Have you ever been surfing the web and come upon Internet advertising that provides a direct solution for something that you've been researching lately? Did you think that it might be related to your computer cookies, or did you chalk it up to serendipity?
The fact is, it almost certainly wasn't a coincidence. Behavior-based Internet advertising is a relatively new and very powerful way for advertisers to get their message in front of potential buyers that they know to be qualified. The question is, how do they know that the surfer is qualified?
The advertisers know this because the Internet advertising network is tracking the surfers' online activity. With tracking, advertisers know what sites you like. They know what searches you make. They have profiled you, and, unlike in real life, profiling on the web is AOK -- so far.
Check Your Computer for Cookies
Before we get into the legal issues involved, perhaps a further definition of the technology is in order. Most (but not all) behavioral Internet advertising is based on computer "cookies." These computer cookies are tiny files that are placed on your machine when you visit certain websites. In the simplest form, you go to a web page. An advertiser has a blank spot, or placeholder, for a banner ad. But instead of serving up just any banner ad, the advertiser parses through your computer for cookies to discover your likes and dislikes, and then you are fed Internet advertising based on your online behavior.
For some people, this is no big deal. They like Internet advertising to be targeted toward them, and they don't mind computer cookies. For others, it's a little Orwellian and creepy. This leads us to the great debate.
Opt-in or Opt-out?
One big question to be resolved is whether ultimately this type of Internet advertising will be "opt-in" (meaning that a user has to sign up in order to receive targeted ads) or "opt-out" (meaning that a user will receive targeted ads unless they specifically ask not to).
It shouldn't surprise anyone to know which side the advertisers are on. If governmental regulators eventually require that all Internet advertising be "opt-in", the industry will be severely restricted. My guess is that it would relegate behavior-based Internet advertising to a fringe player in the online marketing world.
The privacy advocates, naturally, are on the other side of the fence. The vast majority of people assume that their online activity is not being tracked, they say. Why should they have to take a specific action in order to remove computer cookies and to not be tracked and profiled?
A Do Not Track List?
Recently, a group of nine consumer advocate groups proposed the idea of a "Do Not Track" list for Internet advertising, which would work in a similar fashion as the "Do Not Call" list works today. Naturally, this is an "Opt-out" scenario, but because of the attention that the formation of such a list would bring, it may be a suitable compromise between advertiser and advocate.
How to Prevent Being Tracked
It is fairly easy to prevent being tracked by advertisers. You simply prevent your machine from accepting computer cookies. Go to START, SETTINGS, CONTROL PANEL and click on INTERNET OPTIONS then the PRIVACY tab. (Note that these instructions assume you are working with a Windows XP system. The procedure will be similar, however, for other operating systems.) Slide the bar all the way to the top to where it says "Block All Cookies."
However, you should be aware that this change may limit your Internet experience. Some websites will not display properly (or at all) if you do not accept computer cookies. In my experience, at least one of the top five search engines will not work at all. Other engines have limited functionality when you block Internet advertising. Even if you do manage to turn off your computer cookies, don't rest easy just yet.
The Newest Technology
Recently, it was announced that a Silicon Valley startup named NebuAd has created a new technology that does not require computer cookies. Under the NebuAd model, the company teams up directly with service providers and installs equipment directly at their facilities that allows them to track the behavior of individuals on the web, even if their machine does not accept computer cookies. This, of course, requires Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to embrace the new technology; naturally, they are given a piece of the Internet advertising revenue that is generated. Whether or not any of the major players embrace this technology will probably depend largely on public outcry, or lack thereof. Of course, if this does become the newest behavioral targeting standard, we will return again to the question of "Opt-in" or "Opt-out."
Conclusion
The future of this approach to Internet advertising is unclear, and will depend largely on public education and reaction. Will people see value in receiving targeted ads, even if it means that somewhere there is an "anonymous" profile of them sitting on a server? Will they feel outraged and push for a total ban? It's hard to say.
Will this new approach be the death of the Internet as we know it? Probably not. But it should at least be interesting.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Whos Watching You?
Sunday, February 17, 2008
7 tips to Speed Up Your Computer
1) Emptying the Prefetch directory.
Right-click the Start menu -Explorer-clik on Windows directory-->click on prefetch directory and delete everything here.You may emptyng these folder anytime.
2) Emptying the Temp directory regularly.
After a short while, the temp directory filles up with hundreds of temp files that always get scanned over when Windows starts up and when programs launch. This slows everything down immensely.To delete Temp files, make sure no programs are open, First, make sure that you can see hidden folders. Double-click My Computer. Click on the Tools pull-down menu, and then on Folder Options. Click on the View tab. Scroll down and click on Show Hidden Files and Folders. Click Ok. Now you can go to the C:Documents and SettingsAdministratorLocal SettingsTemp folder. Delete everything here.
3) Emptying the Temporary Internet Files regularly.
