Facebook tracking on LDS Freedom Forum

[gnolaum]

I don't have a problem with Google Analytics (I like to see the stats on my blog; it's interesting - but no personal info is given). And I don't have problems with the ads I see on here (I see them, even though I have the blocker). I do have issues with facebook, though.

I understand how you would think that way. However, the way it works is this:

• * You visit a site that contains Google Analytics
  * Google creates a unique ID for your computer/browser and stores it both on their servers and on your computer (This number is important)
  * Google can read that ID when you visit ANY website that is using the Analytics JS
  * At some point you login to one of your many Google accounts (Google, Gmail, YouTube, etc.)
  * Now Google knows who you are and stores that unique ID, created above, in your profile. They can now associate you personally with every website you visit (that uses Analytics). They can record everything you do on that website (trust me I've seen it working in person). They can see what you type as you type it, even if you never hit submit.
  * Now you can begin to see how Google collects an enormous file on you, what websites you visit, what you do when you are there, the kinds of products you purchase, the kinds of comments you make, the people you send email to and what you say in those emails, etc. Yes, they have a record of EVERY email you've ever sent or received (if you use Gmail).

Facebook is used in similar fashion. Yes they target you with ads, but the big picture is that they have a complete, extremely detailed dossier on you. Don't think for a second that the government doesn't get their hands on that.

By denying their Javascript on sites that use them, you are slowing down their process of data collection on you, and severely hampering their ability to gather as much detail.

[freedomforall]

If you, anyone, wants to check out a website as to its safety before entering go to: http://www.urlvoid.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Enter a URL and click "scan".

I did it with Ghostery and a detection came up.

When one wants to know how a website ranks, go to: http://www.alexa.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Now, I'm not computer savvy to a very high degree, but it pays to check things out when in doubt.

In fact, it would be nice and educational if you real smart people could explain the greater features of these sites, so we all can understand what we're looking at, and for.

If one wants to know if a link takes you where it says, just place the curser over the link and then look at the bottom of your screen. If what it says there is different from the link, check it out on URLVoid.

Try it: http://www.ldsfreedomforum.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Now look at the bottom of your screen

Hope this helps.

[freedomforall]

I don't have a problem with Google Analytics (I like to see the stats on my blog; it's interesting - but no personal info is given). And I don't have problems with the ads I see on here (I see them, even though I have the blocker). I do have issues with facebook, though.

I understand how you would think that way. However, the way it works is this:

• * You visit a site that contains Google Analytics
  * Google creates a unique ID for your computer/browser and stores it both on their servers and on your computer (This number is important)
  * Google can read that ID when you visit ANY website that is using the Analytics JS
  * At some point you login to one of your many Google accounts (Google, Gmail, YouTube, etc.)
  * Now Google knows who you are and stores that unique ID, created above, in your profile. They can now associate you personally with every website you visit (that uses Analytics). They can record everything you do on that website (trust me I've seen it working in person). They can see what you type as you type it, even if you never hit submit.
  * Now you can begin to see how Google collects an enormous file on you, what websites you visit, what you do when you are there, the kinds of products you purchase, the kinds of comments you make, the people you send email to and what you say in those emails, etc. Yes, they have a record of EVERY email you've ever sent or received (if you use Gmail).

Facebook is used in similar fashion. Yes they target you with ads, but the big picture is that they have a complete, extremely detailed dossier on you. Don't think for a second that the government doesn't get their hands on that.

By denying their Javascript on sites that use them, you are slowing down their process of data collection on you, and severely hampering their ability to gather as much detail.

What about using the "private browsing" feature? Doesn't this block tracking?

[gnolaum]

What about using the "private browsing" feature? Doesn't this block tracking?

Private Browsing in Firefox will not store any information on your computer about sites you visit. This is what you want but in order for it to be effective you must first delete all cookies and history. Keep in mind, your Bookmarks are fine and don't need to be deleted.

If you don't first delete your cookies, any websites that you visit will still be able to read the cookies that they placed there before you went to Private Browsing mode.

:-B

PS: Private Browsing will still not protect you if Google or Facebook (whomever) already has your tracking ID stored.

From the link above:

Warning: Private Browsing doesn't make you anonymous on the Internet. Your Internet service provider, employer, or the sites themselves can still track what pages you visit. Private Browsing also doesn't protect you from keyloggers or spyware that may be installed on your computer.

I would still recommend NoScript and Ghostery, along with always denying Javascript from Google Analytics and Facebook.

