Cursed Cookies

[CharlotteCD]

I just walked into the office to see my wife's laptop open, internet page on display, and a HUGE display ad for Long Tall Sally, the clothing shop for taller and larger women.

Now, given that my wife is tech savvy, she will know how and why an ad will display. She'll also know it's not been her activity, but has come from within our house/IP address.

I have to say, it's caught me by surprise as I generally dont see ads going across both devices AND Google accounts.

[Karren H]

I use Firefox in private mode. And duck duck goose so there?s no cookies and no Google! Plus Karren has her own laptop and tablet and cell phone.

[Sandi Beech]

Who do you use for your ISP? One thing I know is that Comcast DHCP addresses almost never change. So your public IP can definitely be tracked even if your browse on another computer.

I had a new company computer- never even used by me. It pulled up MSN in the edge browser and I saw an add for the exact womens underwear I had been looking at recently - on my new work computer ! This really annoys me so I am taking my phone off the wifi when I am shopping. I also use duck duck and clear everything every time I shop and that still did not stop the ads when I used my Comcast internet via my wifi.

At least my phone IP will not be tied to my Comcast home network when off the wifi.


Sandi

[docrobbysherry]

I only use my phone for calls and texting. I'm not smart enuff to even understand all the consequences of connecting to the web on it.:sad:

Much less how to avoid something bad happening!:doh:

[Stephanie47]

My wife and I are in a deep DADT marriage. Nothing said since the mid-1980's. I use Firefox. Where there is a way, the advertisers will find a way around it. I've given up and have made the assumption my wife see the same advertisements I see. I get emails on hotmail and gmail. If JCPenny,, Macy's, whoever sends an email based on prior buys and searches, I'm expecting some sort of followup. I noticed, until I turned it off, the alert function for hotmail emails, co-mingled our separate accounts. My wife and I are at a stage in life that she really does not care. If she hasn't figured out where my mind runs in relation to her by now, it would be a hopeless case. She does not troll me or run "search and destroy missions." Perhaps, one difference between me and some others is I do not try to rub my cross dressing in my wife's face.

[1Ladyjade]

I use Chrome in incognito mode. God forbid you forget to go incognito one time because all of the sudden your Facebook feed is full of ads for the greatest pantyhose ever made. Go get on YouTube and wife and I watch a few different channels together the ads that pop up there will all be female product leaning ads. And we are in a DADT situation also.

[Pumped]

My work laptop somehow connected with my personal laptop. I never did anything personal on my work laptop and adds started popping up on my work computer that were things I looked at on my personal computer.

The only explanation I can come up with it they were both signed in on the same network often, home and motels and the tracking that gets done in the back ground connected them. Someone here that is more tech savvy will know how it happens.

I can't help but think if someone at my old job is still using that computer they must wonder!

- - - Updated - - -


I use Chrome in incognito mode.

Incognito mode does not block you activity from you ISP and probably not from your own router. If you SO is techy she can figure out where you have been!

It will block cookies and your information from getting to the sites you have been on.

[kimdl93]

Yep, already good advice on avoiding unwanted ads, so I wont repeat it. I haven't had to share a computer for years now so I have grown accustomed to generating lots of ads for women's wear.

[Pumped]

Charlotte, she knows you CD correct. I thought you were DADT?

Is she so inflexible that you can not even shop? Absolutely no leeway?

I fail to understand some of these DADT relationships. She knows, doesn't like it, but doesn't flat out forbid it. You do your best to keep it away from her but as far as I am concerned, it is impossible for two people to share a home and not see something of her husband's CD'ing.

I am sorry, but she seems a bit toxic to me.

[Fiona_44]

Always use your browser in "private" mode, use Duck Duck Go for searching and install a good tracker blocker such as uBlock Origin.

[ziggie]

There are times when I am really glad that 1) my wife knows about my dressing, 2) we each have our own computers and internet accounts (mostly) and 3) I am retired so I don't need to worry about a work laptop. This is one of those times.

[Debs]

Charlotte, youve not told us you status between you and your wife, does it matter ?, does she accept your dressing, does she know you dress ?. My wife can see all the cookies she wants, for one she lets me dress, and for two its my money Im spending. So I supose it depends if your cookies matter or not depending on the status of your relationship.

[DianeT]

Like Sandi said. You are tracked (among many other things) by your NAT IP (the single IP that identifies you from the outside and that every site you connect to is seeing. Try opening this from different computers or smartphones in your household: https://www.whatsmyip.org/). Advertisers can in theory differentiate between people in the same household (same NAT IP) using fingerprinting techniques, for instance using the wealth of data that your browser discloses about your particular computer (browser type and version, OS type and version, language, time zone, installed fonts, etc. This works for smartphones too BTW). And of course the sites you are currently browsing, which may be linked via data collected by the same advertising agency. You wouldn't believe how fingerprinting can tell you apart in a crowd of one million (try this for yourself: https://www.amiunique.org/).
If you think you will hide yourself using your browser's private navigation mode, think again.

[Christie ann]

I only take pictures with a stand alone non wireless camera. There was just that one time I took a picture with a phone, late at night and it automatically shared across so many devices. Quick deleting seems to have done the trick as I never heard anything from anybody.

[AngelaYVR]

The web has been around for over a quarter of a century now and it still amazes me that so many people do not use any of the abundantly available browser add-ons like ad and javascript blockers.

[Heather76]

Every time I turn on my computer and every site I go to are the only times I see ads related to women's lingerie. Yeah, it's all the time; but, I really don't care. My wife uses a Chrome Book. Do these ads appear on her laptop? I've no idea and don't care as there isn't a thing I can do about it. She's never said a thing if she does get them. Deleting cookies doesn't do a thing to stop the ads and I'm not tech savy enough to know what else can be done.

