same mid sized SUV market and took lowest priced car of the bunch. I still get pop ups for Toyota Highlander vs Hyundai Santa Fe comparisons. We looked at the Highlander, but it was far beyond our budget (about 50K).
Many years ago, I had a Honda Element. I subscribed to the Element Users group forums to learn all about how to fix my Element, but the anomalous behavior I had turned out to be somewhat normal, and the Element was eventually traded in almost 10 years ago. I still get links to the latest posts on that forum via email, and occasionally I read some posts. LAST NIGHT I read a post about changing the starter. THIS MORNING, I get adverts trying to sell me a starter. How can the details of what I'm reading in a forum propagate this quickly, and can it happen here?
After zero new car purchases since 2008, I bought my wife a new vehicle about 2 months ago. I guess Big Brother got wind of what we were looking at since the new object in our driveway looks EXACTLY like the one pictured in these pop-ups (two on every page) that started appearing on my Start page daily about a week ago. They even got the color right! We paid under $40K out the door. We also looked at about a dozen other vehicles in the same mid sized SUV market and took lowest priced car of the bunch. I still get pop ups for Toyota Highlander vs Hyundai Santa Fe comparisons. We looked at the Highlander, but it was far beyond our budget (about 50K).
Many years ago, I had a Honda Element. I subscribed to the Element Users group forums to learn all about how to fix my Element, but the anomalous behavior I had turned out to be somewhat normal, and the Element was eventually traded in almost 10 years ago. I still get links to the latest posts on that forum via email, and occasionally I read some posts. LAST NIGHT I read a post about changing the starter. THIS MORNING, I get adverts trying to sell me a starter. How can the details of what I'm reading in a forum propagate this quickly, and can it happen here?
Attachments
The octopus of darkness and evil spreads its tentacles from the highest levels of power downward.
Once upon a time, there were some people on trial for participating in some very bad things who claimed the defense "I was only doing my job and following orders." Orders might seem benevolent but remain secretly very sinister. Isn't the leader of darkness also called a "master of deception?" Would an evil genius be able to manipulate your behavior without you knowing why?
Theoretically, your neighbor who might merely be a low-paid nobody in a bureaucracy could be advancing the plans of the planners and believe that their work is necessary and important without realizing that they helped with the slow march toward tyranny. It also greases the skids when they are offered money to do it, which the individual needs more and more desperately as once-successful economies, cultures or societies break down.
Unfortunately, self-awareness is not a property cultivated by cultures under attack by the octopus. Neither is holistic thinking, or advanced/enlightened levels of understanding, because that doesn't aid the shadows that are at war with the light. (I think George Carlin said something about this)
That you receive incessant uninvited advertising isn't by itself very harmful, but its existence and growth is evidence that the octopus exists and will eventually try to wrap its tentacles around everyone, and every thing, everywhere.
... unless the people can identify it and halt its activities.
Lack of participation in such networks might be the best way. Turn off. Ignore. Unplug. Disengage. That sort of thing.
Forgive my lack of tact if I have stepped on any atheist or incredulous toes here. I was once an atheist too, but have lived long enough to come full circle. I'm careful where I spend my time, energy and money these days, because there are parasites all around us, and they are always hungry.
Young ones might hear this kind of talk and think its crazy. Their handicap is lack of experience that goes back "before the dark times" as Obiwan might say. I remember hugging family members right after they stepped off the ramp at the airport. I remember when an airplane ticket was a reason to be excited. I remember when men and women weren't at war with each other and the news wasn't setting people's emotions on fire. I remember when a vote could be cast without fear of reprisal.
Woops, it's time to go yell at some clouds and tell kids to get off my lawn.
Then it's naptime. Paradoxically, a retiree's work is never done...
Once upon a time, there were some people on trial for participating in some very bad things who claimed the defense "I was only doing my job and following orders." Orders might seem benevolent but remain secretly very sinister. Isn't the leader of darkness also called a "master of deception?" Would an evil genius be able to manipulate your behavior without you knowing why?
Theoretically, your neighbor who might merely be a low-paid nobody in a bureaucracy could be advancing the plans of the planners and believe that their work is necessary and important without realizing that they helped with the slow march toward tyranny. It also greases the skids when they are offered money to do it, which the individual needs more and more desperately as once-successful economies, cultures or societies break down.
