How does amazon.com know what i watch/do on my computer?

[imaheadcase]

So i ripped my old dvds to hardrive so i can take them with me to watch on trips. I got a copy of the old movie from 70s called Slapshot. I have not been to amazon.com in ages..so i go to website to look for something for trip and the "suggestions" show up as this..

Also, the move In Time..i just watched it also..from a rip on home server. Also the music suggestions..i got one song from each of those albums.

None of it was from amazon.com or other services they would know about.

The only common thing with them is i use VLC. But all the privacy stuff is turned off with it.

How the heck can it know about a movie i just ripped to computer and have not even watched yet? It says i get info from "browsing history" but..

 

[wirednuts]

sometimes i wonder if corporations have a vnc program they use to watch us. probably hire illegal aliens to sit there and customize amazons web page for whatever that person is doing

 

[Binky]

There's somebody hiding in your closet sending secret messages to amazon.

Or, tracking cookies.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I looked up a PCI 8400GS card on Amazon.com once, for someone here on the forum, and now, on a different computer (my HTPC), when I'm browsing the forum, sometimes I see an Amazon.com ad for that exact product. Kind of annoying.

 

[Red Squirrel]

It's scary what corporations know about us. Google is probably the worse for this. How does google know that I rented a jackhammer at home depot, or went to Canadian tire and looked for a thermal imager and did not buy it because the price was a little more than I expected? It's actually kinda creepy what they know about us.