Wednesday 30 November 2016

Browser issues.

For years I was a Firefox man. But something occurred a few years ago and it became very clunky, and frankly just a tad weird.
Now I've found this to occur with all other browsers after a while. Opera was good for a while there, but it went off the wall. Then awhile back I moved to Googles Chrome and that seemed to do the job adequately.
Then a few weeks back I noticed that my Facebook Ad feed was showing me content that wasn't dealt with on Facebook leading me to wonder if Chrome was aiding Facebook to target my general searches.
Now I'm well aware that facebook uses their algorithms to target Ad's to those using it, and I'm generally fine with that. Where I'm not fine is with them blundering through my system with the goal of selling me to some local business. 

12 comments:

  1. Yah, I find that whole ad thing on Facebook rather creepy. I don't like having searched for something online (shopping) only to find that exact item in my Facebook ads minutes, even seconds later. Granted, it's the price we pay for the ease of all our online activities, but it's a reminder that nothing is really all that secure.
    I've never been all that picky about browsers and have just used what's installed on the computer when I get it. I have found that IE (my usual PC browser at school) has gotten finicky recently, not opening a lot of items - telling me the site is unavailable. Chrome opens them fine. I'm a bit leery about Google though. Due to blogger, it wants to log me in all the time and I know that they'd like to track my every move. Not that I'm doing anything nefarious, but I still don't like the idea of them using user activity and keeping it. Personally, I think Facebook is the devil and we'd all be better off without it...easier said than done though. :)

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  2. I briefly used Firefox until I discovered Chrome and have been using it ever since. I have found myself using Chromes incognito mode if I'm searching for big ticket items because I'm convinced that some sites track you and jack up prices the more time you come back. Mostly I do this for plane tickets.

    I guess I haven't noticed Facebook putting ads related to Google searches in my newsfeed but that is probably because I click the little carrot in the upper right and selected "I don't want to see this" many many times when I initially started Facebook. Since then, I rarely get ads anymore. Doesn't mean they aren't doing it though and I'm sure they are.

    I try to live my internet life and teach my kids that everything you do on the internet should be treated as public information that anyone can see. That is partly why I mostly remain anonymous on blogger and don't use my real name.

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  3. I have done what Ed has done--using Chrome and sometimes using the incognito way to avoid targeting. I have found searching for tickets that they do seem to get more expensive even when you are still way out. I have even searched on a different machine and network to get back to an original price. I am fearful how much THEY know about me :).

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  4. Oh no! Ed is not really Ed????

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    1. Yeah, Ed is actually somebody else in real life but everything he writes and portrays online via blogger is the same as the real life person.

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    2. That's a relief . . . Ed!

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  5. When using a PC, I always preferred IE. I tried Chrome, but it ended up causing me all sorts of problems. Now I'm an Apple fan-girl, so it's a moot point. :) As far as security, I've had different tech people tell me different things. One finally said it's really just a matter of preference.

    In reality, we all just need to use a bit of common sense and awareness in order to stay safe. For that matter, nothing's truly safe, so again - we just have to stay aware. Whether we like it or now, Big Brother IS watching.

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  6. My issue is that while I knew nasty little pop-up's can squat on the system and do a number on it pushing their message out without the owner realising that's going on. What I hadn't realized was that reputable single service operators traded between themselves.
    And as I said I don't mind Facebook tracking what I publish on Facebook. Nor do I care too much that cookies track on a search engine. You can either not write it on the former, or like mentioned above clear the history, or go incognito on the latter.
    What's getting to me is it was occurring without my knowing, nevermind my permission.
    Now though Firefox is actively addressing this issue. You don't need to go full bore incognito, or have Adblocking enabled, or both, to have a browser built for my protection not just to make money off me.

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  7. Maybe it's not a good thing, but I think I've just grown complacent about how much is tailored to me via the info they're picking up from my browsing history. I hate deleting cookies since I hate having to re-log into places I go daily (and it's not like I'm on a public network). I'm not a FB user, but I do get tired of Twitter trying to tell me who I want/need to follow. And I was surprised to see the ad that came up before a YouTube clip played was for a car dealership in my area.

    I have a feeling there are far more things going on without our knowledge than we'd ever be comfortable with. I can either be paranoid or just not think about it. For now, I prefer the latter.

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  8. Yeah, I think so too re. the going's on. But I see little reason to help them. :-)

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  9. I use Google News for a quick read of the daily headlines. Lately I've noticed that they're feeding me stories based on my other web browsing. So since I "googled" Stevie Wonder recently, now there's a story about Stevie Wonder in my news feed everyday. Good grief.

    And the targeted ads on Facebook can be ridiculous, since most of the time they're for things I bought and therefore no longer need. I bought some underwear on line recently. Thanks to that I had pictures of men in underwear waiting for me every time I visited Facebook!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, that's exactly what I'm talking about. I've moved to Firefox precisely because it attempts to prevent that cross pollination, using my property to sell things to me.

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