Who is following me around the Internet?

[Sammyk]

I am wondering about the ads on here. I use Mozilla/Firefox as a browser. I do a lot of searching on Google for different things and topics. Usually when I come on to the forum here, I see adds for something I was searching for recently.

For example recently I was looking for a wine cooler like one might see in a store that sell pop/soda, beer. The next time I logged on here there was one of the store that sells used coolers, the exact one I was looking at to buy. Too much of a coincidence.

I have a shopping cart for my business and I see adds for that company here almost every time I am here. Granted I log into my shopping cart every to recover orders that came in through my shopping cart.

My business has a facebook page that is very active. I see adds "who unfriended you".

I think you get the idea of what I am saying.
How do I stop these ads that pertain to me and what I am doing on the computer?
Is there a setting in Mozilla/Firefox that I can change so I am "not being followed around"?

Honestly it is creeping me out!

 

[Sammyk]

Here is a prime example of what I am talking about. My business uses 3dcart as the shopping cart.

And when I typed the last post I looked to the right and here is a shopping cart add for 3dcart.

Way too much of coincidence that is creeping me out!

 

[vernsgal]

download Adblock.It stops all those ads on facebook and other sites.

 

[Runningwolf]

Thanks for the site, I get those also.

 

[Julie]

Sammy,

Go to My Account at the top of the page, click on Edit forum options and towards the botton click on "disable sidebar." This will get rid of the ads on the side. And for the ones on the top, just to let you know, you are the only who sees those ads. The ad I am currently seeing is Betty Mills because of what I was searching for. It is kind of freaky but none of us kind see what you have been searching, it is only on your computer.

 

[vacuumpumpman]

Sammy,

Go to My Account at the top of the page, click on Edit forum options and towards the botton click on "disable sidebar." This will get rid of the ads on the side. And for the ones on the top, just to let you know, you are the only who sees those ads. The ad I am currently seeing is Betty Mills because of what I was searching for. It is kind of freaky but none of us kind see what you have been searching, it is only on your computer.

Yes it worked for me as well ^^^^

 

[Sammyk]

I know it is based on what I search for on the Internet. I did not mean it is the folks on the forum. Gives me the feeling that Big Brother is watching me!

What I was asking is there some setting in Firefox that I can change so that my Internet movements are not being tracked?

 

[Boatboy24]

The internet is becoming a very creepy place. While they may not know exactly who you actually are, companies like Google have a tremendous amount of information about you, where you go on the 'net and your purchasing tendencies. It's convenient, and scary at the same time. My wife's Yahoo mail account got hacked just yesterday as an example. Within minutes, she received an email from Yahoo letting her know that her account was accessed via a device that had not accessed it before. It went on to say that that device was located in South Korea and that if it wasn't her, she should change her password. I'm sure they know a lot more about who that was and where they were, but that's all that was shared. I think if you disable cookies completely, you can avoid a lot of the "spying". However, that would prevent sites that you go to frequently from recognizing you. As an example, you'd have to log in every time you come to WMT.

 

[Sammyk]

I was thinking it had something to do with cookies. I have firefox remember all my passwords because it is really a pain to remember a gazillion of them.

What does everybody else do about cookies?

 

[GreginND]

I don't worry about it. Internet tracking and marketing is a reality that will never go away and there's not much we can do about it.

 

[grapeman]

My wife's Yahoo mail account got hacked just yesterday as an example. Within minutes, she received an email from Yahoo letting her know that her account was accessed via a device that had not accessed it before. It went on to say that that device was located in South Korea and that if it wasn't her, she should change her password.

This is also becoming a problem and a good share of these statements are hoaxs that are trying to get you to go to another site and change your information so they then have it. If you look at the link they provide, more times than not it is actually a pirating site. If in doubt, copy part of the e-mail into a browser query such as Google and do a search on it. Quite often it will come up with results leading to hoax listing sites. If in doubt if it is legit or not, go to your provider (yahoo in this case) and change the password there on the site, not on some site with a link to it.

 

[Boatboy24]

That's a very good point. She knew the account had been hacked because several people responded to the emails that were sent from her account and she also had some auto-responses coming from "dead addresses". I almost never click on a link embedded in the email for the reasons you mentioned. If I get something from my bank/credit card company, etc telling me I need to go to the site, I always do so from my browser and type in the address as opposed to using a link.

 

[TxBrew]

For the record guys, it's Google following you around and presenting you ads based on your interest.

It's based on cookies, so clear them and you will get new ads.

 

[Sammyk]

So is there another way to stop it other than blocking cookies?

 

[Julie]

LOL, well I am at work and our internet filter allows me on the site but none of the ads, so I am cruising WMT without any ads.

 

[Pumpkinman]

It's called cookies, when ever you visit a website small text files are placed on your computer.

These cookies collect information about the pages you view and your activities on the site, and enable the site to recognize you, they remember tour user ID, they keep track of your preferences if you visit the website again.

The cookie transmits this information back to the website's server which generally is the only computer that can read it.

You can set your Web browser to warn you about attempts to place cookies on your computer, or to limit the type of cookies you allow.

It's really nothing to get paranoid about, but, if you delete your cookies, which is a good thing as they start to pile up and slow your computer down, you will have to remember your user name and password every time you want to visit a website.

It's a bit more visible on Winemakingtalk than on most other websites, these guys must make money on Pay Per Click Advertising.

 

[mmadmikes1]

Since the 2 site merged here this site dumps a ton of cookies on you. I am on dial up and in order to load pages I need to remove them consistently. It is not just Google. I had considered quitting this site a couple times because of it.

 

[jswordy]

Julie, I've got the sidebar disabled. I see two ads at the top of the page. Above the link line for forum, home, articles, etc. there currently is an ad about making tasty wine. I assume those are forum sponsors. Below the topic line (Wine Making and Grape Growing Forum > Other Topics > General Chit-Chat) is an ad for an online TV service, since I just was browsing around for one. Then comes the thread line.

I understand they are due to cookies, and I know how to wipe out cookies. Just wanted you to know I do see two ads up top.

 

[Sammyk]

Jim I disabled the side ads per an earlier post. And I too see 2 adds up at the top too. The top one of them is generally sponsors for our forum. I don't know what the other one is for but it changes if one refreshes the page.

 

[Pumpkinman]

like julioe said, if you have a hard core firewall where you can select what comes in and out, right down to the packet level, you have the control to block the ads.