To empty Temporary Internet Files, go to your Control Panel and double-click the Internet Options icon -> Choose to Delete Cookies, and to Delete Files. This will clear all of your Temporary Internet Files.
4) Check your hard disks for problems.
Double-click My Computer. Right-click the C-drive and click Properties. Click on the Tools tab and choose to check the computer for problems. Click on Check Now. You will then have two check boxes. The top option is for the file check, and the second option is for the hardware (physical disk) check. Check either one, or both. At least check the top one. Hit ok, and reboot. This may take some time, but let it run . Or, you can do a few of the performance tweaks yourself, if you have Windows XP. By default, everything is turned on in Windows XP. It isn't very streamlined for performance, but rather for appearance. You can turn off a few of the unnecessary features, and Windows will still work just fine, and maybe a little faster.To do this, right-click on My Computer and click on Properties. Click on the Advanced tab. Under the Performance section, click on the Settings button. On the Visual Effects tab, you will see a list of check boxes. By default, these are all on. You really don't need any of them for Windows to run. Go through the check boxes one by one, and determine which ones you can and can't live without.
5) Turn off Active Desktop.
Active Desktop turns your desktop into a web page, and allows you to have things like a real-time calendar, and up-to-the-minute weather or stocks. These are nice, but really slow down your computer. And even if you don't use Active Desktop for anything, just having it active can cause a performance decrease. Turn it off.Now, right-click on the desktop and in the pop-up menu, choose Properties. On the Desktop tab, choose Customize Desktop. Now, on the Web tab, make sure that there are no websites chosen here. If there aren’t any, then Active Desktop is not on. Cancel and go back to the desktop.
6) Configure and Streamline MSCONFIG.
One thing that really causes a huge performance decrease is to have unnecessary programs running in the background. Some of these programs can be seen in your System Tray (located next to the clock). These are tiny programs that are robbing you of memory and processing power. Some of them you need, while most you don't. Some of the programs you DON'T need are printer icons, CD burning icons, shortcuts to programs (such as video settings), AOL, any Instant Messaging Programs, etc. Just because these programs aren't always running, doesn't mean that you still can't print, burn CDs or Instant Message. They can all be run from a shortcut.
Or You can use a utility, called MSCONFIG, to turn OFF unnecessary Start Up items.click on Start->Run -> type msconfig. Click on the Startup tab. This is a list of everything that is running in the background, some of which show up in the System Tray. Now, be careful, some of these you do need. Some items to keep are Ctfmon.exe . Others, you can uncheck, such as NeroCheck, ypager, qttask, AOL, and any other Instant Messaging programs, or printing programs. Remember, if something doesn't work, because you turned it off, it can always be turned back on. You just have to reboot every time you make a change here. But, as you uncheck the unnecessary programs that run in the background, you will see that Windows loads much faster, that there are less icons in the System Tray, and that your system is much more quick to respond.
After you reboot, you will have a window that says that the configuration utility was edited. Click check not to show that in the future, a check box at the bottom. This just means that there was a change made to the MSCONFIG.
7) Defragment your hard drives. to efficiently defragment a hard drive, it likes to have 25% free space. It can still do the defragmentation with only 15% free space, but it takes quite a bit longer. If you can, delete any unnecessary files before deframenting your drives.To defragment your hard drives (in any Windows operating system), double-click on My Computer. Right-click on the c-drive and click on Properties. Click on the Tools tab and choose the bottom button, to Defragment Now
By Kid Net
Right-click the Start menu -Explorer-clik on Windows directory-->click on prefetch directory and delete everything here.You may emptyng these folder anytime.
2) Emptying the Temp directory regularly.
After a short while, the temp directory filles up with hundreds of temp files that always get scanned over when Windows starts up and when programs launch. This slows everything down immensely.To delete Temp files, make sure no programs are open, First, make sure that you can see hidden folders. Double-click My Computer. Click on the Tools pull-down menu, and then on Folder Options. Click on the View tab. Scroll down and click on Show Hidden Files and Folders. Click Ok. Now you can go to the C:Documents and SettingsAdministratorLocal SettingsTemp folder. Delete everything here.
3) Emptying the Temporary Internet Files regularly.
To empty Temporary Internet Files, go to your Control Panel and double-click the Internet Options icon -> Choose to Delete Cookies, and to Delete Files. This will clear all of your Temporary Internet Files.
4) Check your hard disks for problems.