[gnolaum]

Here is a good video that describes NoScript: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKW5SMvMKtY" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[freedomforall]

What about using the "private browsing" feature? Doesn't this block tracking?

Private Browsing in Firefox will not store any information on your computer about sites you visit. This is what you want but in order for it to be effective you must first delete all cookies and history. Keep in mind, your Bookmarks are fine and don't need to be deleted.

If you don't first delete your cookies, any websites that you visit will still be able to read the cookies that they placed there before you went to Private Browsing mode.

:-B

PS: Private Browsing will still not protect you if Google or Facebook (whomever) already has your tracking ID stored.

From the link above:

Warning: Private Browsing doesn't make you anonymous on the Internet. Your Internet service provider, employer, or the sites themselves can still track what pages you visit. Private Browsing also doesn't protect you from keyloggers or spyware that may be installed on your computer.

I would still recommend NoScript and Ghostery, along with always denying Javascript from Google Analytics and Facebook.

Please take http://www.Ghostery.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; to http://www.urlvoid.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and tell me what the detected point means to us. Frankly, I don't understand any of it.
Here is what I found: http://www.urlvoid.com/scan/ghostery.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; , but I don't know what exposure means in this sense.

[freedomforall]

Here is noscript: http://www.urlvoid.com/scan/noscript.net/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Link: http://noscript.net/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[gnolaum]

Please take http://www.Ghostery.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; to http://www.urlvoid.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and tell me what the detected point means to us. Frankly, I don't understand any of it.
Here is what I found: http://www.urlvoid.com/scan/ghostery.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; , but I don't know what exposure means in this sense.

FF, The 'DETECTED' bullet point for 'Exposure' means there has been some kind of DNS strangeness reported for that URL. In human terms it means that ghostery.com may have been or is currently being spoofed by certain DNS authorities. In other words if you are not using a good DNS provider like Google's 8.8.8.8 or 8.8.4.4 or your ISP's default DNS you may type in ghostery.com but get to a site that is not the real ghostery.com. Therefore you could potentially download some malicious software pretending to be Ghostery.

However, when you click on the "More Info" link it says "Not Found". I assume this means that at some point in the past some evil doer tried to spoof ghostery.com. The chances that this will affect you are very minimal. That is the only negative point on the list for ghostery.com that I see.

Summary: If you use Firefox, I would still go to the plugin site here https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefo ... /ghostery/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and install ghostery without worry. If you don't use Firefox, I would advise to start.

[gnolaum]

Here is noscript: http://www.urlvoid.com/scan/noscript.net/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Link: http://noscript.net/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This link shows clean throughout.

FYI: The URLVoid site is good to inform people of potential problems or malicious activity with the domain in question. It means to tell you that the url in question is either 'relatively clean' or that trouble has been reported or found. That information is certainly not definitive either way. But if you are deeply concerned about a given URL it is not a bad tool to use to get an idea of reported problems and issues.

Let me know if I'm not being very clear, which happens often, or if you have any other questions.

[gnolaum]

FYI: Here is what my NoScript settings look like for ldsfreedomforum.com:



You can see facebook.net is currently not allowed, but youtube.com is allowed as is ldsfreedomforum.com itself.

Under "Untrusted" I have google.com and googlesyndication.com. You can certainly choose to allow or deny whatever you wish.

[freedomforall]

Please take http://www.Ghostery.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; to http://www.urlvoid.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and tell me what the detected point means to us. Frankly, I don't understand any of it.
Here is what I found: http://www.urlvoid.com/scan/ghostery.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; , but I don't know what exposure means in this sense.

FF, The 'DETECTED' bullet point for 'Exposure' means there has been some kind of DNS strangeness reported for that URL. In human terms it means that ghostery.com may have been or is currently being spoofed by certain DNS authorities. In other words if you are not using a good DNS provider like Google's 8.8.8.8 or 8.8.4.4 or your ISP's default DNS you may type in ghostery.com but get to a site that is not the real ghostery.com. Therefore you could potentially download some malicious software pretending to be Ghostery.

However, when you click on the "More Info" link it says "Not Found". I assume this means that at some point in the past some evil doer tried to spoof ghostery.com. The chances that this will affect you are very minimal. That is the only negative point on the list for ghostery.com that I see.

Summary: If you use Firefox, I would still go to the plugin site here https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefo ... /ghostery/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and install ghostery without worry. If you don't use Firefox, I would advise to start.