Unfortunately, self-awareness is not a property cultivated by cultures under attack by the octopus. Neither is holistic thinking, or advanced/enlightened levels of understanding, because that doesn't aid the shadows that are at war with the light. (I think George Carlin said something about this)
That you receive incessant uninvited advertising isn't by itself very harmful, but its existence and growth is evidence that the octopus exists and will eventually try to wrap its tentacles around everyone, and every thing, everywhere.
... unless the people can identify it and halt its activities.
Lack of participation in such networks might be the best way. Turn off. Ignore. Unplug. Disengage. That sort of thing.
Forgive my lack of tact if I have stepped on any atheist or incredulous toes here. I was once an atheist too, but have lived long enough to come full circle. I'm careful where I spend my time, energy and money these days, because there are parasites all around us, and they are always hungry.
Young ones might hear this kind of talk and think its crazy. Their handicap is lack of experience that goes back "before the dark times" as Obiwan might say. I remember hugging family members right after they stepped off the ramp at the airport. I remember when an airplane ticket was a reason to be excited. I remember when men and women weren't at war with each other and the news wasn't setting people's emotions on fire. I remember when a vote could be cast without fear of reprisal.
Woops, it's time to go yell at some clouds and tell kids to get off my lawn.
Then it's naptime. Paradoxically, a retiree's work is never done...
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If you are using Android, Chrome, or any of Google's services, you are sending your personal information straight to Google. All of the "free" web services do that.
Even if you aren't using those, your ISP is selling your browsing history to any advertisers that will buy it.
The solution is to run open-source operating systems and use privacy-oriented web services (i.e. DuckDuckGo).
Ed
Even if you aren't using those, your ISP is selling your browsing history to any advertisers that will buy it.
The solution is to run open-source operating systems and use privacy-oriented web services (i.e. DuckDuckGo).
Ed
If you take that rationale to its extreme, I helped create the sinister device that most of us have grown rather attached to.......I was a cell phone designer at Motorola.
Hence my finger pointing at Comcast. They are my ISP and the turnaround time from search to advert is too quick for it to be much further down the line. I haven't tried DuckDuckGo yet, primarily because I doubt that any of my info stands out amongst all of the other mediocre BS that's being generated by all this "intelligence gathering."
Sure, the vehicle purchase was preceded by lots of searching, reading and digging up data. The fact that the one seen in the ads looks identical to the one we bought is likely a coincidence. The red colored version with the off - road wheels and tires was the standout amongst the 6 or 8 plain looking grey, white, or light blue Santa Fe SUVs on the lot, which could have triggered it's use in the advert. It had one of the lowest sticker prices in the lot, so that's why we got it. It now has just over 6000 miles and did a 2200 mile road trip to Florida. So far there have been no issues.
The way I look at it is that my ISP (AT&T) is selling me fiber Internet service for about the same amount of money that I once paid for dial-up Internet service, adjusted for inflation.Tubelab_com said:
How do they do that?
They are making money on the side.
ETA: I once received an email receipt for tires that I had bought. For the next six months, Google showed me tire advertisements. That was the last time I gave Android access to my email.
Ed
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Curious, how are you getting a popup ad on a phone? I have a smartphone, but almost zero apps on it, and I'd never install an app that throws stuff on the screen? In today's world, you really have a choice. You can be like a friend of mine who says stuff like it is so nice that they know what I want before I do (and do zero to thwart information gathering about him) or like me who carefully guards against it. My approach means that many of those services that are "free" I don't use.
About a third of my career was spent in the IT industry installing servers, networks, and security. Believe me when I say you almost have to be an expert on such things to keep their eyes off of you.
They would absolutely love to put a chip in your brain to monitor your thoughts, if that were technically feasible. I think Elon is working on something like that, isn't he?
Those who exist without moral restraint would turn this entire planet into a panopticon with their ambition for power and control over others. (Would I be a hypocrite if I suggest you "google" this term if you're not already familiar with it? wink wink)
I believe they have already been partially successful. Look at what they can do to your life if they can turn off your bank accounts with the push of a button. Such power is capable of enforcing compliance even among the unwilling. Who would risk economic or social exile to go against the grain, especially if it's something innocuous like a cloth over your face, or a tiny pinprick in your arm?
Humanity has to be very careful from this point forward, or we'll be the animal that lost the struggle with the snake coiled around its neck. It moves slowly, almost imperceptibly at first ...
... and then all at once.
They would absolutely love to put a chip in your brain to monitor your thoughts, if that were technically feasible. I think Elon is working on something like that, isn't he?
