Mined Data

[camerio]

Try this search engine :
https://startpage.com/
They say they do not track your ip address.

[dusty]

So this PRISM project that is in the news and the huge data center that NSA has developed in Utah and the Verizon telephone number scandal and all this commercial targeting could be related and are nothing to worry about; just an annoyance.

Is that what is being concluded?

[dickg1]

FWIW I see no ads, nada, zip, ziltch. Ads MAY contain malware, so I avoid them if at all possible. I use FireFox with Adblock Plus. No ads! You may check it out at "adblockplus.com", it's free.
Dick

[Gene Howe]

Dusty,
Far more nefarious motives can be attributed to the feds than to Google, although they, and others, are forced to cooperate with them.

Like Dick, I use adblock and adblock plus. No ads appear....ever. But that doesn't mean someone(?) somewhere isn't collecting and storing the data.

Not to worry, though. It's all benign and no individual is targeted..HA!

[dusty]

Dusty,
Far more nefarious motives can be attributed to the feds than to Google, although they, and others, are forced to cooperate with them.

Like Dick, I use adblock and adblock plus. No ads appear....ever. But that doesn't mean someone(?) somewhere isn't collecting and storing the data.

Not to worry, though. It's all benign and no individual is targeted..HA!

The very fact that adblock works tells you something. To the application the resident computer can be identified.

Just like my computer has been identified as being on the desk of someone interested in RVing or woodworking, anyone's computer can be identified.

I am guessing that the key to all this snooping is the IP address. Changing passwords and usernames does not seem to have any effect. Truth be known, the snooper software must be smart enough to update those when they are changed.

Now that though gives me hot flashes (not to be confused with a warm fuzzy).

[johnwilliamson062]

Firefox on private helps significantly as said before.

Google is making money because they do this. It is what launched the company ahead. Facebook also makes a bundle off of being able to target ads, although I think they use mostly profile information. Having used both products for advertising I have to say from an advertising perspective they are amazing.

The CIA recently admitted they developed the ability to use the Smart refrigerators information to profile refrigerator food and pull out suspicious combinations(think things a terrorist would eat). Not just the profiling, but the ability to actually insert the program in the refrigerators without anyone knowing.
Setting up ads for items that fit a "profile" then inserting a dummy ad through google and tracking the hits on that website by IP(which can link them to the IP owner with minimal paperwork) is a simpler task.

The only way I deal with all these simple realities is accepting that EVERYTHING, including CC data, banking data, SSN, etc is out there. The bad guys have the same problem as the good guys. They simply can't go through the pile of data fast enough to make any use of it.

[anmius]

The very fact that adblock works tells you something. To the application the resident computer can be identified.

Just like my computer has been identified as being on the desk of someone interested in RVing or woodworking, anyone's computer can be identified.

I am guessing that the key to all this snooping is the IP address. Changing passwords and usernames does not seem to have any effect. Truth be known, the snooper software must be smart enough to update those when they are changed.

Now that though gives me hot flashes (not to be confused with a warm fuzzy).

My guess is that it is not the IP address that is being used to profile your computer but the "cookies."

[dusty]

Dusty,
Far more nefarious motives can be attributed to the feds than to Google, although they, and others, are forced to cooperate with them.

Like Dick, I use adblock and adblock plus. No ads appear....ever. But that doesn't mean someone(?) somewhere isn't collecting and storing the data.

Not to worry, though. It's all benign and no individual is targeted..HA!

Thank you, Gene. I have activated adblock as recommended and it has certainly changed the appearance of the sites I visit. This may not have done anything to make the web safer for me but it much more pleasing to the eye.

With regard to security, I do not expect that whatever the bad guy does in going to be done so that I can watch.

[dusty]

My guess is that it is not the IP address that is being used to profile your computer but the "cookies."

Way back when I attended classes that were required by my employer at that time. These classes were intended to prepare me to take the Microsoft System Certification tests. I never became certified but I did learn a few things about IP addresses.

However, back then, I certainly did not expect that one day I would need to know more.

I just attempted to change my IP. I followed all of the steps presented to me by my internet provider. It actually looked as though I was going to end up with a new and different IP.

When all was said and done, I was assigned an IP; the same IP that I started with.

I have a call in to my service provider to learn what gives but I have no expectation of this effort resulting in my being able to do anything in this area.

[dusty]

My guess is that it is not the IP address that is being used to profile your computer but the "cookies."

A couple years back I played with cookies and cooky management and was not able to do anything except mess things up.

I am going to try it again but this time I am going to do a bit more reading and will try to better follow instructions. I do not want to revisit the mess that I created the last time.