I've been using Firefox for quite some time. I'll try Ghostery. I also use free AVG...works nicely. And there is a free version of Malwarebytes Anti-malware. Thanks for the info.

[A Random Phrase]

I accidentally edited one of my posts. (I was trying to make a new post, but wanted to reference that post - that's what I get for accidentally clicking on "edit" instead of "quote".)

What I wanted to say was, "I made a mistake. I do not see ads now." There is an empty space. So do the ads follow us around or do they follow the subject of the threads or is it a mixture of both?

[ebenezerarise]

Probably a mixture of both.

[ebenezerarise]

here's a new but not shocking take on Google's ad mix -- http://www.nbcnews.com/business/google- ... -1C8369538" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[gnolaum]

I accidentally edited one of my posts. (I was trying to make a new post, but wanted to reference that post - that's what I get for accidentally clicking on "edit" instead of "quote".)

What I wanted to say was, "I made a mistake. I do not see ads now." There is an empty space. So do the ads follow us around or do they follow the subject of the threads or is it a mixture of both?

Ads can be displayed based on three things:

1) The content on the page, or the URL of the page.
2) The cookie(s) on the users machine
3) Arbitrarily

[freedomforall]

Will Ghostery, Do Not Track Me and Noscript work together, or will they be conflict? Although I delete cookies and internet files a lot, I don't understand how to use the blockers programs.
So which program would do the best job of blocking trackers with the least amount of effort on my part? I don't like the idea of Google tracking everything I do. Same goes for Facebook.

What would happen if I just went into Ghostery and blocked every 3pes?

[freedomforall]

Please take http://www.Ghostery.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; to http://www.urlvoid.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and tell me what the detected point means to us. Frankly, I don't understand any of it.
Here is what I found: http://www.urlvoid.com/scan/ghostery.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; , but I don't know what exposure means in this sense.

FF, The 'DETECTED' bullet point for 'Exposure' means there has been some kind of DNS strangeness reported for that URL. In human terms it means that ghostery.com may have been or is currently being spoofed by certain DNS authorities. In other words if you are not using a good DNS provider like Google's 8.8.8.8 or 8.8.4.4 or your ISP's default DNS you may type in ghostery.com but get to a site that is not the real ghostery.com. Therefore you could potentially download some malicious software pretending to be Ghostery.

However, when you click on the "More Info" link it says "Not Found". I assume this means that at some point in the past some evil doer tried to spoof ghostery.com. The chances that this will affect you are very minimal. That is the only negative point on the list for ghostery.com that I see.

Summary: If you use Firefox, I would still go to the plugin site here https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefo ... /ghostery/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and install ghostery without worry. If you don't use Firefox, I would advise to start.

Is this program any good/safe? http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; I found it on Kim Komando's site.

[A Random Phrase]

Thanks, ebenezerarise and gnolaum.

Will Ghostery, Do Not Track Me and Noscript work together, or will they be conflict?

I don't know. I only have the second one. It seems to work quite well. (I also like my program that deletes supercookies - I believe I mentioned it above - it does not conflict with Do Not Track Me.)

[A Random Phrase]

here's a new but not shocking take on Google's ad mix -- http://www.nbcnews.com/business/google- ... -1C8369538" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wow. Something I would have never thought.

[freedomforall]

For Firefox users:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefo ... dl-hotness" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[freedomforall]

I loaded Ghostery and blocked Facebook Connect in Widgets. Didn't happen. Now what? Not so good after all.

[gnolaum]

I loaded Ghostery and blocked Facebook Connect in Widgets. Didn't happen. Now what? Not so good after all.

Can you tell me what you were expecting that didn't happen? If you installed those 2 things and block all 3pes and most Javascripts especially Google and Facebook, you won't be tracked. Also, delete your cookies and use Private Browsing mode.

If you don't want to see any ads, use Adblock Plus for Firefox.

Let me know and I'll try to help.

[MsEva]

Hmmm, I have ghostery with the google chrome browser and I do not see any ads here on the forum. I can not use some sites on google chrome any more because of the ghostery, for example Family Search will not operate so I have to use my Internet Explorer browser when I need to get on Family Search and other sites....

[freedomforall]

I loaded Ghostery and blocked Facebook Connect in Widgets. Didn't happen. Now what? Not so good after all.