Those who exist without moral restraint would turn this entire planet into a panopticon with their ambition for power and control over others. (Would I be a hypocrite if I suggest you "google" this term if you're not already familiar with it? wink wink)
I believe they have already been partially successful. Look at what they can do to your life if they can turn off your bank accounts with the push of a button. Such power is capable of enforcing compliance even among the unwilling. Who would risk economic or social exile to go against the grain, especially if it's something innocuous like a cloth over your face, or a tiny pinprick in your arm?
Humanity has to be very careful from this point forward, or we'll be the animal that lost the struggle with the snake coiled around its neck. It moves slowly, almost imperceptibly at first ...
... and then all at once.
The continuous streams of ads that I talked about and grabbed screenshots from are delivered to my computer. Most of them show up on the Windows 11 Start screen. They can be, and are easily ignored. The most intrusive and often irritating ads are in Youtube videos. i understand that Google makes a lot of money from this, and they are providing a resource for distributing videos for free. Breaking into the middle of a section of a song for a 2 minute commercial for something that I have no interest in just gets me to close YouTube.
The first Motorola phone that I bought from Amazon came with "Amazon Specific Information Delivery" installed. This was described in the page when I bought the phone as non intrusive advertising from Amazon and 'selected partners." The same phone was available without this feature for more money. That's where the phone pop-ups came from. For the most part they were not intrusive except for the Mercedes Benz stuff, but it was obvious that their advert people were keeping track of the phone's location. Sometime during the time that I was actively using that phone there was a lawsuit during which Amazon agreed to update the phone to remove their advert delivery. My daughter broke her phone so I gave her mine, and I got a better Motorola from Amazon. It, and its successor do not show ads.
I worked for Motorola designing phones and two way radios for 41 years. They never offered us discounted phones, so I carried a Samsung for the last few years I worked there. Most people carried iPhones. Motorola sold the phone group to Google, who kept the patents and other IP, then sold the group to Lenovo. The Lenovorola phones as we called them are decent phones and their budget line is an excellent buy for the cost. The 6.75 inch 5G stylus 2023 phone that I currently use cost me under $200 from Amazon. It is now almost 2 years old and still works good. The cheap phones do not use OLED displays so they are useless in direct sunlight.
Free is never free. Someone somewhere is making money by your use, even if it's just to develop a better version with you as a tester.........wait a minute, don't we pay Microsoft good money for us to test their stuff? Anyone else have a computer die because of the W11 24H2 update? I'm still on 23H2 with this PC.
What browser are you using?
Do you allow ALL cookies?
Do you have an Ad Filter?
Do you block java script?
The default settings open you up to broadcasting your history... even so, in Amazon and eBay they track you as well. In fact, most commerce sites match your purchase history with their targeted advertising and there's not much that we can do about that, except not using them.
You can block their advertising emails...
If I say " I need a new beverage cart for my (insert name of anything I don't own) Lear Jet" in a phone conversation, within a few minutes I will have advertisements for private jet beverage carts in my web browser. I expect it will happen because I wrote it here! Dang it.
Thinking about this, the targeted ads seem not have gone away since i switched from Google Search to Go Duck Go.
dave
dave
I don't worry about this problem too much, but some of the things I do are: Main browser on the computer uses Firefox with "NoScript" extension, which allows me to disable cookies from lots of sites. The mega-companies (google, facebook, amazon) have cookies across most commercial sites so this does a lot. If I'm directly using one of those sites, I use a different browser so they don't see my full browsing history. Phone uses "firefox focus" popup/tracking blocker. I get very few targeted ads that aren't within the same site I've searched that product category. If you want to block out your comcast/verizon then you need VPN software to encrypt your traffic, but I don't bother with that.
Try the Brave browser with its own search engine.
Go Duck Go was fine until about a year ago... then it started to filter too much in a rather biased way.
If you want true security, as when dealing with the Russkie Embassy to get that box of Svetlana 6550s and KT150s, try Tor.
By and by I use four web browsers, in increasing levels of privacy ( by default all have java script disabled, an ad blocker, etc... ):
Chrome
Firefox
Brave
Tor
And I don't do the big Social Media ( Facebook, Twitter-X, etc..).
And I have my own mail server so my email is private.
Go Duck Go was fine until about a year ago... then it started to filter too much in a rather biased way.
If you want true security, as when dealing with the Russkie Embassy to get that box of Svetlana 6550s and KT150s, try Tor.
By and by I use four web browsers, in increasing levels of privacy ( by default all have java script disabled, an ad blocker, etc... ):
Chrome
Firefox
Brave
Tor
And I don't do the big Social Media ( Facebook, Twitter-X, etc..).
