# Rant:  Big Brother Is Watching You!



## JimDawson (Nov 12, 2015)

I was looking for an item on line and happened on a K-Mart web ad that had the item I was looking for.  OK, no problem so far.  I looked at a couple of different products in the same line, got the information I wanted, then closed the browser.

About 30 minutes later I get an email from K-Mart asking me if I was still interested in the items I was looking at. 

I have never given K-Mart my email address nor have I ever ordered anything from them on line, I haven't even been in one of their stores in years.  How the he!! did K-mart get my %(&*&^% email address?
This is going way too far.


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## wrmiller (Nov 12, 2015)

Wow...


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## Andre (Nov 12, 2015)

When you sign up for things, there's a chance your information gets sold. If Kmart bought your information, they can piece together the puzzle by (most likely) IP address.


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## stupoty (Nov 12, 2015)

I had a canadian friend and her dad stay for a few days a while back , she had lost her visa card during her travels(around europe) and got a replcement sent to my address.

I started getting prospectuses for schools near where she lives ??

Thats just odd isn't it ?

Stuart


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## davidh (Nov 12, 2015)

all of our fancy technology is not free. . . . somehow or other we do pay for it. . . after all, someone has to..............


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## tomh (Nov 12, 2015)

One word    *cookies*


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## alloy (Nov 12, 2015)

Just be glad you didn't order something from them.   I ordered my tach from Zoro, and the braking resistor from Aliexpress and every place I go on my computer or phone they are there trying to sell me something, even here.  

On the top of the page right now is a Zoro,  on the bottom is Aliexpress.


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## Dan_S (Nov 12, 2015)

tomh said:


> One word    *cookies*


you would be amazed what you can do with cookies and JavaScript.

FYI, I'm a full stack web developer.


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## Grumpy Gator (Nov 12, 2015)

_Jim,_
_Thats the reason I don't use Garbel or Bong  stuff follows you home and jams your inbox with crud._
_There are a few browsers that I use a lot. One is "DuckDuckGo" there is no track back._
_The thing that really irks me is if they sold my name and address where is my cut._
_*****Just Saying*********G********
	

		
			
		

		
	



	

		
			
		

		
	
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## foleda (Nov 12, 2015)

tomh said:


> One word    *cookies*



Install NoScript and Ghostery (for Firefox) or their equivalents for Chromium.  NoScript prevents web sites from running javascript on your computer.  

If you use it to block everyting you will break most web sites but with a little fiddling you can usually enable the servers needed to allow the site to function while preventing doubleclick and all the other tracking sites from running scripts on your computer.

Ghostery blocks tracking cookies.  The same caveats apply. 

It is a nuisance to have to find the right combination whenever you visit a new web site but privacy has a price.  Not perfect but have been using these plugins for years and I very rarely get targeted ads.


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## John Hasler (Nov 12, 2015)

foleda said:


> If you use it to block everyting you will break most web sites


Many (if not most) sites will complain when you block script, putting up banners saying things like "WARNING: You have Javascript disabled.  Some features of this site will not work without it!" and that's generally true.  However, I find that my "user experience" is enhanced by the absence of autorun videos, animated backgrounds, sound effects, and other such nonsense.   I find it trivial to turn Javascript on as needed for the few sites that I use that actually require it (like this one).  Most online retailers require it for entering orders, of course, but again it is easy to turn it on as required, and you can control which sites to allow, blocking the ones that do nothing useful to you.


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## John Hasler (Nov 12, 2015)

alloy said:


> Just be glad you didn't order something from them.   I ordered my tach from Zoro, and the braking resistor from Aliexpress and every place I go on my computer or phone they are there trying to sell me something, even here.
> 
> On the top of the page right now is a Zoro,  on the bottom is Aliexpress.


I use Privoxy.  It makes sure that I never ever see any ads anywhere.


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## JimDawson (Nov 12, 2015)

I get periodic emails from Amazon, Ebay, Newegg, etc.  But I have accounts with them, I expect them to spam me with offers.  I even expect to see targeted advertising on H-M based on websites that I visit.  For some reason on H-M, the targeted advertising has been mostly new and used cars for the last few weeks, not sure why that is.  I was looking for some auto parts a few weeks ago.

