Unhappy Thread

[NinOz]

We have no NHS in Oz.....

Ah, we have medicare?
They are paying for all my cancer treatment at public hospitals.  No cost to me.

[Bealman]

Glad you can claim that, I cannot.

[steve836]

So glad we've got the NHS !

[Papyrus]

Damn me, it's happened again. 

I ordered my wife's Christmas present over t'interweb, using my laptop on supposedly 'private' window. The very next day, up pops an advert for exactly the same website on my wife's Bookface page on her smartphone. "Oooh, look," she says, "These are interesting...". I grunted something non-committal (I'm good at that) and she scrolled on to something else. Fortunately, I don't think she cottoned on, but that's not the first time that has happened, and I want to know why it does and how I can stop it. It's only a matter of time before she takes the bait and orders something I have already bought her.

Where is the teeth-gnashing emoji when you want it?

Cheers,

Chris

[dannyboy]

These 'smart' devices are damned smart. A few times a week, I look at the newspaper back home, on line, on my desktop computer only. My smartphone has now started bringing me news articles from that newspaper.   . And as for the number of advert's I see for cameras, just cos' I was looking last week ........

[railsquid]

Damn me, it's happened again. 

I ordered my wife's Christmas present over t'interweb, using my laptop on supposedly 'private' window. The very next day, up pops an advert for exactly the same website on my wife's Bookface page on her smartphone. "Oooh, look," she says, "These are interesting...". I grunted something non-committal (I'm good at that) and she scrolled on to something else. Fortunately, I don't think she cottoned on, but that's not the first time that has happened, and I want to know why it does and how I can stop it. It's only a matter of time before she takes the bait and orders something I have already bought her.

It works the other way round too, there was an angsty period when the interwebs thought my wife would be interested in seeing adverts for N gauge trains 

If your wife's smartphone is using your domestic internet wifi, the interwebs is most likely taking a guess that people surfing from your IP address (regardless of browser settings) are interested in that product. If it's the kind of thing your wife has previously taken an interest in the algorithms will certainly sit up and take notice, especially if there's the opportunity to repetitively show you ads for stuff you've just bought. :'(

[Yet_Another]

Unless you've used a VPN to spoof your IP address, they will have correlated the location & interests and served appropriate adverts accordingly. If at any time either of you has used the other device, they will have inferred a connection between the devices and will use that info as well. Even if you have used a VPN, if the latter is the case, they'll have you anyway. Best thing is to just not use the internet.

[NScaleNotes]

Did you use Google in your private session? If so Google knows what you searched for even though you're in Private mode.
Maybe there's a persistent tracking cookie that's accidentally been given permission to run in Private mode.
Also sounds like they've made the link between all the different devices in your household perhaps because someone has logged into the same thing on every device at some point.

Maybe clear out all your cookies/temp Internet files, get an ad-blocker if you don't already have one or use host file blocking. Use a more private search engine for secret purchases like Startpage or DuckDuckGo. Yes I know they aren't quite as good. Also don't use browser add-ons, particularly search engine add-ons and be careful of searching in the address bar unless you know what search engine it's using.

If you want the ultimate slightly more complicated solution download a Linux Live CD, rip it to CD or USB, put it in the relevant drive, boot-up, use the temporary Linux OS to browse the web to do your purchases. When you're done, shut-down and take the CD/USB out and go back to your original system. Super private and relatively easy.

[Trainfish]

My wife is convinced I've ordered this as it pops up on her laptop for some obscure reason 

[dannyboy]

Best thing is to just not use the internet.

Brilliant idea! 

Err....how do we get our daily NGF fix though? 

[Yet_Another]

Oh, the irony!

[Papyrus]

Did you use Google in your private session? If so Google knows what you searched for even though you're in Private mode.
Maybe there's a persistent tracking cookie that's accidentally been given permission to run in Private mode.
Also sounds like they've made the link between all the different devices in your household perhaps because someone has logged into the same thing on every device at some point.

Maybe clear out all your cookies/temp Internet files, get an ad-blocker if you don't already have one or use host file blocking. Use a more private search engine for secret purchases like Startpage or DuckDuckGo. Yes I know they aren't quite as good. Also don't use browser add-ons, particularly search engine add-ons and be careful of searching in the address bar unless you know what search engine it's using.

If you want the ultimate slightly more complicated solution download a Linux Live CD, rip it to CD or USB, put it in the relevant drive, boot-up, use the temporary Linux OS to browse the web to do your purchases. When you're done, shut-down and take the CD/USB out and go back to your original system. Super private and relatively easy.

Yup, I do clear out cookies etc after every session, and I use an ad-blocker. The search engine I use (Opera) obviously piggy-backs on Google, so that is probably where the leaks are going. I can barely keep my head above water where 'puters are concerned, so Linux etc are out of my league, but I might try your other suggestions.

Thanks, (and to everybody else),

Chris

[stevewalker]

You could try using DuckDuckGo instead of Google for your searches.

[Calnefoxile]

Doh!!!  :'( :'( :'( :'(

Needed some switches to finish off the control panel for my foray in to German TT, duely ordered 10 on-off-on switches from Rapid. They turned up today and as I was about to install them, I flicked the lever and it didn't latch, "Eh says I"  So I tried another one, same result 

Onto the Rapid website to check out what I'd ordered. It then dawned on me I'd forgotten the difference between (on)-off-(on) and on-off-on, one with brackets are momentary switches, the ones without are latching switches 

So back to Rapid Online and the correct switches (Hopefully) now ordered, I could send the other ones back, but I'm sure they'll be useful for something in the future 

Ahh well no running trains this side of Christmas.

Have a good xmas one and all.

Regards

Neal.

[Trainfish]

If they were on-on-on I'd take a few off you but I'm guessing they're not?