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Internet Tracking

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allantracy

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Nov 14, 2012, 9:18:01 AM11/14/12
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From time to time, usually after engaging in a bit of furtive online
banking, I deem it prudent to run CCleaner in order to eradicate my
Internet tracks, history and any sensitive web pages.

Since purchasing a new machine, running Windows 8, I now notice that
Youtube (there may be others) still remembers my previous browsing
history regardless.

Does anyone know how they're doing this?

I know that nowadays Java, as well as your browser, also implements
cookies but CCleaner claims to delete those also.

I've tried removing all installed Google software (in my case just
Chrome) but it makes no difference.

Jacob Von Hogflume

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Nov 14, 2012, 9:48:27 AM11/14/12
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Use Firefox and you can stop sites tracking you.


AndyW

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Nov 14, 2012, 10:26:25 AM11/14/12
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On 14/11/2012 14:18, allantracy wrote:
> From time to time, usually after engaging in a bit of furtive online
> banking, I deem it prudent to run CCleaner in order to eradicate my
> Internet tracks, history and any sensitive web pages.
>
> Since purchasing a new machine, running Windows 8, I now notice that
> Youtube (there may be others) still remembers my previous browsing
> history regardless.
>
> Does anyone know how they're doing this?

Possibly by tracking your IP address assuming you have a persistent IP
address, some websites that use flash will store information locally on
your machine.
YouTube may also be using your login from 'partner' services such as
Facebook etc so that when you log in to FB then go to another site they
may be able to access your FB account for info.
You really need to see what you agreed to when you signed up for YouTube
and agreed their cookie and persistent data policy.

Andy

Mr Pounder

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Nov 14, 2012, 10:55:26 AM11/14/12
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"Jacob Von Hogflume" <time...@btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:50a3af3b$0$2085$7120d902@karibu...
You can ask.
>
>


allantracy

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Nov 14, 2012, 10:58:15 AM11/14/12
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>
> > Since purchasing a new machine, running Windows 8, I now notice that
> > Youtube (there may be others) still remembers my previous browsing
> > history regardless.
>
> > Does anyone know how they're doing this?
>
> Possibly by tracking your IP address assuming you have a persistent IP
> address, some websites that use flash will store information locally on
> your machine.
> YouTube may also be using your login from 'partner' services such as
> Facebook etc so that when you log in to FB then go to another site they
> may be able to access your FB account for info.
> You really need to see what you agreed to when you signed up for YouTube
> and agreed their cookie and persistent data policy.
>

Thanks for that.

Yes it looks like they're using the fact I'm logged into Google as
permission to track and store my Youtube browsing history.

However, that doesn't tell me how they're identifying me when
returning not logged in and after a purge from CCleaner.

More worryingly I'm noticing the same thing on Google news.



allantracy

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Nov 14, 2012, 11:03:27 AM11/14/12
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>
> Use Firefox and you can stop sites tracking you.
>

I am aware of their plug-in however I have an issue with Firefox,
namely that it's based upon a development of the old Netscape browser.

Back in the day, Netscape was one of the few browsers that made your
local IP address (as well as your ISP's proxy address) available to
websites when visiting them.

Your local IP address is logged by your ISP, for at least a year,
whereas the proxy IP address you use is retained only for a matter of
days

MM

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Nov 14, 2012, 11:12:36 AM11/14/12
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I reckon it's impossible to remove such histories entirely. Best way
is to use something like TrueImage with an image of a pristine drive
(newly created), then just whack the image back on the hard drive
after erasing latter.

MM

Mentalguy2k8

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Nov 14, 2012, 11:17:43 AM11/14/12
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"allantracy" <allanb...@ireland.com> wrote in message
news:0e8cdbf9-ebf3-43ed...@b12g2000vbg.googlegroups.com...
Ah, Google, say no more.

I remember reading that Flash also has its own cache where data is stored,
might be worth looking into. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume
that Google hides stuff out of the reaches of the known target folders to
foil the "cleaner" software.

As the other poster said, you may also have a static IP address in which
case every similar site will recognise you even if you wipe your entire C:
drive.

Mentalguy2k8

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Nov 14, 2012, 11:23:50 AM11/14/12
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"MM" <kyli...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:ckg7a8tbjego3q9kj...@4ax.com...
Whack the image back after doing a US-Military-grade wipe on the hard drive,
of course!

Sounds like a lot of hassle just to cover up your banking escapades. It
would be easier to do your banking, feed your PC through a shredder and then
burn it, and buy a new PC. And stay logged out of Google unless you need to
log in, but log out straight after.


