Advertising Choices spyware?

[Deleted User]

Just wondering - earlier this afternoon I posted about family history research in this forum (Marriage and Relationships thread). I now go onto the Guardian website and - low and behold - there are advertisements for family history software (I think provided by Taboola). Is this just coincidence, or do these companies carry out some sort of deep trawl of files on your computer when you access certain websites?

Neil_Jones

Tracking cookies can be seen by the various web pages and the ad servers and the idea is to present more relevant ads to you. So if you post somewhere asking about vacuum cleaners, another site may be able to pick that up and show you adverts for a Henry.

forgotmyname

Block Taboola. Anyone that doesnt have it blocked needs to.

Just useless click bait...

Sent every member of a forum i use links to block taboola. Think the admins took the hint eventually.

Adverts yes fine, sites need to cover running costs. Just not Taboola or similar click bait junk.

Neil_Jones

Taboola is rumoured to pay to get round the Ad Blocking software, or at least that was the case with AdBlock. It took a bit longer for them to get round uBlock Origin but Taboola is so tenacious and essentially cryptic to get its content shown on screen its quite scary.

Croft12

Neil_Jones wrote: »

Taboola is rumoured to pay to get round the Ad Blocking software, or at least that was the case with AdBlock. It took a bit longer for them to get round uBlock Origin but Taboola is so tenacious and essentially cryptic to get its content shown on screen its quite scary.

Depending on what/how its being served: Privacy mode blocks access to cookies generally, otherwise noscript and the like can block domains. But really you need to block ads and thats not foolproof but various browser plugins do a decent job + Internet suits often include blockers and ultimately some VPNs block some as well. A combination of the above is usually pretty foolproof.

Farway

Change to Brave browser, has built in ad & tracker blocks


Mine curreently tells me it has blocked 2,400 trackers & 11,700 ads

AnotherJoe

johnsmith1890 wrote: »

Just wondering - earlier this afternoon I posted about family history research in this forum (Marriage and Relationships thread). I now go onto the Guardian website and - low and behold - there are advertisements for family history software (I think provided by Taboola). Is this just coincidence, or do these companies carry out some sort of deep trawl of files on your computer when you access certain websites?

No, they look at cookies of where you've visited including adverts, plus many ads share links with a common site like doubleclick or is it adclick, anyway that family relationship website will tell doubleclick you were on its website, then when you go to the guardian's ad servicing software that will look at doubleclick and see you've visited a genealogy website and serve you up a genealogy ad instead of say one on hemorrhoid creams.

[Deleted User]

Thanks for all the recommendations. I'll look into different browsers, and I'm also intending to get a VPN connection. What concerns me about this one is that the advert appeared after I'd been typing relevant stuff on this forum. It's almost as if some of this adware has a keystroke logger, or is able to examine files other than cookies on your computer.

Croft12

johnsmith1890 wrote: »

Thanks for all the recommendations. I'll look into different browsers, and I'm also intending to get a VPN connection. What concerns me about this one is that the advert appeared after I'd been typing relevant stuff on this forum. It's almost as if some of this adware has a keystroke logger, or is able to examine files other than cookies on your computer.

As anotherJoe says its cookies.


For browser blocks have a look at:

• uBlock Origin
• CanvasBlocker
• Privacy Badger
• NoScript
• Adblock

There are others but find one you like:


On VPNs generally for decent blocking you need a pay VPN. Opera has a free VPN but its not as good as the best for ads. But you can deal with ads on browser a VPN is a good thing anyway even without a blocker. (The advantage at the vpn level is that you can cover multiple devices at once)

[Deleted User]

Thanks again. VPN - I'm looking at, and comparing, NordVPN and AzireVPN. I'm leaning towards Azire, but they operate in fewer countries than Nord, so that might be a disadvantage.

[Deleted User]

Farway wrote: »

Change to Brave browser, has built in ad & tracker blocks


Mine curreently tells me it has blocked 2,400 trackers & 11,700 ads

Have you not been using it long?

My AdGuard extension on Chrome is currently on 261,000 blocked ads