And I have my own mail server so my email is private.
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I used the option on Walmart's site to get a report of all the information they have collected on me, it was pages and pages of information. I can't imagine what Amazon has by comparison.
They track your IP address (I get ads on the computer for things my wife was searching for on her phone). I'm not sure why I keep getting ads for divorce attorneys...
Computers even have what they call a device fingerprint where they can often identify you even with a VPN based on the unique combination of specifications and settings they can read from your computer.
Over a decade ago I ordered an item from Home Depot's site and a few weeks later got an email asking me to review an item I had bought from them. I thought it was the thing I bought online but instead it was an item I had bought in store. I didn't use any sort of member or discount number in their store, they just saw the credit card was the same and linked it to me.
I mostly just find the targeted advertising annoying. I generally use browsers with all the blocking add-ons but I keep Edge free of those for the occasional site I really need to visit that doesn't like those. When I make the mistake of doing regular browsing on it I get inundated with ads for whatever I've looked at. I've either bought the item or decided I didn't want it after all, and yet I get days or weeks worth of ads for it all for the same thing on the top, sides and bottom of every page.
Their advertising algorithms are often about as useful as youtube's recommendations.
They track your IP address (I get ads on the computer for things my wife was searching for on her phone). I'm not sure why I keep getting ads for divorce attorneys...
Computers even have what they call a device fingerprint where they can often identify you even with a VPN based on the unique combination of specifications and settings they can read from your computer.
Over a decade ago I ordered an item from Home Depot's site and a few weeks later got an email asking me to review an item I had bought from them. I thought it was the thing I bought online but instead it was an item I had bought in store. I didn't use any sort of member or discount number in their store, they just saw the credit card was the same and linked it to me.
I mostly just find the targeted advertising annoying. I generally use browsers with all the blocking add-ons but I keep Edge free of those for the occasional site I really need to visit that doesn't like those. When I make the mistake of doing regular browsing on it I get inundated with ads for whatever I've looked at. I've either bought the item or decided I didn't want it after all, and yet I get days or weeks worth of ads for it all for the same thing on the top, sides and bottom of every page.
Their advertising algorithms are often about as useful as youtube's recommendations.
A good friend of mine was an old graybeard for a three letter agency, you can probably guess which one. One night after about six beers we were talking about privacy, and he jokingly said, unless whatever it is you’re doing takes place alone, in a dark closet, in a cabin, in the middle of the woods, with no technology in the place, somebody knows about it.
It’s way worse than you think, he scared the living out of me that night. It’s true, we do not have privacy anymore. If you do anything at all to get yourself on the radar, they know what type of toilet paper you used this morning to wipe your butt.
He mentioned some legislation that got quietly passed that made it no longer possible to remove your battery from your phone easily. Even when your phones off, it’s not really off.
Something similar happened to my wife and I, started talking about buying a new car, a BMW, my phone was on the table in the kitchen. The next morning, nothing but BMW ads.
That’s just private corporations at work, but what the US government can do is truly beyond what you can imagine....
It’s way worse than you think, he scared the living out of me that night. It’s true, we do not have privacy anymore. If you do anything at all to get yourself on the radar, they know what type of toilet paper you used this morning to wipe your butt.
He mentioned some legislation that got quietly passed that made it no longer possible to remove your battery from your phone easily. Even when your phones off, it’s not really off.
Something similar happened to my wife and I, started talking about buying a new car, a BMW, my phone was on the table in the kitchen. The next morning, nothing but BMW ads.
That’s just private corporations at work, but what the US government can do is truly beyond what you can imagine....
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We are tracked a bit, but it seems not as heavy as you talk about.
This might explain some of it..
https://www.endpointprotector.com/b...-differences-between-their-data-privacy-laws/
This might explain some of it..
https://www.endpointprotector.com/b...-differences-between-their-data-privacy-laws/
I'm suspect that phones are always listening. Battery life would be awful, and mine lasts for 2 days iff I don't use it. I think more likely you have a siri or whatever google calls their assistance box on you counter. Now those do listen all the time regardless of the claims.
But I trust the US government more than I trust Corporate these days. They run amok with no system of checks and balances in place. And any information Google has on you the cyber criminals have the same information because every single byte of it eventually gets out.
I got a new product idea. Tabletop 10 GHz-ready Faraday cage, with internal battery powered charging. When you close the main door, the power cord mechanically pops out of the IEC mains connector in back...and a little door closes over it.