I think Andre is correct, I'm sure my email address is tied to my IP address out there in a database out there somewhere.  I also ordered some parts from Automation Direct this morning, which means I entered my my email address so that may have done it also.

I don't mind the targeted advertising on web pages I visit, but I object to them sending a #$%^&* email to me out of the blue, especially since I have never given them my email address.    Needless to say, Kmart and their parent Sears *will not* be getting any of my business.  Walmart pi$$ed me off a few years ago, and I haven't be back there since.  So scratch two more chains off the list.  I'm pretty sure that my one man boycott has no effect on their bottom line, but it makes me feel better


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## John Hasler (Nov 12, 2015)

JimDawson said:


> I object to them sending a #$%^&* email to me out of the blue, especially since I have never given them my email address.


I use Spamassassin to filter my email.  It gets all that stuff.  BTW just because the "From:" line says Walmart doesn't mean it actually came from them.  Phishers will do anything to get you to open their spams.


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## JimDawson (Nov 12, 2015)

John Hasler said:


> .......BTW just because the "From:" line says Walmart doesn't mean it actually came from them.  Phishers will do anything to get you to open their spams.



Agreed John, I catch 100% of those.  Most of them are caught by my spam filter and just go to my spam folder.  The email that I got from Kmart was targeted and was sent by Criteo Email, an actual ''legitimate'' email marketing firm based in France, and hired by Sears, Kmart's parent company.


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## Ulma Doctor (Nov 13, 2015)

what's even more scary is the amount and type of information others have on all of us.


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## Mark_f (Nov 13, 2015)

Ulma Doctor said:


> what's even more scary is the amount and type of information others have on all of us.


I used to worry about that, but not so much anymore.  I pay all my bills online , buy online, bank online, delete the hundred or so emails a day and try to enjoy my time. My friend won't shop online or give out any info , but pays his bills with a check. He is very old and wary of everyone and everything. I told him " every time you give a check to a company, you just wrote them your name , address, and bank account number. It is no different than doing it online ".  I regret telling him that as now he is frustrated and wants to run around and pay cash.
It is difficult unles you want to go off the grid like my cousin. He pays cash ( which he takes from a bank account listed at his parents address) , lives on a mountain he owns, no utilities, just him and his dog. He is about as close to untraceable as you can get, but I don't think I can live that way. Big brother... Look at me all you want..... You'll get bored and look elsewhere .


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## tomh (Nov 13, 2015)

*Don't worry about it    be happy     enjoy life     its shorter than you may think!*
*IF* 
You have a ssi #    
finger prints   
are a vet 
Use a Doctor
Use a computer?   you have a IP  address 
have a security clearance 
Big bro knows all about you.  Hell I had to list scars  so the air force  could ID my body LOL. So now big bro knows all.
Wait till you go to get your social security started!  they told me my mothers maiden name my dads name omg they know every thing about you  and your family.   (As mark said give someone a check)  LOL


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## John Hasler (Nov 13, 2015)

Actually the marketing companies don't know as much about you as most people think they do.  They don't have consolidated dossiers on you: that does not interest them.  Instead "you" appear at dozens of different places in their relational databases.  Your IP may appear in a table of machine tool buyers, your email address in one of homeowners, your name on a table of men in a certain age range, etc.  "Targeted" ads are not sent to you in a personal sense.  They are sent to all IPs that are returned by, for example, a query for IPs that match "machine tool buyer +  over 50 + homeowner".

It's alos important to realize that much of what has come to be called "personal information" is actually public.  Your place and date of birth, for example, has almost certainly been published online by the government of the county in which you were born.


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## mcostello (Nov 13, 2015)

I just got an email stating, "this is the last time the FBI will try to contact Me." 
Let's see,
They have my drivers license number with a picture and all that data.
They can use Google Earth and see what My place looks like and what vehicles are there.
They have access to My medical records to the Doctor and Insurance Companies.
Credit card usage.
Utility bills and records.
Cell phone usage and location.
GPS in the cars.
Cable TV tracking My usage and interests.
What's left?


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## John Hasler (Nov 13, 2015)

tomh said:


> they told me my mothers maiden name my dads name


That was all put in the public record when your birth was recorded.


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## chips&more (Nov 13, 2015)

My father passed away about 20 years ago. And I still get mail addressed to my house with his name on it? And I have moved once during that time! I have tried several times to inform to whoever that he has past. But, looks like I’m just wasting my time.  It’s scary how some info gets stuck in the big picture/system and you can’t get rid of it.