MM

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Nov 14, 2012, 11:24:37 AM11/14/12
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You would spend more hours than the day is long if you tried to find
and remedy all the tricks that are used by the 1000's of companies
that have access to your browser, directly or indirectly. CCleaner,
which someone mentioned, goes through updates practically every other
day. Ordinary mortals cannot possibly keep on top of all the
skullduggerous methods employed to get cookies on your PC, and
sometimes malware that is more nasty than cookies. For instance, I
hate the web sites that insist you click on a button if you try to
leave their page. What's that all about, then? IMV those web site
owners should be read the riot act for behaving in such an underhand
manner.

Truth be told, I am getting more and more fed up with the internet.
Everyday we are bombarded with stuff that we never asked for. The
screens are so full of crud you can barely read the informatory
content. Even government web sites contradict each other, or URLs
return 404 errors, or you are swamped with links in a Google search.
It's no longer fun, it's a chore. I was recently indisposed in
hospital with heart problems and for two weeks I had no access to the
internet. Know what? I came home thinking, so what fantastic news did
I miss? And really, life just goes on with or without the internet.
The vast portion of my life so far was lived without the internet, so,
since I gave up smoking 16 years ago, maybe I'll seriously think about
giving up the internet, too! Think of the money I'll save. I can still
keep a PC for writing and so on. I rarely send emails. The emails I
receive are mostly junk.

MM

allantracy

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Nov 14, 2012, 11:32:28 AM11/14/12
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>
> > More worryingly I'm noticing the same thing on Google news.
>
> Ah, Google, say no more.
>
> I remember reading that Flash also has its own cache where data is stored,
> might be worth looking into. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume
> that Google hides stuff out of the reaches of the known target folders to
> foil the "cleaner" software.
>
> As the other poster said, you may also have a static IP address in which
> case every similar site will recognise you even if you wipe your entire C:
> drive

Judging by the weird and multifarious locations I get adverts from I'm
pretty sure I'm on dynamic IP addresses plus I'm on a cheapskate ISP
not some Rolls Royce service.

allantracy

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Nov 14, 2012, 11:37:46 AM11/14/12
to
>
> Whack the image back after doing a US-Military-grade wipe on the hard drive,
> of course!
>
> Sounds like a lot of hassle just to cover up your banking escapades. It
> would be easier to do your banking, feed your PC through a shredder and then
> burn it, and buy a new PC. And stay logged out of Google unless you need to
> log in, but log out straight after.

It's mainly the banking and shopping stuff I'm paranoid about,
couldn't give a shit about the rest of my surfing habits being in the
public domain even the odd bit of granny porn, everyone's human after
all.

But logging news surfing, that's a bit dodgy, I would die with
embarrassment if caught visiting the Guardian.

As for Youtube, I feel sorry for any poor soul tasked with ploughing
through my history (I'm a trainspotter) - I hope Youtube doesn't have
a tenth floor.

Mentalguy2k8

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Nov 14, 2012, 11:45:58 AM11/14/12
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"allantracy" <allanb...@ireland.com> wrote in message
news:6d9d7988-3cea-492d...@o30g2000vbu.googlegroups.com...
Try

http://whatismyipaddress.com/

once a day for a few days, if your IP address doesn't change then you have a
static one.

A good way to check if Youtube etc are using your IP address to match you to
your history is to visit Youtube via a proxy and see if your history is
still there. If it is, then there's something on your PC that's identifying
you to them.

Norman Wells

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Nov 14, 2012, 11:56:21 AM11/14/12
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MM wrote:

> And really, life just goes on with or without the internet.
> The vast portion of my life so far was lived without the internet, so,
> since I gave up smoking 16 years ago, maybe I'll seriously think about
> giving up the internet, too! Think of the money I'll save. I can still
> keep a PC for writing and so on. I rarely send emails. The emails I
> receive are mostly junk.

Think of the money you'd save if you gave up living.

Mentalguy2k8

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Nov 14, 2012, 12:00:16 PM11/14/12
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"allantracy" <allanb...@ireland.com> wrote in message
news:eaccb458-7cec-486e...@c20g2000vbz.googlegroups.com...
Ah, I used to drive them :)

Google uses the data for "targetted" adverts (allegedly). If you've Googled
lots of sites about mushrooms, you'll notice that in the little GoogleAd
boxes on various pages, you'll see sponsored adverts for "cheap mushrooms"
and the like. It's similar to how the sponsored (paid-for_ ads appear at the
top of the list of every Google search you do.

