Question Browsers and embedded ads ?

[Pez]

Hi all.

I wasn't sure which sub-forum to post this in and almost picked "Antivirus / Security / Privacy", because I thought maybe my issue was considered a "privacy" thing, but not like a virus or anything, just stuff having to do with embedded ads in web browsers. But, I did not see a dedicated sub-forum for just browsers, so, here I am 😉

I put my question/ issue here in the Windows 11 sub-forum because....well, I have Windows 11 I thought maybe this issue was specific to the Windows' browser of Microsoft Edge, but no, it's not.

I am not loyal to any one browser and switch around a lot; I've used Edge, Google Chrome, Firefox, but one I've leaned toward a lot lately is the Brave browser. The issue I'm about to describe? I thought it was an Edge thing at first because, well, Microsoft makes the Windows 11 OS, and Edge is the browser that comes along with it. But I've been seeing this issue pop up in all the browsers that I use.

In the Subject Line of my post, I used the word "Ads": Yes, I'm talking about the ads you'll see embedded into web pages as you're browsing the 'Net. For instance, the site of www.msn.com: On that page is like a "carousal" near the top of the page on the left-hand side; you can click through the carousal to see various news stories. But also within the choices of news stories to pick from in the carousal is also ads.

First let me "add" this 😛: On the browsers I use I've added the extension known as "uBlock Origin"; it helps (aides?) in the blockage of pop-up ads. The Brave browser itself already has something known as "Brave Shields".

Anyway, no matter which browser I use, when I am done browsing the 'Net, before closing my browser and exiting the program, I go into the browser's settings and Clear all history.

For example, in the Edge browser: I go into Settings/ History/ Clear Browsing Data/ make sure the Time Range has "All Time" selected/ make sure all the boxes have Check Marks in them (Browsing History, Download History, Cookies and Other Site Data, etc.)/ then click the "Clear Now" button.

With the other browsers I use mentioned above, there is a similar process. However...........

However, when launching any one of those browsers again....I am seeing embedded ads for either products or items I was doing some previous web searches on.

If I'm clearing out my cache/ browsing history entirely, then how is it I am being targeted with specific ads? And not only that....

I perform my computer work/ searches on a desktop computer. My wife uses her cell phone for 99% of what she does (searches, shopping using various apps, etc.). Yes, my desktop computer is hardwired into our modem/ router, but other devices in the house - including my wife's cell phone - are on the same wireless network. Things that my wife searches for or purchases through her cell phone? Ads for those exact items are showing up as embedded ads on my desktop computer even though I myself have not searched for them on the desktop computer.

So, whether it's items I have searched for on the desktop computer, or, items my wife has searched and/ or purchased using her cell phone, how is it that targeted ads are showing up on the desktop computer even though I clear out ALL browsing history? And remember: It doesn't matter which browser; Edge Chrome, Firefox, or Brave; they all have shown this behavior.

I did some searching on this site's forums, and one of the results that came back led to this fairly recent thread:
https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...ata-to-third-parties-youtuber-claims.3795760/

From the gist of that thread, is this just basically the "cost" or the "price you pay" for using the Windows 11 OS? Windows 11, to me, is basically free now. I haven't paid for a Windows OS since....either Win 7 or 8. You probably remember that when Windows 10 was released, Microsoft stated that if you had a licensed copy of Win 7 or 8, you could upgrade to 10 for free, no strings attached. And it continues with Win 11. But now I am thinking there are "strings attached" 🙁

Let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions. These intrusive, targeted ads aren't the worst things in the world, but, it's still annoying.

Thanks for any info;
Pez

 

[Grobe]

There is a couple of things (at least) you can do/change when it omes to web search:

1. Use Duckduck go. It doesn't collect data like most other search engines.
2. The potential data collection methods nowdays are being done by far more intrusive methods than just a few years back. First - you always give up your IP, and then there is this new shadow technique where a web site can make a target profile based on how any web site actually appear on screen (fonts, zoom, screen size and many more parameters). That way the site (and other sites it shares data with) have pretty much enough info to determine that YOU was the same one that was searching for some particular product.

I'm not aware of any method that can actually prevent #2.


However - try this:

I'm using Firefox with the NoScript extension. It takes time to make a particular web site work properly, but for me personaly, it's a fair trade-off. Also, you can export all the rules within Noscript so that it can be deployed on a secondary computer, or just have a backup in case you need to reinstall Firefox.

 

[hotaru.hino]

I'm of the impression that unless you exhibit truly random behavior, including looking more or less random (or maybe generic) to others, any tracking algorithm is going to eventually figure out who you are.

Humans are creatures of habit. Individuals of unique habits.