questions → do you hate behavioral advertising?

vote-for48vote-against +48 -0

Do you hate behavioral advertising?

Then go here, and follow the instructions to see who/whom is collecting your browsing data to show you targeted ads, and opt out of them all.

http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp

by claudicina
asked 5 months ago

12 Answers answer

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vote-for8vote-against

You might need to change your cookie settings, but at the very least, I found it interesting to see who sends all the targeted garbage my way. It gives you access to the companies targeting your browser via links to their websites.

claudicina
5 months ago

vote-for13vote-against

Interesting.

Note that opting out of these advertizer's targeted programs doesn't mean fewer ads, only that ads from that advertizer will be randomly selected, rather than selected based on the web browser's previous activity.

I'm not sure that random ads are better. In fact, targeted ads might be a better use of the wasted screen real estate (since they are possibly more likely to be of interest).

baqui63
5 months ago

vote-for7vote-against

@baqui63: I think I just like to know where it's coming from, and have adjusted my cookies accordingly. But yes, you are correct, you will still receive ads, just not targeted ads. I do not pay attention to in site ads ever.

claudicina
5 months ago

vote-for9vote-against

@claudicina:

I rarely pay attention to them, other than occasionally noticing an ad and briefly wondering to myself why "they" are showing me that ad. I would be surprised if someone could demonstrate that I've clicked on more than twenty or so ads EVER, including the times I've accidentally clicked on them.

baqui63
5 months ago

vote-for10vote-against

@claudicina and @baqui63: Opting out of the ads is also information (for the advertisers). I block close to 95% of the cookies that applications try to set, and I do almost all my browsing from a browser that does not have Flash installed. Flash cookies are frequently set, and very hard to clean out. On the extremely rare occasions that I actually want Flash, I have an IE 8 browser that I use. The only other things I use it for are Gmail and complicated Google searches.

I used to say that I was the most paranoid person you were ever likely to meet that was not locked up. This may or may not still be true. I seem to see a lot of crazy people that aren't locked up, nowadays.

I might be paranoid, but I'm not wrong.

shrdlu
5 months ago

vote-for6vote-against

This is awesome and useful! Thank you!

yrguide
5 months ago

vote-for6vote-against

Interesting. I use AdBlock, though, so I don't deal with ads online anyway. A good tip for those who don't already block such data, however.

proxgotsthafia
5 months ago

vote-for6vote-against

@proxgotsthafia: damn I was scrolling down seeing nobody talking about ABP. you essentially beat me to my comment:

>2012, still seeing advertisements on web pages
I seriously hope you guys don't do this
Costanza.jpg
http://adblockplus.org/en/

cowboydann
5 months ago

vote-for4vote-against

@proxgotsthafia: I just installed Adblock. LOVE it.

@shrdlu: If I knew enough to be able to surf that way, I'd be right there with you. It's not paranoia, it's common sense!

claudicina
5 months ago

vote-for4vote-against

@claudicina: Please note that Adblock and similar applications do NOTHING to block flash cookies.

shrdlu
5 months ago

vote-for3vote-against

@shrdlu: At this point, I'm grateful not to have to see the ads. I will, however do some research. I want to learn more about them!

claudicina
5 months ago

vote-for3vote-against

Over the holidays I watched a lot of stuff on Hulu. I watched a couple of episodes of a Canadian sitcom called "Being Erica". The next day I was watching a Korean drama series, Padam Padam, when I was startled by one of the ads. It started with my given name, and said basically, "Melissa, people who like Being Erica also like" (this other show). It showed me a commercial (which did look interesting) and then asked me if I'd like to book mark it. Which I did. But it weirded me out. It's like when I was working on a Powerpoint presentation and the little paperclip popped up and said "I see you are working on a presentation about teamwork. Would you like me to find you some clip art?" I feel George Orwell whispering down my neck.

moondrake
5 months ago

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