Who is watching you on line

[BigonaBianchi]

Imagine a few hours of web surfing:

You go to cyclechat, wiggle, BBc news, aljazheera, a cooking site, check out th e football, accidently visit a porno site, lookat the weather, read about an illness you suffer from, order your online shopping, but some tickets, post up on facebook, twitter,sign a petition or two, accidently stumble back over that porno site, learn about serviceing a car, and join the local neo nazi party, wathc you tube videos and downlown some itunes etc.



What have all those have in common? All this time, Google was there, following you from site to site, page to page.
It knows every pages you visited on all those sites, when you did and where you were.
It can ties all you do on the internet with your particular IP, not too mention over 50 'parametrics' that are like a digital fingerprint of info collected about your hardware, software, OS etc...

It knows what threads you've read it knows you have read news at Al Jazeera, knows you might have a problem with cooking, knows what music and videos you've been watching/listening to.

Even if you were disconnected from your Google account, or even if you don't have a Google account.
Google has known about your personal surfing habits for months, for years.
This is not speculation, it's reality.

how is this possible?
It is possible with the 'help' of Google Webmaster Tools that 86% of all sites use, tools like Google Analytics, Google+1, Google AdSense...

The Google search engine is now only a minor problem to your privacy.
After all, you can use other search engines that respect your privacy, like DuckDuckGo or Ixquick.
Google knows about you even when you're not online.
Why is Google the most performing when it comes to on-line publicity?
Easy; it's because it has the biggest database about millions of people's preferences, tastes and surfing habit.

And Google is there to make money.
With you, of course.
YOU are the product that Google is selling.


That Google is out to make money is not evil in itself.
But that it gathers so much personal info without consent is unacceptable.


Google Analytics privacy information, for example:
Quote:
Privacy Information
Privacy Policy:
http://www.google.com/intl/en/analytics/privacyoverview.html

Data Collected:
Anonymous (ad serving domains, browser type, demographics, language settings, page views, time/date), Pseudonymous (IP address)


Data Sharing:
Anonymous data is shared with third parties.


Data Retention:
Undisclosed

.....I picked this up from a music site I visit...it may be public knowledge but I wasnt aware there were other search engines with more favourable privacy policies out there to choose instead of google. I have nothing against google persee...just thought that if I didnt know, then others may not either, so thought I'd share..

Anyway..I no longer google, I duck duck go

 

[snorri]

After all, you can use other search engines that respect your privacy, like DuckDuckGo or Ixquick.
Anyway..I no longer google, I duck duck go

Yebbut, Google info goes to the CIA in the USA, whereas DuckDuckGo and Ixquick are monitored 24/7 at my local police station, and my neighbour works there.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

does your neighbour have leylandi?

 

[MontyVeda]

Kinda defeats the object of me never installing Google spyware Chrome.

one can opt out though...

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

So, what is the best then?? I currently use Firefox, but I know very little about it all.

 

[MontyVeda]

I'm sure most/all of the major browsers will be 'watching' and 'sharing' user trends... but as BB pointed out, if the website you visit is using Google tools or adsense, then they'll get the info regardless of your browser... you could use a proxy server so 'they' cannot track your IP, but if 'they' really wanted to know, I'm sure 'they' could find out.

 

[gaz]

I doubt they take information from analytics used on other sites to track where you go.

 

[Jezston]

I didn't think any of this information they gather could be tied to you personally?

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

I wonder if they just saw a spike in people hating Leylandiis?

 

[PBancroft]

I didn't think any of this information they gather could be tied to you personally?

They can but there is a distinction between ability and desire to actually do so. The data is largely used in a much more generalised sense, tailoring search results, targeted advertising, that kind of thing. That generalised data is also sold on to other companies who have an interest in what is considered "popular" by certain groups in the marketplace.

Google isn't alone in doing this by the way. Microsoft do too, as do Facebook, Twitter, and numerous other online service providers. You are the product, not the customer. Most of the bigger companies are relatively upfront about doing it.

Its also not always all that accurate. There is a Google Dashboard which attempts to guess my age based upon my activity - they're off by about 15 years.

 

[dalewheeler]

Maybe I've missed the point here (not unusual).
Say as an example that every June my email provider sees me logging on from abroad, and that my electric supplier sees that the electric usage in June is really small. Chances are then that I might take holidays in June, and that the house is empty for a while. Not a good thing to advertise.
While not easy, I'm aware that this is 100% possible given the right insider information etc, however i'm not THAT worried about doing anything about it. Should I be? probably. Will I be? probably not.
Everyone has their own 'line' at which they start to think about such things and act on them. At least the OP has alerted us all a little bit (well done), and our individual 'lines' might just change a fraction from now on...

 

[snailracer]

Now I thought it was actually quite difficult to be identified by your IP address, seeing as IP addresses are continuously reassigned, unless your ISP was deliberately collaborating with Google/whoever but AFAIK they don't.
If that's the case, then using "private" browsing mode in FF or occasionally deleting cookies would prevent persistent tracking, no?

 

[ASC1951]

If that's the case, then using "private" browsing mode in FF or occasionally deleting cookies would prevent persistent tracking, no?

No, I don't think so. Incognito mode simply stops your PC from keeping a record of where you have been; it does nothing to stop those destinations from keeping a record of your visit.

 

[ColinJ]

Now I thought it was actually quite difficult to be identified by your IP address, seeing as IP addresses are continuously reassigned, unless your ISP was deliberately collaborating with Google/whoever but AFAIK they don't.
If that's the case, then using "private" browsing mode in FF or occasionally deleting cookies would prevent persistent tracking, no?

I used to have a fixed IP address but since changing to TalkTalk, I think am now getting a different one each time I reboot my router. Which reminds me, I want a fixed address back so I can tell various bits of website tracking software I use to ignore my visits. TalkTalk will provide that on a business account if you ask for it.

 

[zizou]

Accidentally visit a porn site? A likely story