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## chips&more (Nov 13, 2015)

Ulma Doctor said:


> what's even more scary is the amount and type of information others have on all of us.


Yeah! I have a couple of rentals. I was just clicking away on the old Google one day and stumbled onto a site that gave me ALL the renters that I had for the last 9 years! And all there possible relatives too! And there current location! WOW, that’s way too much free info and I think invades privacy!


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## Dan_S (Nov 13, 2015)

chips&more said:


> Yeah! I have a couple of rentals. I was just clicking away on the old Google one day and stumbled onto a site that gave me ALL the renters that I had for the last 9 years! And all there possible relatives too! And there current location! WOW, that’s way too much free info and I think invades privacy!



A lot of this information was available way before the internet existed, it just required a lot more leg work to get your hands on it. For example I can remember going with my dad as a kid to some kind of archive to find information on a house he wanted to buy. After an hour or two of digging he knew who all the previous owners had been what they had paid to buy the house, and what they had sold it for.


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## John Hasler (Nov 13, 2015)

chips&more said:


> I was just clicking away on the old Google one day and stumbled onto a site that gave me ALL the renters that I had for the last 9 years! And all there possible relatives too! And there current location!


Sure.  They do a Web search for all the names they can find that are associated with that location.  Every one of those people probably gave out their names and addresses to hundreds of Web sites.  The quality of the data from these "dossier" sites is usually of very low quality, though.

I bet you have a Google account and let them set cookies and run scripts on your computer.  The fact that you visited that site will have gone into Google's database.


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## John Hasler (Nov 13, 2015)

Dan_S said:


> A lot of this information was available way before the internet existed, it just required a lot more leg work to get your hands on it. For example I can remember going with my dad as a kid to some kind of archive to find information on a house he wanted to buy.


There were companies that published indexes and compilations, but they were expensive.  The "archive" was the county land records.


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## Bill Gruby (Nov 14, 2015)

There are sites that you can subscribe to that will give you info on anyone you choose, right down to police records. Suck it up people, the internet has made you public knowledge.

 "Billy G"


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## Billh50 (Nov 14, 2015)

Any record of a person that was kept in a place that  the public could search is what is on the internet now. The websites containing the information have access to these records and do a search when a particular name is entered. Land records, court records, arrest records, birth records, etc. These are all searchable records that the sites get the information from.


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## middle.road (Nov 14, 2015)

All information was farmed and stored long before the Internet Age. Insurance companies keep some of the largest most comprehensive databases around.
Then the Credit Reporting companies started theirs. Then the Advertising sector got into the game. And then along comes the Net.
Agencies and department started selling info the info they had. So now the Ones that had been doing it all along started selling access to their databases.
It's the almighty Buck, not Big Brother that is driving it.


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## Ulma Doctor (Nov 14, 2015)

then the question becomes,
Do i or should I have a right to be compensated when someone uses my name, likeness, or information when they are profiting from the exchange of that same information?
I say YES


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## Grumpy Gator (Nov 14, 2015)

_I don't mind all my info being public.I just have a problem with anyone that uses my name and buying habits to sell to a third party for a profit. Where is my piece of that pie and why is somebody else eating it._
_When I do a job it's my Name , knowledge and skill that gets me paid. Using my name to make money is picking my pocket.And that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I might just be throwing rocks at a battleship but it is my name and I should be able to say how it's used._
_****Just Saying*******G*********
	

		
			
		

		
	



	

		
			
		

		
	
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## Ulma Doctor (Nov 14, 2015)

Preach, Brother Gator!!!


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## chips&more (Nov 14, 2015)

So I guess then, because of the easy access and wealth of info on the net. That’s why the slime balls are making Billions on identity thief! Anyone that puts a selfie and their full name on the net is putting themselves one step closer to identity thief (hint!).


