Ever simply visit a site, then get an email from them?

[edro]

I have noticed that when I visit a site that I haven't visited in a while, I will sometimes get an email from them shortly after.

It's as if they say "Oh, since you were here...take a look at this spam."

Those damn cookies are smarter than I thought.

 

[Rakehellion]

So unsubscribe.

 

[Jeff7]

Ghostery.
Adblock.
CookieCuller. I have some cookies set to be preserved. All others get wiped when Firefox restarts.
BetterPrivacy: Handles Flash cookies that get buried deep in Firefox.



I completely disabled Adblock and Ghostery on the forums here for a peek. Good god. >30 trackers, cookies, beacons, analytics, whatever. And slow, too.

RIP subscriber.anandtech.com. :\

 

[NoTine42]

Ever talk about something, not a phone call, not a Google search, and then see a Facebook ad for it?

 

[boomerang]

I get those from Newegg.

 

[RossMAN]

RIP subscriber.anandtech.com. :\

:thumbsup:

Those were the days http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=641805

LOL while Googling for that URL I ran into this gem, fun times.

 

[richardycc]

Walmart.com does that.

 

[Homerboy]

RIP subscriber.anandtech.com. :\

OMG totally forgot about that. Was the best thing ever.

 

[Ichinisan]

Never.

 

[Crusty]

Some common eCommerce plugins will send automated coupons if you leave an item in your cart for X number of days....

 

[Red Squirrel]

What freaks me out is the fact that they even can do this at all. It means that browsers have code paths allowing for sites to read your computer such as your email client configuration to get your email address. Why the hell do browsers allow such code to execute? Browsers should not allow code to do stuff that falls outside of the browser's file system (ex: the profile). In fact browses should be chrooted by default, or some kind of equivalent in windows.

The one that gets me is every time I order something, I get one of those fake UPS virus emails. How the hell do they know I ordered something?

Or search for something on a retail site, and get ads on it on FB or other sites if you happen to use a browser without adblock... even if not on the same computer! WTF?

The amount of spying that goes on is ridiculous. I really need to look deeper into how they do this so I can block it, preferably at the network level.

 

[edro]

No, I don't think they search your browser for your email address.
I think they tag your computer with a cookie when you log in or sign up.
They can then see that same cookie when you visit later and know its you.

 

[Imp]

Are you logged into Facebook or Twitter? That doesn't explain how they got your email though unless your email is public on your profile, but that is some slightly complicated data mining.

 

[Jeff7]

What freaks me out is the fact that they even can do this at all. It means that browsers have code paths allowing for sites to read your computer such as your email client configuration to get your email address. Why the hell do browsers allow such code to execute? Browsers should not allow code to do stuff that falls outside of the browser's file system (ex: the profile). In fact browses should be chrooted by default, or some kind of equivalent in windows.

The one that gets me is every time I order something, I get one of those fake UPS virus emails. How the hell do they know I ordered something?

Or search for something on a retail site, and get ads on it on FB or other sites if you happen to use a browser without adblock... even if not on the same computer! WTF?

The amount of spying that goes on is ridiculous. I really need to look deeper into how they do this so I can block it, preferably at the network level.

It could just be using cookies from elsewhere which are associated in some way with that email address.
Or it could just be confirmation bias.


I just pulled back the Adblock and Ghostery curtain briefly and refreshed the Off Topic page.
Ghostery saw 41 things:

ADTECH
Amazon Associates
AppNexus
Atlas
BlueKai
BrightRoll
Chango
Connexity
Cross Pixel Media
Datalogix
DataXu
DoubleClick
DoubleVerify
Flashtalking
Ghostery Privacy Notice [wat]
Google Adsense
Google Analytics
Google Tag Manager
Index Exchange (Formerly Casale Media)
Lotame
Media Optimizer (Adobe)
Moat
Omniture (Adobe Analytics)
OpenX
PageFair
PubMatic
PulsePoint
Purch
Qualtrics
RadiumOne
ScoreCard Research Beacon
Simpli.fi
SkimLinks
Sonobi
Tribal Fusion
Tribal Fusion Notice
TRUSTe Notice
TubeMogul
Videology
Yahoo Analytics
Yieldbot


Google/DoubleClick, Amazon, Yahoo, Adobe....
Google and Amazon are on a lot of sites. Their servers know a lot about you.

 

[master_shake_]

Ever talk about something, not a phone call, not a Google search, and then see a Facebook ad for it?

no fucking way!

really?

 

[Red Squirrel]

So is it possible for a site to read a cookie from another site or for a site to scan data that's in another tab? That's the only way I can think that this tracking could be possible.

If that's the case, as a programmer, what is the best way of storing session/login details in cookies? I've always coded with the assumption that browsers will never give cookies to another domain than the one the cookie was created as.

 

[TheGardener]

Big Data knows what you had for dinner.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Ever talk about something, not a phone call, not a Google search, and then see a Facebook ad for it?

Close. I rented a jackhammer at Home Depot once. Went home, used it, brought it back. For a couple weeks after I kept seeing ads for tool rental places on every site I went on. I don't know why I did not have adblocker turned on... but sometimes it can be interesting to turn it off just to get an idea of how much spying happens in the background.

Had similar stuff happen with other purchases. My guess is that these ad networks somehow have access to a list of my CC transactions and have it linked to my IP. Probably from using the same CC online. So if they see an entry for "The Home Depot store #nnn - tool rental" then they will show either hardware store ads or tool rental ads.

 

[K7SN]

Walmart.com does that.

Walmart and many others are in cahoots with Goggle. I searched RZR for prices to post earlier today and now I'm getting their adds if I go search something. Damn data mining if they get your IP your see there cap everywhere. I guess it is what it is; the 21st century.

 

[Jeff7]

So is it possible for a site to read a cookie from another site or for a site to scan data that's in another tab? That's the only way I can think that this tracking could be possible.

If that's the case, as a programmer, what is the best way of storing session/login details in cookies? I've always coded with the assumption that browsers will never give cookies to another domain than the one the cookie was created as.

I'm not sure that they're doing that.
But some of these dataminers are found nearly everywhere you go online.

 

[Cerb]

Never.

That.

 

[DigDog]

:thumbsup:

Those were the days http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=641805

LOL while Googling for that URL I ran into this gem, fun times.

barely a year ago.

also, epic thread.

 

[RossMAN]

barely a year ago.

also, epic thread.

This thread was even more epic, so glad I was on vacation for a few years when that happened.

 

[purbeast0]

next time you don't want that, don't make an account on the site and give them your email address prior.

 

[John Connor]

They would have never E-mailed you in the first place if you didn't give them your E-mail.