For a computer security perspective I recommend the "Topics Arrives" (936) episode's discussion on Steve Gibson's Security Now! podcast. I came from this discussion with general acceptance of the change, if not quite liking it.
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User tracking ad platform now baked into Chrome browser
- Thread starter Blumlein 88
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Call me paranoid, but I've always assumed that big tech companies like Google:
Are smarter than I am.
Do not reveal their more uncannily effective algorithms to the public, and maybe not to rank-and-file staff either.
Are (mostly) able to comply with the terms of their privacy policies, yet still assemble a pretty good snapshot of me, including details I never explicitly provided.
Are happiest when the public thinks "Why should I care? I'm not doing anything special".
We don't know the extent of what they've been able to capture directly, what they've managed to aggregate from a variety of different sources, and what they've successfully inferred using algorithms including AI. But they've amassed a vast amount of wealth by providing seemingly free services.
I figure that my options for privacy are limited (I use services by Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and yes, Google). But I can make them work for their money by say, not using a Facebook user ID to log into another site, using older fashioned methods of payment (biometric scanners for payment - thanks but no thanks), providing only the bare minimum of information as required for using a service. And choosing one's email provider with some care, because that is likely to be one common element which can be used to link data across multiple services.
Are smarter than I am.
Do not reveal their more uncannily effective algorithms to the public, and maybe not to rank-and-file staff either.
Are (mostly) able to comply with the terms of their privacy policies, yet still assemble a pretty good snapshot of me, including details I never explicitly provided.
Are happiest when the public thinks "Why should I care? I'm not doing anything special".
We don't know the extent of what they've been able to capture directly, what they've managed to aggregate from a variety of different sources, and what they've successfully inferred using algorithms including AI. But they've amassed a vast amount of wealth by providing seemingly free services.
I figure that my options for privacy are limited (I use services by Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and yes, Google). But I can make them work for their money by say, not using a Facebook user ID to log into another site, using older fashioned methods of payment (biometric scanners for payment - thanks but no thanks), providing only the bare minimum of information as required for using a service. And choosing one's email provider with some care, because that is likely to be one common element which can be used to link data across multiple services.
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As luck would have it, I've been reading a pair of books which turn out to have quite a bit in common, and it's stunning how subtle the art of persuasion can be (Barden), and the degree to which much can be inferred from seemingly innocuous, even incredibly brief, bits of user data (Gladwell).
Decoded: The Science Behind What We Buy, by Phil Barden
Blink: The Power of Thinking WIthout Thinking, by Malcolm Gladwell
And perhaps I'll see if I can learn a thing or two about the "Father of Public Relations/Propaganda", Edward Bernays.
Decoded: The Science Behind What We Buy, by Phil Barden
Blink: The Power of Thinking WIthout Thinking, by Malcolm Gladwell
And perhaps I'll see if I can learn a thing or two about the "Father of Public Relations/Propaganda", Edward Bernays.
dasdoing
Major Contributor
luckily I am no target for professional hackers lol.
But I never heard of this. Devs are slow to respond? Do you have a link?
dasdoing
Major Contributor
In my somewhat rare opinion marketing destroyed a somewhat working system. who does really benefit from marketing? only a handful of CEOs. we as a costumor are paying for something which productive value is zero! AND destroys competition!!!! competition is not about quality anymore....it's about who has more money for marketing
They must be tracking me. But luckily (?) the AI in charge of showing me ads has no idea what I'll actually buy. I have seen a lot of bizarre stuff I never knew existed.
OP
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I just started trying Vivaldi just a few days ago. At first it seems not convenient, but I'm going to use it a bit more to see I consider it worthwhile for other benefits. It is supposed to be pretty good in terms of blocking tracking and ads.
JLGF1
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What do you find inconvenient about this browser?
I've tried: Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, Brave, Maxthon and some I've probably forgotten.
Vivalidi is just as functional, if not more so, than any of the above, imo. But, everyone has their personal UI preferences; some more specific than others.
