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[HeIsRisen2018]

Although annoying I realize that people have to make a living,.. but when I see popups of places I've been online or about things really close to my location it tends to freak me out quite a bit. I think that's only because my computer knows my IP address and tracks the places I go online and that nobody else is receiving that information,.. but still,.. scary how much the internet knows.

 

[King Dan of Great the 1st]

The internet and companys calls it advertising, I call it stalking. I get the same garbage. If I search something online or go a website I usually get multiple adverts for similar on social media targeting me.

 

[Christ_empowered]

man o man. i do Orthomolecular, for mah health (check it out, for -free- ! www.doctoryourself.com). thing is...

the least expen$ive way to stock up on those vitamins and such is thru The Internet. fair enough...i save $$$, I even get free shipping. but...

now, i get targeted ads both for my usual stuff, and also for supplements, shakes, powders, seminars, classes that I suppose are related, based on demographics. and...

hey, wow...guess what??? i dont have the $$$ or the inclination for mega-expensive new age retreats. its...unnerving. i even had stuff popping up related to Goop, Gwyneth Paltrow's semi-shady lifestyle project.

the other side of it is...sometimes, the demographics are -freakishly- on target. amazon is a good example. you know how amazon will 'recommend' music, books, etc.? some of it is laughable, but other times...

they hit the bulls eye, and im now thinking...with technology getting more and more advanced and precise...and also saturating the whole wide world...

are we all just...numbers, data, consumption habits, lifestyle choices, etc.?


That Aldous Huxley novel...'Brave New World'...comes to mind. -creepy-

oh well. on the plus side, i downloaded some quality music, per amazon's recommendations...and skimmed over some interesting literature, too.

"it is what it is..."

 

[Edward]

yeah I don't like that stuff. I remember one time I started to do a search for something and i typed it into the search bar, and then for some reason I forget why but I decided not to and to do something else. So I backspaced and did that instead...The next day I had ad popups and stuff for what I was going to do a search for, but I never even clicked enter after it was in the bar!

Another thing that's annoying is, I can't look up one work related technical question or video without then being flooded with ads for that product as if I am a dumb homeowner looking to buy.

 

[WIP]

There are some things you can do to reduce it. In your browser settings you can turn on the "do not track" setting. This is basically a request to advertiser to not track your browsing habits. It won't do a lot because it relies on the honor system but it may help some.

You can block all cookies in your browser settings and this will prevent some cookies from being installed. However, just like CFnet, some cookies are needed to improve your experience while visiting the site so if you block all cookies, you may not like how the internet works for you.

There are also some apps that may be able to block this activity or at least some of it.

 

[HeIsRisen2018]

Call me stupid but I still really don't understand what Internet cookies are.

 

[lisa-in-FL]

I think they are called cookies because they leave a trail of crumbs on every site you visit.
https://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/all_about_cookies.asp

They are used to track your browsing history and make it easier for sites you've been to before to recognize you. Like coming to this site and not having to login every time.
The primary use is for advertising - to show you products you looked at but didn't buy or similar products you might like to buy instead. If you aren't bothered by that then I wouldn't worry about them too much.
As for the tracking of your browsing history, my thoughts are, if I'm not doing anything illegal online I don't care. You can use your browser's "Incognito" or "Private" setting though if you want to use the internet without tracking.

 

[for_his_glory]

On my laptop I downloaded the free Ad Blocker Plus (ABP) and get no pop-up ads at all. On my cell phone I don't get pop-up ads. HeIsRisen2018 , if you use this you will need someone to help you with the settings for it.

 

[HeIsRisen2018]

On my laptop I downloaded the free Ad Blocker Plus (ABP) and get no pop-up ads at all. On my cell phone I don't get pop-up ads. HeIsRisen2018 , if you use this you will need someone to help you with the settings for it.

Alright, thanks for letting me know, I'll look into it.