Can you tell me what you were expecting that didn't happen? I went to the add-ons page, clicked on widgets, located Facebook Connect and marked the little box. Restarted Firefox, came onto LDSFF, and still proceeded to get Facebook Connect in the maroon square in the upper corner. I knew then something didn't work. If you installed those 2 things and block all 3pes and most Javascripts especially Google and Facebook, you won't be tracked. Also, delete your cookies and use Private Browsing mode.

If you don't want to see any ads, use Adblock Plus for Firefox.

Let me know and I'll try to help.

I asked my brother about add-ons and this is his response. BTW, just a little history, he owned his own computer store for over ten years.
He told me to always read the EULA, and why. Anyway, here it is:

EULA. (E)nd (U)ser (L)icense (A)greement. When they pop up during the installation of free stuff, most everybody clicks on "I agree" without ever reading what it is they are agreeing to. With gmail for example. The gmail user agreed that gmail could read the email of the user. The more free stuff we download the more we allow others access to our computers. When enough groups have access, our computers become slow, they start to crash. And no program out there can fully clean up the mess because these people and groups have the legal right to access your computer, you gave it to them.

So now I hesitate to use free stuff. Kim Komando has lots of free downloads, but does not mention the potential problems that can arise.

My question now is: Upon downloading free stuff to block tracking, we may be getting tracked from the free stuff we downloaded, so what's the sense of it?

My brother says there is no program to get rid of the mess. What do you say?

[gnolaum]

My question now is: Upon downloading free stuff to block tracking, we may be getting tracked from the free stuff we downloaded, so what's the sense of it?

My brother says there is no program to get rid of the mess. What do you say?

Firstly, and foremost, I use Macintosh which is BSD based. A Linux type operating system with a very stable kernel. I don't mean to get technical. What it means is that it is very difficult for virii to work effectively on Linux or Mac (OSX) without the user's permission. So my first point is that I rarely download or use software that will potentially harm or track my system.

I also use a program called Little Snitch, which warns me every time any program tries to send any data over the internet. I can either OK it once, until the program quits or forever. I can also deny it with the same parameters. This allows me to precisely control what software does when communicating over the internet. For instance. Most software sends data back to Google Analytics. I simply block that action permanently and use the program as necessary otherwise.

I agree with your brother that we should always read the EULA. We should also use software that we trust to help us in averting virii, tracking and other nefarious purposes. For a given system stack I have found certain software that I always run.

WINDOWS:

Personally, I don't use Windows. However, when I did use it I always installed Avast for virus protection (it is the best, IMHO). Other than that I never knew of any software like Little Snitch.

Firefox is cross-platform and runs on Windows, Linux and OSX. I somewhat keep up with the hacking community. I consider myself white-hat of course. It has been my job in the past to protect companies from outside attacks and beef up security from within. I trust the add-ons that I use. But, like the Book of Mormon, I can't give another that faith. We need to discover it for ourselves and feel comfortable based on our own knowledge before using software of any kind.

Part of my confidence is that I use a Linux based operating system and know the internals and differences from the Windows OS. The other huge safety net is Little Snitch. I don't think there is anything like it for non Mac computers.

MAC

I don't use virus protection. Never needed it and probably never will. I use Little Snitch which gives me absolute control over all information that gets sent from my machines, and where it gets sent or not sent.

I use 3 Firefox plugins always: Adblock Plus, NoScript and Ghostery. Those three plugins give me lots of confidence that I am safe from web tracking of any kind. I also use Firebug, Greasemonkey and 1Password among other things but those are not really related to our discussion here.

As far as cleaning up your system. If it is Windows based, the best way is to backup your data, reformat your hard drive and copy your data back to your system. At once install Avast, remove Internet Explorer (or simply NEVER use it), install Firefox and the 3 plugins. Get some kind of firewall program and use it. I don't know of any Windows based software that I would trust to clean it up effectively.

I've been in the business for over 23 years. I took me 15 years of avoiding Macintosh computers because I could always buy 2-3 Windows machines for the same price as 1 Mac. I can tell you that since I made the switch, I have never looked back with ANY regret. You could not give me a Windows machine or pay me enough money to use one for work. But that is just me. Some people love them. Macs are not for everyone. They are more expensive but I finally figured out why. The hardware is truly state-of-the-art. They just work, and in my experience they always do.

So, you can see why I would recommend a Mac with Little Snitch. There is no software available that can sneakily send data from my computer to anywhere else. Little Snitch catches and asks me how to handle it. For Windows, I just don't know what is available like that.

:-B