[JulieC]

Like Karen and Fiona, I use Firefox in private mode, and duck duck go to search. I never have problems. Chrome is effectively spyware (and has been called as much by various outlets), even in incognito mode. If you want to be private, stop using Chrome.

[CharlotteCD]

Charlotte, she knows you CD correct. I thought you were DADT?

Is she so inflexible that you can not even shop? Absolutely no leeway?

I fail to understand some of these DADT relationships. She knows, doesn't like it, but doesn't flat out forbid it. You do your best to keep it away from her but as far as I am concerned, it is impossible for two people to share a home and not see something of her husband's CD'ing.

I am sorry, but she seems a bit toxic to me.

She wants to act as if it doesn't happen, and whilst she doesn't forbid me from dressing or shopping, I know that in her mind she thinks that being trans and crossdressing are just addictions to clothing that you can stop.

Due to that mindset, if she sees that I have been shopping, she will be annoyed that I am spending money on clothes when I could be spending money on our house etc.

[Pumped]

Kind of a weird situation! "You can do it, but I don't want to see any evidence you are doing it or I will be angry!"

Sorry, but it is a bit twisted!

I would understand if you were forbidden and she finds evidence, but she knows. I don't understand her sleuthing and trying to find evidence of what you are doing. She doesn't want to know about it, but she spend time looking a the router history to see what you have been doing on the internet. I would gather that she doesn't trust you and she is checking up on you.

[CharlotteCD]

She isn't looking at my history or anything, you're misunderstanding. This is her, using her work computer to look at a website relating to her work, which has paid adverts based on your IP addresses search history.

It's not her looking for anything, it's the shops looking for her.

[kayegirl]

I have to agree with Angela. There are 5 devices in my household, all connecting to the internet via the one modem but not one of them receives ads, other than those that front some you tube content. Its all down to your settings.

[VS Fan]

The best protection is a VPN service (like NordVPN and others) where your internet traffic is routed through another server effectively changing your public IP address.

[alwayshave]

Charlotte, I also use a VPN and Firefox in private mode. Takes care of the tracking issues.

[Pumped]

She isn't looking at my history or anything, you're misunderstanding. This is her, using her work computer to look at a website relating to her work, which has paid adverts based on your IP addresses search history.

It's not her looking for anything, it's the shops looking for her.

Oh, sorry, I though she was snooping through the router history.

Safe mode will take care of that for you, and a VPN would not hurt either!

[ronny0]

I know this suggestion won't keep your ISP from tracking you, but it will keep most Windoz users from searching on your computer for your internet activities.
If you have a newer Computer / Laptop capable of a USB boot?
Run Linux on a USB stick? Some versions even allow persistence.....
Another option would be a live CD/DVD but you have no chance for persistence...
Or do a dual boot Linux & Windows. Put a user on the Linux install use it only for stuff that you want to keep pvt.
This link gives a lot of info on the USB option.... https://learnlinuxandlibreoffice.org/2-linux-to-the-rescue/2-3-create-a-usb-stick-with-persistent-storage
I just started playing with the USB aspect of Linux so I am NOT a expert. But it is one solution that leaves no trace on the host hardware.
Although your ISP can still track you unless you use a VPN etc.....
Years ago I discovered my ISP was targeting my network for ad's. I'd do a search for something then some time later on another computer a ad would pop up related to my old search.
I installed a FireFox add-on "Add-Block" on all Windoz & Linux browsers it removes most all pop up ad's

[Jane G]

Crums my devices are full of adverts for pretty dresses and shoes. DADT here and my wife never comments as to why.

[DianeT]

A lot of advising for VPN here, but you may want to ask yourself two questions:
- Do you know these companies so well that you trust them more with your browsing data than your well-established ISP?
- A lot of them offer very low rates for the service offered. Ever wonder how these are actually making money?

Google, for example, is often presented as the evil, but in reality they just sell ad targeting. And share little data about you to their customers, since said data is their golden hen. Of course you may not like the business model, but at least you know what it is.
What is the business model of your favorite VPN provider?
And your favorite Ad blocker's?

[Pumped]

I understand the concern of a ISP or VPN selling data, but do they sell "personal" data, or just we had "X" number of customers search for whatever.

IMO, it is darned hard to be on the internet and not have someone log you traffic. What they do with it is another thing. If the sell traffic numbers, fine, if the say Pumped went to this website and that website starts sending me adds in relation to my internet use, I would prefer to avoid that.

[DianeT]

A typical ad-targeting company like Google won't tell that Pumped likes to buy red cars. It will guarantee to companies selling red cars that their ads will be seen by Google users who love red cars, without the seller knowing who exactly. Google will then charge them fees when a user clicks one of these ads (or obviously sees the ad, for example before a Youtube video).

As for what your VPN provider does, that is generally open to conjectures. They pretend they keep your data private and don't sell any browsing information. There is a possibility that they stick to what they promise. There is a possibility that they don't. Regarding ISPs, some (like Orange in France) are known to have sold some of their customers' data. While it makes sense for a Google or Facebook providing services free of charge, it is quite shocking (at least to me) from a paid service provider.

[Cheryl T]

Change your setting for history and cookies and have them cleared each time you close the browser.
Also I use CCleaner and it clears the cookies and temp files and all that so those annoying things don't appear.

[Kelli_cd]

Having the browser delete cookies, etc., when you log out helps, but big tech already knows which sites you've visited.
The best thing is to use a VPN.