Posted on 01/24/2012 3:05:35 PM PST by Freedom56v2
If you look at the gmail URL, it's "mail.google.com". So the cookies that gmail sets are visible to google.com. It also knows the IP address you logged in from. This allows it to connect what you search for on google with your gmail user ID.
No human person (in theory) reads your emails, but software parses your emails for words and phrases that can be used to tailor ads to you.
All this is very confusing to me. So if I use Firefox to access Free Republic and then open Explorer in a totally separate window outside of Firefox, Firefox would know I used Explorer to access the web site GardeningWeb in Explorer and Explorer would know I have Free Republic running on Fire fox?
Good question!
Wouldn’t a dynamic IP address ameliorate some of their tracking—after deleting cookies of course...
Firefox stores all it knows about you in your profile. Your profile is the directory under which Firefox stores all it knows about you your preferences, your saved passwords, your cookies, your browsing history, cache, your set of installed add-ons, etc. Delete your profile, and Firefox will be forced to start its relationship with you over from scratch.
Each user on a given computer has one Firefox profile, and that's usually that. However, it's possible to set up multiple profiles for one user. Normally, that's only useful if you're doing development, e.g., debugging an add-on or something. However, since the profiles are completely separate, having multiple ones could also be useful to prevent information leakage, such as we are discussing. It has the same effect as using different browsers without requiring you to use a different browser.
You can learn how to set up multiple profiles here.
But doesn’t Google own YouTube?
Hadn’t seen that one.
The one I read was here:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2376023,00.asp
Can’t post the article under FR rules.
Always looking for more ways to inundate you with advertising.
Interesting! Thanks.
Thanks for posting. Sure it will be interesting.
It’s not the advertising that is worrisome. It is the tracking.
All your gmail emails are parsed by computer. Send a friend an email with say the word China in it. You’ll probably see a targeted ad about trips to China in the sidebar very soon after. It’s the same for Yahoo and I expect hotmail/windows live also.
If you want privacy, the best bet is get your own domain or there is always hushmail.com.
With a response like that you clearly dont understand the scope of this.
How so?
We need more competitors.
China’s Alibaba hires US lobbying firm as it eyes buying Yahoo!
No, Firefox has no idea what Internet Explorer is doing and vice versa, unless you ask one of them to import cookies or other stuff from the other.
But all windows of Firefox know what the other windows of Firefox are doing, and all windows of Internet Explorer know what the other windows of Internet Explorer are doing.
That too.
Another advantage is that you can run it from a thumb drive and take your bookmarks and settings to another computer.
thanks!
Thanks! I'd heard of that in connection with thumb drives, but I'd never actually looked at it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.