securitybreach Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 Ghostery, one of the most popular ad-blocking services on the web, is owned by a company that uses the data it collects from its users to help advertisers target their ads better, the MIT Technology Review reports. Ghostery is a widget users can install in their web browsers, and it's made by a company called Evidon. It blocks the tracking code that advertisers use to target you with ads, keeping your browsing private. MIT says: Yet few of those who advocate Ghostery as a way to escape the clutches of the online ad industry realize that the company behind it, Evidon, is in fact part of that selfsame industry....... http://www.businessinsider.com/evidon-sells-ghostery-data-to-advertisers-2013-6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 Their roots are in the Ad Industry. I have never trusted them for that very reason. To me there was always a conflict of interest. I use Abine's DoNotTrackMe ... they have a proven track record in the privacy community. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted July 8, 2013 Author Share Posted July 8, 2013 wow. i ~almost~ downloaded ghostery last month. now am ever so glad i did not! thx for the info, security breach and lilbambi! No problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 Hey! The ocean remodeling is finished finally! YAY! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 Are you kidding? I come here numerous times every day, even though I'm on summer break, just to check on the status of that ocean remodeling project. You did a fine job. I see the fish and crustaceans are very happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crp Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 wow. i ~almost~ downloaded ghostery last month. now am ever so glad i did not! thx for the info, security breach and lilbambi! No problem i've used ghostery for months and have not noticed any particular targeting in the few ads that i do see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewmur Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 i've used ghostery for months and have not noticed any particular targeting in the few ads that i do see. For the life of me, I can't understand this great fear of targeted advertising. I hate span but mainly because it isn't targeted. You get ads upon ads about things that don't interest you in the least. If all I got were ads about things that did interest me, I'd be a whole lot happier. The only real problem with targeted ads, IMHO, is that they so often MISS the target. If I just bought a Miraculous Widget, I don't want to get ads trying to sell me a Miraculous Widget 'cause I already have one. But that is exactly what happens every time I buy something from Amazon. I can't count the times Amazon has tried to sell me another whisk attachment for my Kitchenaid Mixer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 To each their own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crp Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 For the life of me, I can't understand this great fear of targeted advertising. I hate span but mainly because it isn't targeted. You get ads upon ads about things that don't interest you in the least. If all I got were ads about things that did interest me, I'd be a whole lot happier. The only real problem with targeted ads, IMHO, is that they so often MISS the target. If I just bought a Miraculous Widget, I don't want to get ads trying to sell me a Miraculous Widget 'cause I already have one. But that is exactly what happens every time I buy something from Amazon. I can't count the times Amazon has tried to sell me another whisk attachment for my Kitchenaid Mixer. It depends on what they are using to do the targeting. Looking at my emails? forget about it.Seeing where I am browsing - if they asked , okay. If they look at my cookies without asking - forget about it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 The Ghostery with the mostery? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Shouldn't that be "Temmu, Inc." Or are you a tattoo artist? If the latter, that would be a cool name for your shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunrat Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 I've used Ghostery for ages, and Adblock Plus. So I guess they can target me with ads I will never see! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 I've used Ghostery for ages, and Adblock Plus. So I guess they can target me with ads I will never see! Here's an ad for you... http://www.squidoo.com/caring-for-hairless-rats 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunrat Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 Here's an ad for you... http://www.squidoo.c...r-hairless-rats Uncle Harry! they almost never bite -that's reassuring. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Woods Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 For the life of me, I can't understand this great fear of targeted advertising. I hate span but mainly because it isn't targeted. You get ads upon ads about things that don't interest you in the least. If all I got were ads about things that did interest me, I'd be a whole lot happier. The only real problem with targeted ads, IMHO, is that they so often MISS the target. If I just bought a Miraculous Widget, I don't want to get ads trying to sell me a Miraculous Widget 'cause I already have one. But that is exactly what happens every time I buy something from Amazon. I can't count the times Amazon has tried to sell me another whisk attachment for my Kitchenaid Mixer. I bet that you watch all of the commercials on TV and ignore the programming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Woods Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 I added a bunch of extensions blocking Google's stuff. My Yahoo Mail was not even working until I did that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Temmu, Easily fixed... and slightly enhanced. Copy to your server, if you want to use it. Enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crp Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 going into Ghostery a bit, and there is an option page where you can adjust the filters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 The problem is not the ability to adjust it but what Ghostery does with the results it collects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crp Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 (edited) The problem is not the ability to adjust it but what Ghostery does with the results it collects. i don't understand the problem. Here is the paragraph from Term of Use: GHOSTRANK Ghostery users can opt-in to be on a volunteer panel called “GhostRank”. The only way to be in GhostRank is to affirmatively opt-in as part of the Ghostery download process, or by selecting to participate via Ghostery’s options page. When you opt-in to be on GhostRank, you allow Ghostery to find and catalogue any trackers that may appear as your browser traverses the Internet. Ghostery collects and sends the following anonymous information to Evidon each time a tracker is encountered: the tracker identified by Ghostery, the blocking status of the tracker, domains identified as serving trackers, the time it takes for the page and the tracker to load, the tracker’s position on the page, and the browser in which Ghostery has been installed. The information we gather is about tracking elements only (we find out and inform you who is tracking you on the Internet), and is never about individuals who encountered those trackers. We don’t collect any data that can be used to target advertising or identify our users who participate in GhostRank, nor do we target our GhostRank panel members for advertising. The data we collect helps us to bolster and improve the Ghostery service by expanding our code library to reveal more tracking information to our user, to increase our tracker intelligence, and to improve our products and solutions for businesses. Users can change their participation in GhostRank at any time. Why is this malicious? Opt-In and it gathers data, don't Opt-In and it doesn't.It is not like they act as G :runaway: gle does Edited July 17, 2013 by crp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 Why is this malicious? Opt-In and it gathers data, don't Opt-In and it doesn't. Do you honestly think that an advertising company would respect an opt-out (including Google)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross549 Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Do you honestly think that an advertising company would respect an opt-out (including Google)? Playing Devil's Advocate here..... Just because many have not, it does not necessarily mean that others will not. Adam 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crp Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Do you honestly think that an advertising company would respect an opt-out (including Google)? When it comes to a Term of Use such as this, where it is a company without "limitless" pockets , yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redmaledeer Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 To LilBambi: Thanks for mentioning Abine's DoNotTrackMe. I've installed it and prefer it to Ghostery, and not just for security reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 I did too; I tried out Ghostery as well, but overall I prefer Abine's DoNotTrackMe. Happy you enjoyed it too! And not just for security reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 I never tried Ghostery, but thanks to Fran, I've been running Abine DoNotTrackMe for a while now. I've got 9 Platinum Medals = 225,000 blocked sites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crp Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 What do you prefer about DoNotTrackMe over Ghostery , operationally ? What about the MaskMe ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gus K Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 I don't think it's fair to call Ghostery ' Malicious'. Evidon/Ghostery has always been up-front with how they work and what pays the bills. From their FAQ. http://www.ghostery.com/faq#q16 http://purplebox.ghostery.com/?p=1016022414 Not really a big deal. I did quit using it with Chrome cuz it was slowing things down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 It's not a preference thing for me. It's just that DoNotTrackMe was the first (and only) extension of this type that I've ever used. It worked, so I keep using it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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