[rant]Targeted Ads[/rant]

Rushie said:
But is there a record at the destination website? Like if I used a private window to search for wigs because I want to buy a wig but don't want anyone to know I am in fact, a bald female (I am not! Just making stuff up to illustrate why I'd want privacy but not for criminal purposes) is there a record somewhere along the way that my IP address was hitting those websites? When you say there is no digital trail, does that just mean it's not thrown in with your general Google searches? In other words, does a private browser window mask your IP address from that point outward?
Click to expand...

If you have to search a website (ex: Amazon) you don't have to log on to do a search. Do it from a private window.
If you use a private window, nothing is cached, especially your search history.
Your IP address is still visible, but there are no tracking cookies to refer to the next time you you go back.
Different websites do things differently, you have to do a little trial and error and see who does what to whom.
Or pay for a VPN service and hide everything.
 
Ahhh. . .yeah, you can hide your IP; Tor, or similiar other commercial services can do it for you - short version, you VPN to the service; they spin up a cloud or virtual server with browser, and act, in effect, as a remotely controlled computer, on your behalf - think of it as a remote desktop session. Nothing comes back to your machine except the screen image. When you end your session, the remote server is spun down, and nothing remains on your machine. Your ISP will see your VPN connection, but not where you browse (the remote server is doing that work) and the connection between you and the service is encrypted.
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
And, for example, I was looking for a new air compressor. Did a bunch of looking. Decided, and bought one (California Air Tools) from Home Depot.
No big deal, eh?
But. For months I kept seeing ads from Home Depot for the compressor I already done bought.
Why? I'm going to buy another? How many compressors do they think I need? (I now have two.)

And, if anyone cares, it is a very quiet compressor. Pretty handy for using in the house or in my shop when I don't need tons of air.
Click to expand...

Instead of ads causing sales, sales are causing ads. Wonder if the sponsors know what their money is really going for.
 
Be aware that with Tor, anyone can set up an exit node. It is a way to easily consolidate a bunch of folks who don't want to be known where they are, and see all of their exit traffic in one place.

NSA used this to their advantage a while back and set up a bunch of NSA Tor exit nodes to be "friendly" to the world. LOL.

Tor has some serious design flaws. Technically anything that consolidates a bunch of folks who don't want to be known where they come from, do. Including commercial VPN offerings.
 
Rushie said:
But is there a record at the destination website? Like if I used a private window to search for wigs because I want to buy a wig but don't want anyone to know I am in fact, a bald female (I am not! Just making stuff up to illustrate why I'd want privacy but not for criminal purposes) is there a record somewhere along the way that my IP address was hitting those websites? When you say there is no digital trail, does that just mean it's not thrown in with your general Google searches? In other words, does a private browser window mask your IP address from that point outward?
Click to expand...
Yes, but your ISP also can read your traffic regardless of private or incognito browsing. Especially since the government has permitted them to collect and sell that information. So there is a digital trail at your ISP, even if not in your browser.

Further some of the VPN techniques can be broken, especially by an ISP using man in the middle techniques. SSL and IPSec are pretty good but nothing is guaranteed.
 
denverpilot said:
NSA used this to their advantage a while back and set up a bunch of NSA Tor exit nodes to be "friendly" to the world. LOL.
Click to expand...

"The Internet, where men are men, women are men, and children are FBI agents."

So half the dark web is NSA poking around for stuff, lol!
 
When targeted advertising was first making its debut in the world, I first saw it on an automotive forum website. They actually announced it and I was really curious how it would work.
Boy what I disappointed when instead of their usual motor oil or silly K&N filter ads they presented commercials for lady parts products. Siwwy wabits! LOL
 
denverpilot said:
Be aware that with Tor, anyone can set up an exit node. It is a way to easily consolidate a bunch of folks who don't want to be known where they are, and see all of their exit traffic in one place.

NSA used this to their advantage a while back and set up a bunch of NSA Tor exit nodes to be "friendly" to the world. LOL.

Tor has some serious design flaws. Technically anything that consolidates a bunch of folks who don't want to be known where they come from, do. Including commercial VPN offerings.
Click to expand...
For the majority of users, any VPN with encryption is plenty good enough to secure your privacy. Again, it's not the Feds you need to worry about . . .they're looking for bad actors, and don't have the time, staff, or money to care whether you bet on sports or buy brake pads on-line. Uncle Sam won't steal your identity, credit card info, etc. Of course, OPM, or the VA, or any of the rest of 'em will accidentally reveal your data, but that's just incompetence, vice malicious.

I remember the OPM claimed to be a "victim" in the last of their many breaches; truth is, hacking/compromise isn't inevitable, it's just reckless and negligent IT management. And it still took quite a while for OPM to fire their IT manager.

Best analogy I heard was:

"If a bank put all its cash out on the sidewalk at close of business, and it was gone the next day, would the bank be a victim?"

"Yeah, they would be a victim - and they'd also be criminally negligent and incompetent, buffoons".
 
So far, nothing has happened to me as a result of my life history on my SF 86 being stolen from OPM.

Regarding targeted ads, I just dump my browsing history and get a whole new set of targeted ads from the next set of searches. The most unique set on a single page so far is an ad for sell your timeshares and one for PT6 engine overhaul.

Cheers
 
denverpilot said:
OpenSSL had some holes in it the size of a Mack truck for a decade until someone noticed.
Click to expand...

Well, yeah. And if you're in an environment where the admin can install/authorize a certificate on your computer, it's also still possible to conduct MITM monitoring of SSL traffic.
 
wsuffa said:
Well, yeah. And if you're in an environment where the admin can install/authorize a certificate on your computer, it's also still possible to conduct MITM monitoring of SSL traffic.
Click to expand...

A'yup.

We're contemplating how much we like pain at the office -- we may be forced to do it eventually. Everything through the SSL proxy.

Which creates other problems. I don't WANT to be a MITM when you're checking your bank account on your lunch break. I want nothing to do with that data.

So it can't be a 100% proxy. Or... the lawyers have to write up something that says "we can read everything" and make everyone sign it.

And then there's BYOD and mobile devices...

There's no good solution. They all suck.
 
denverpilot said:
A'yup.

We're contemplating how much we like pain at the office -- we may be forced to do it eventually. Everything through the SSL proxy.

Which creates other problems. I don't WANT to be a MITM when you're checking your bank account on your lunch break. I want nothing to do with that data.

So it can't be a 100% proxy. Or... the lawyers have to write up something that says "we can read everything" and make everyone sign it.

And then there's BYOD and mobile devices...

There's no good solution. They all suck.
Click to expand...
If you're going to monitor traffic, at some point you're going to go down the SSL proxy road, especially with the browser and search companies pushing folks to SSL. And in some environments there's good reason for monitoring (data leakage to the outside world and the malware that uses SSL to communicate).

I went the route of carrying 2 devices and carrying a personal laptop and hotspot when I worked for a company that monitored everything. There was a physical barrier between the two. Any company that does it to reduce folks from doing personal stuff during work hours can only counter that by jamming or reducing the wireless signals, which opens a bigger host of problems.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top