Double-click My Computer. Right-click the C-drive and click Properties. Click on the Tools tab and choose to check the computer for problems. Click on Check Now. You will then have two check boxes. The top option is for the file check, and the second option is for the hardware (physical disk) check. Check either one, or both. At least check the top one. Hit ok, and reboot. This may take some time, but let it run . Or, you can do a few of the performance tweaks yourself, if you have Windows XP. By default, everything is turned on in Windows XP. It isn't very streamlined for performance, but rather for appearance. You can turn off a few of the unnecessary features, and Windows will still work just fine, and maybe a little faster.To do this, right-click on My Computer and click on Properties. Click on the Advanced tab. Under the Performance section, click on the Settings button. On the Visual Effects tab, you will see a list of check boxes. By default, these are all on. You really don't need any of them for Windows to run. Go through the check boxes one by one, and determine which ones you can and can't live without.
5) Turn off Active Desktop.
Active Desktop turns your desktop into a web page, and allows you to have things like a real-time calendar, and up-to-the-minute weather or stocks. These are nice, but really slow down your computer. And even if you don't use Active Desktop for anything, just having it active can cause a performance decrease. Turn it off.Now, right-click on the desktop and in the pop-up menu, choose Properties. On the Desktop tab, choose Customize Desktop. Now, on the Web tab, make sure that there are no websites chosen here. If there aren’t any, then Active Desktop is not on. Cancel and go back to the desktop.
6) Configure and Streamline MSCONFIG.
One thing that really causes a huge performance decrease is to have unnecessary programs running in the background. Some of these programs can be seen in your System Tray (located next to the clock). These are tiny programs that are robbing you of memory and processing power. Some of them you need, while most you don't. Some of the programs you DON'T need are printer icons, CD burning icons, shortcuts to programs (such as video settings), AOL, any Instant Messaging Programs, etc. Just because these programs aren't always running, doesn't mean that you still can't print, burn CDs or Instant Message. They can all be run from a shortcut.
Or You can use a utility, called MSCONFIG, to turn OFF unnecessary Start Up items.click on Start->Run -> type msconfig. Click on the Startup tab. This is a list of everything that is running in the background, some of which show up in the System Tray. Now, be careful, some of these you do need. Some items to keep are Ctfmon.exe . Others, you can uncheck, such as NeroCheck, ypager, qttask, AOL, and any other Instant Messaging programs, or printing programs. Remember, if something doesn't work, because you turned it off, it can always be turned back on. You just have to reboot every time you make a change here. But, as you uncheck the unnecessary programs that run in the background, you will see that Windows loads much faster, that there are less icons in the System Tray, and that your system is much more quick to respond.
After you reboot, you will have a window that says that the configuration utility was edited. Click check not to show that in the future, a check box at the bottom. This just means that there was a change made to the MSCONFIG.
7) Defragment your hard drives. to efficiently defragment a hard drive, it likes to have 25% free space. It can still do the defragmentation with only 15% free space, but it takes quite a bit longer. If you can, delete any unnecessary files before deframenting your drives.To defragment your hard drives (in any Windows operating system), double-click on My Computer. Right-click on the c-drive and click on Properties. Click on the Tools tab and choose the bottom button, to Defragment Now
By Kid Net
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Forget Big Brother - Adobe's the Real Threat!
This week, I was wondering exactly how Flash movies and games remembered you, and how save files could be stored. I realized that this must be some sort of cookie, so I did some researching. I came across information on Local Shared Objects, or LSOs, which work exactly like cookies, allowing Flash movies to store 100 kb of data (or more, if you allow it) on a user's computer. These files are usually found at C:/Documents and Settings/[USER]/Application Data/Macromedia/Flash Player on a Windows computer.
To disable Flash movies from storing LSOs on your computer, you can go to Adobe's site to limit the amount of data that movies can store on your computer. You can also manage all your current LSOs.
A Firefox extension is also available that allows you to manage all LSOs. Objection can be downloaded from MozDev.org.
by MattMik
However, I find that disabling cookies does not always work, and sometimes a list of sites I've been visiting is still on my computer under the same folder the cookies are stored in. So, I've made it so that when I turn on my computer, a BASH script using RMDIR is run that asks me if I want to delete the directory that the cookies are in, so all of the files are gone, and no one knows where I've been.
There are disadvantages to disabling LSOs. For example, games will not be able to create save files on your computer, and the volume on videos on YouTube will not be the same from page to page. In my opinion, this is just a small price to pay for privacy!
To disable Flash movies from storing LSOs on your computer, you can go to Adobe's site to limit the amount of data that movies can store on your computer. You can also manage all your current LSOs.
A Firefox extension is also available that allows you to manage all LSOs. Objection can be downloaded from MozDev.org.
by MattMik
However, I find that disabling cookies does not always work, and sometimes a list of sites I've been visiting is still on my computer under the same folder the cookies are stored in. So, I've made it so that when I turn on my computer, a BASH script using RMDIR is run that asks me if I want to delete the directory that the cookies are in, so all of the files are gone, and no one knows where I've been.
There are disadvantages to disabling LSOs. For example, games will not be able to create save files on your computer, and the volume on videos on YouTube will not be the same from page to page. In my opinion, this is just a small price to pay for privacy!
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