Browser ads can read your Windows username in Waterfox???

[VirtualLarry]

I'm deeply disturbed by this.

I just set up a new PC for my mom. I chose a Windows username of "Mom".

So the first thing I do is install a Belkin N150 USB2.0 wifi, then I downloaded Waterfox using IE, then I used Waterfox to download the mobo drivers, then I downloaded the newest Intel IGP drivers, then I installed Adobe Flash Player, then I went to speedtest.net to test the wifi / internet.

It was filled with "Mom-related ads". Vacuum cleaners, and some video ads that explicitly had "mom" in them.

I had no idea that web browsers would leak your Windows username to advertisers.

 

[Dude111]

Yup all the newer ones do Im sure........ Ya gotta be careful what ya install........ (If ya really want privacy)

 

[Binky]

Well...I have never seen "Mike" targeted ads anywhere when using chrome. So it's either a waterfox thing, or coincidence, or you did some other search for "mom."

 

[VirtualLarry]

Well...I have never seen "Mike" targeted ads anywhere when using chrome. So it's either a waterfox thing
maybe
, or coincidence,
no way, way too obvious
or you did some other search for "mom."
nope

It was clearly a correlation.

 

[Zodiark1593]

Aside from the usual tech related stuff, and occasional Visa Black ads, nothing at all related to Bigfoot. Not even ads for larger shoes (what I can actually use btw).

 

[Brian Stirling]

Online privacy is nonexistent and more and more software and hardware providers are getting into the game of spying on us. This is getting worse and worse and still the regulators are keeping quiet. OTH, the ever more blatant and abusive mature of this spying may eventually get to the point where regulators have to do something.

The thing is, while you would expect government regulators to be putting the screws to this practice they are also being pushed by the intelligence and police forces to get access to even more private data on all of us and thus far our regulators have come down on the side of the intelligence agencies 100% of the time.

We are probably very near the point in time where we either have to roll back these spying activities or accept that we will never know privacy again.

While the activities here are mostly commercial/business driven by private enterprise there is an increasing reliance on this same data by our intelligence agencies so what have is a kind of mutually parasitic relationship between business and governments.


Brian