As far as Vivalidi tracking...
dasdoing
Major Contributor
Because my boss would send texts I never got. Also because when my wife got an Android it made no damn sense. Yes I could have figured it all out but life's too short...as for the boss I'm pretty sure now he had put in my cell number as an iPhone and therefore it would send iMessages which I never got on my whatever brand I had at the time. Plus with the iPhone I can send/read texts from my MacBook Airs and iMac. I do realize Steve Jobs is reading all my stuff in his next plane of existence but c'est la vie. Are they crazy expensive? Hell yes...are Android any cheaper?
In Brasil maybe you have more alternatives but in the US it's really pretty much Android or iOS or stuff with negligible market share.
Back to the browsers, are there any that can really block ALL
- Popups
- Auto-playing sh!t, like videos I see coming up (muted thank god, is there some new legislation about this?)
- Video ads down the side looping and making my CPU go nuts
One of my problems is work stuff they only bother testing supposedly on Chrome. Then when it doesn't work anyway they say "Did you try Firefox?"
mad: no wonder there are so many guns in America...)
Chrome I will say I totally HATE how difficult it is to clear specific cookies in their menu. On purpose surely...though now you can click a little thing next to the URL so that's handy.
- Popups
- Auto-playing sh!t, like videos I see coming up (muted thank god, is there some new legislation about this?)
- Video ads down the side looping and making my CPU go nuts
One of my problems is work stuff they only bother testing supposedly on Chrome. Then when it doesn't work anyway they say "Did you try Firefox?"
mad: no wonder there are so many guns in America...)Chrome I will say I totally HATE how difficult it is to clear specific cookies in their menu. On purpose surely...though now you can click a little thing next to the URL so that's handy.
I spend a lot of time here and wonder what they are learning over at Google from ASR. I use fire Firefox and turned off as much as I could on Windows after reading a few guides on CNET and others.
mhardy6647
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I own bizarre stuff I never knew existed.
Most of it I found at the dump, though, so it could be worse.
You're just giving it a new lease on life!I own bizarre stuff I never knew existed.
Most of it I found at the dump, though, so it could be worse.
mhardy6647
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mhardy6647
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I just ran afoul of Chrome's insidious new ad platform.
Just for grins* I opened MS Edge.
It, of course, asked me if I wanted to change Edge to my default browser. Umm... no... just... browsing, Microsoft.
But here's the funny part: Edge then nonchalantly opened up (most of) the tabs I'd had open in Chrome moments before.
Mind you, I don't use Edge (except extremely occasionally if I am having trouble with a website in Chrome)... but Windows was apparently keeping tabs (heh) on what I was up to.
I told Mrs. H of this and said to her "The war is clearly on" (i.e., 'twixt Alphabet/google and MS). I am most amused.
Time to find a more discrete browser, methinks!
To its/their credit: MS Edge didn't pester me with ads on sites that now are, thanks to Chrome (even with AdBlock Plus).
Just for grins* I opened MS Edge.
It, of course, asked me if I wanted to change Edge to my default browser. Umm... no... just... browsing, Microsoft.
But here's the funny part: Edge then nonchalantly opened up (most of) the tabs I'd had open in Chrome moments before.
Mind you, I don't use Edge (except extremely occasionally if I am having trouble with a website in Chrome)... but Windows was apparently keeping tabs (heh) on what I was up to.
I told Mrs. H of this and said to her "The war is clearly on" (i.e., 'twixt Alphabet/google and MS). I am most amused.
Time to find a more discrete browser, methinks!
To its/their credit: MS Edge didn't pester me with ads on sites that now are, thanks to Chrome (even with AdBlock Plus).
OP
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Saw an article in the last couple days about this. Edge is keeping tabs on your Chrome use and phoning the mother ship so to speak.
In settings import browser data at launch is on by default. You can turn it off.
mhardy6647
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I just re-installed FireFox for the first time in about 20 years.
It can a be a little more private but is very good in that respect already.
How To Use Firefox Privacy Settings to Make Your Browsing Secure
Firefox is a privacy-friendly browser, but you can up your security by adjusting these beginner and advanced Firefox privacy settings. Check out our guide to find out how.
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