Gary Kovacs: Tracking the trackers

[cassynicole]

I've shared your brief talk with so many times over the past decade, thank you for informing everyone. An update of how this complexity has grown since then would be lovely. :)

[empoweringconsumers]

Great stuff. More people need to be aware and this is OLD news.

[GenuinelyEvil]

Most of the tracking is done through ads so install noscript, adblock, disable cookies and use search engines other then google (I use duckduckgo) and you’ll be mostly safe.

[kujot]

Every breath you take
And every move you make
Every bond you break, every step you take
I'll be watching you
Every single day
And every word you say
Every game you play, every night you stay
I'll be watching you
Oh, can't you see
You belong to me?
How my poor heart aches
With every step you take
Every move you make
Every vow you break
Every smile you fake, every claim you stake
I'll be watching you

[Axlite]

And to add you are thinking individually, I'm thinking collectively. Which one is a better code of conduct for a collective: openness or hiding ourselves? You have to understand that if everyone is afraid to share themselves, we live in a world of constant hide-and-seek but if everyone would be open, we'd live in a world of no secrets or repressed and unsecure thoughts. A way of thinking is affectious, through socialization.

[KirillAGA]

Famous quote, passed to the discussion:

...when you're inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system, and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it...

[tessellation]

Knowledge and awareness are fundamental to consent. If we as a community are going to push for privacy protection laws we first need to know how our consent is violated.

[genrytov]

there are several options to block addons and cookies in chrome, you can use the script blocker in chrome => wrench in top right corner => settings => under the hood => privacy => content settings, and once you are there, you can block websites from setting data on your computer automatically, they need authority, and noscript is an even better addon on firefox that blocks scripts on contact until you allow them =)

[cloverlief]

I have been using no script for several years now, and I have to say the first time I installed it was amazed how how many sites are trying to run scripts in the background to place cookies, gather data and serve ads. It is also amazing how slow things start to run when I don't block most of the scripts on the web. The funny thing is that Youtube has the fewest sites running script. You would think it would be more.

[KirillAGA]

If you: are cleaning the browser cookies after each search request or are using 'Incognito Mode' AND periodically cleaning the cookies; are never clicking ads (or news) banners; are not using web-based 'free' mail services, etc. IOW if you're using the Net in really 'paranoid' mode; only when you can be sure that tracking does not affect you.

[SpecterWSA]

Wait all it does is record that you have visited a site correct? Similar to a owner of a market having you record your name upon visiting or purchasing anything inside? I don't understand how this is bad, unless they are given access to our files.

[KirillAGA]

Information is the power. When you give too much power to the certain group of people (or institution), the fact that this power will be abused is no longer the question of 'if' it's question of 'when'.

The information you forced to share with Google opening an account there (or with Facebook) is the subject of Agreement between you and Google Inc (or you and Facebook). The amount and type of information Google and Facebook share amongst each other about you are neither known nor formalized.

[TheSpeshulShark]

You're on the internet, privacy is pretty archaic now. It's only natural instinct that makes you care.

[advance]

So, the solutions I've seen are all for Firefox. Is there any point in looking for a solution in Google Chrome, or is that a contradiction?

[AngelOfEvenfall]

I am using the Firefox add on called "do not track plus". It shows you which companies try to track you AND blocks them! I installed it a few weeks ago and the add on shows me that it already blocked almost 30k social networks, ad networks and companies.

[whatever]

What people dont understand when they whine about this is that the internet isnt actually publicly owned. It is owned privately by specific companies. When you look at a site, they own what you're looking at. Think of a site as that companie's house: if you just wandered in, they would have their right to follow you around. It's their property.

[SweetCarofine]

soo is this not available for google chrome? cause i dont use firefox

[KirillAGA]

My personal case -- combination of following factors:
1) Wrong place, wrong time (a bit of bad luck, hehe...)
2) Google search results based on my geolocation and pattern of my online behavior, optimized by sophisticated SEO methods
3) Lack of due diligence (my fault, of course, partially caused by family stress)
was enough to put me in significant trouble, severe damage many other people and even nearly ruin lives of some of them. Details of this -- neither for you, nor for the broad public.

[Thezuule]

Just to note this is also available for Google Chrome it's in the Web Store.

[tessellation]

Its a pretty big topic, so I would prefer not to discuss it heavily, but I would recommend you look into marketing as a field of study. They are constantly looking for ways to subvert our ability to make conscious decisions. I know it sounds like a lot of paranoid ramblings, but its true. Besides I would prefer to give consent, then have the choice made for me. There are add-ons that block these trackers ghostery for example.