You should be OK with banking/shopping details being kept safe, your
passwords and credit card details shouldn't be stored on the PC anywhere. I
think you're more at risk from malware and viruses for the banking stuff,
rather than cookies and cached pages. Doesn't hurt to run the "cleaner"
software but it won't protect you from fraud.

Pakistan Cricket Scam

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Nov 14, 2012, 1:49:52 PM11/14/12
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MM explained :
> On Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:26:25 +0000, AndyW <An...@nojunqmail.com>
> wrote:
> For instance, I
> hate the web sites that insist you click on a button if you try to
> leave their page. What's that all about, then?

That could be a trick. By clicking this button you may be confirming to
install their malware.

Get the task manager up and end the application or process from there.


Pakistan Cricket Scam

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Nov 14, 2012, 1:53:37 PM11/14/12
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allantracy was thinking very hard :
Find the cookies manually in Windows Explorer and delete them from
there. Search for "www.*"


Pakistan Cricket Scam

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Nov 14, 2012, 2:02:01 PM11/14/12
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It happens that allantracy formulated :
I use the Tor browser for banking, it assigns an exit node IP from the
Tor network and doesn't store any history or cookies on your pc. It
will run a new secure session of Firefox independently and it's
portable so you can run it off a USB stick.

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/window-on-windows/review-the-tor-browser-bundle/6239


joeh

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Nov 14, 2012, 2:14:15 PM11/14/12
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Jacob Von Hogflume

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Nov 14, 2012, 2:25:32 PM11/14/12
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On 14/11/2012 19:02, Pakistan Cricket Scam wrote:

> I use the Tor browser for banking, it assigns an exit node IP from the
> Tor network and doesn't store any history or cookies on your pc. It will
> run a new secure session of Firefox independently and it's portable so
> you can run it off a USB stick.
>


The problem with Tor is that it slows everything down to a crawl.


Pakistan Cricket Scam

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Nov 14, 2012, 2:28:05 PM11/14/12
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joeh submitted this idea :
Do you know what *open source* means?


Pakistan Cricket Scam

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Nov 14, 2012, 2:29:17 PM11/14/12
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on 11/14/2012, Jacob Von Hogflume supposed :
That's why nobody uses it for browsing. Just shopping and banking
mainly.


Mike Hall

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Nov 14, 2012, 5:23:08 PM11/14/12
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On 14/11/2012 14:18, allantracy wrote:
> From time to time, usually after engaging in a bit of furtive online
> banking, I deem it prudent to run CCleaner in order to eradicate my
> Internet tracks, history and any sensitive web pages.
>
> Since purchasing a new machine, running Windows 8, I now notice that
> Youtube (there may be others) still remembers my previous browsing
> history regardless.

If you have a Google (or Youtube) account, it logs your usage to your
username. You need to clear your history from within your login - the
information is not stored on your computer! Knowing Google's chequered
history for confidentiality, they probably keep a backup of your
browsing anyway !

The only real solution is not to have a Google or Youtube account and
login through anonymous browser windows.


Mike Hall

nutherpe...@yahoo.co.uk

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Nov 14, 2012, 6:18:54 PM11/14/12
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I downloaded Tor but never installed it...

what is the point...

They are way to clever for me...

They have the toys and boys will be boys...

I expect that even if some software did offer genuine
anonymity ..
Anyone who downloaded would only attract interest to themselves....

Once you attract Saurons Eye you are knackered...

..................

Big Les Wade

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Nov 15, 2012, 9:53:41 AM11/15/12
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Mike Hall <tar...@spam3spam.yahoo.com> posted
>On 14/11/2012 14:18, allantracy wrote:
>> From time to time, usually after engaging in a bit of furtive online
>> banking, I deem it prudent to run CCleaner in order to eradicate my
>> Internet tracks, history and any sensitive web pages.
>>
>> Since purchasing a new machine, running Windows 8, I now notice that
>> Youtube (there may be others) still remembers my previous browsing
>> history regardless.
>
>If you have a Google (or Youtube) account, it logs your usage to your
>username.

How does Google decide that a certain usage episode is linked to a
certain username? I have a Google account (in the sense of a gmail
address) but I am not using it when I view web pages.


>You need to clear your history from within your login - the information
>is not stored on your computer! Knowing Google's chequered history for
>confidentiality, they probably keep a backup of your browsing anyway !
>
>The only real solution is not to have a Google or Youtube account and
>login through anonymous browser windows.


Login to what?

--
Les
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