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## TOOLMASTER (Nov 14, 2015)

COOKIES...YOU WILL SEE ADS POP UP ON ANYWHERE YOU GO AFTER FOR THINGS YOU JUST SEARCHED


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## Grumpy Gator (Nov 15, 2015)

_With all this talk about cookies I decided to check my settings. I'm ruining a real old XP Dell using Opera as a browser {since Microsoft quit support} backed up by Ghostery cookie blocker.With this old clunker I have to be real careful about how much junk gets stored or my puter slows to a crawl._
_Surprise surprise a new way to store data on my machine has reared it's ugly head.Flash Data.If you run Adobe Flash go to there settings page and check out what's stored there. Now they are not all bad but there are a few that have nothing to do mak__ing videos run better. Some want to store up to 100 Kb on your machine just to track your movements....All this junk slows down my machine....Who's machine is it?....Lets be serious here I choose who I invite into my house and yard....Why aren't those same rights extended to my computer? _
_Now y'all know I ain't no expert at this sort of thing.But when things go wrong and stop working right I keep pecking at it till I fix the problem and then find out what caused it to begin with. Then I stomp out the root cause and go about my life with another one in the win column._
_End of rant ... I feel better now...._
_****Freedom ain't Free***It's paid for by someone else's sacrifice***G****
	

		
			
		

		
	



	

		
			
		

		
	
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## savarin (Nov 15, 2015)

The best con I believe in this computer age is the rights agreement for software.
It takes effect once you open the wrapping but you cant read it until you open the wrapping.
An awesome con that we've let the industry get away with from day one.


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## John Hasler (Nov 15, 2015)

savarin said:


> The best con I believe in this computer age is the rights agreement for software.
> It takes effect once you open the wrapping but you cant read it until you open the wrapping.
> An awesome con that we've let the industry get away with from day one.


Much of that is unenforceable.  Much of the rest is just a regurgitation of copyright law and would have effect with no agreement at all.  The con is that people believe it.

Of course there *is* Free Software that involves no such agreements...


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## Anthony G (Nov 29, 2015)

I've never heard that cookies or javascript can allow a third party to infiltrate your computer and somehow acquire your email address. I suppose that may be possible for someone with nefarious intentions, but I highly doubt that a reputable company would resort to something like that. There simply has to be a logical explanation as to how Kmart got your email address. Did you click on the Kmart ad through another site such as Amazon, etc., with whom you do have an account?


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## Anthony G (Nov 29, 2015)

mark_f said:


> I used to worry about that, but not so much anymore.  I pay all my bills online , buy online, bank online, delete the hundred or so emails a day and try to enjoy my time. My friend won't shop online or give out any info , but pays his bills with a check. He is very old and wary of everyone and everything. I told him " every time you give a check to a company, you just wrote them your name , address, and bank account number. It is no different than doing it online ".  I regret telling him that as now he is frustrated and wants to run around and pay cash.
> It is difficult unles you want to go off the grid like my cousin. He pays cash ( which he takes from a bank account listed at his parents address) , lives on a mountain he owns, no utilities, just him and his dog. He is about as close to untraceable as you can get, but I don't think I can live that way. Big brother... Look at me all you want..... You'll get bored and look elsewhere .



You can still pay with cash for your everyday transactions. And for your utility bills, if you can still pay by check, you can certainly pay with a money order. They still get your name and address, but the utilities know all that anyway since you have service with them. But, with a MO they don't get your bank account information. However, even if you pay at a store with cash, you are still being recorded on video cameras, so your transaction is still traceable. Remember, there's a "time stamp" on the receipt for each transaction. So, for instance, HYPOTHETICALLY speaking, if you were to go to a Bass Pro Shop and buy a 10" hunting knife with cash and then go stab a RANDOM STRANGER to death, it isn't that hard for the cops to figure out who did it. The knife will EASILY be traced back to a Bass Pro Shop. Once that is done, it is EASY to figure out how much the knife costs, go through the transactions and then match it up to a certain time stamp, and then match that up with video and your picture. I'm just making a point that its extremely hard to get away with anything in today's world with all of the monitoring everywhere, even if you use cash for everything.  

Not to mention that the thought police already know what you're thinking, so if you do something, they already know its you.


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## savarin (Nov 29, 2015)

Anthony G said:


> but I highly doubt that a reputable company would resort to something like that.


Such as a reputable company like  VW for instance?


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## Dan_S (Nov 29, 2015)

Most likely, a company got your email address, because of something you did, either you gave it to them, a sister company that shares information, or you left it in the wide open on the internet for all to see.


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## JimDawson (Nov 29, 2015)

There are a number of companies that have my email address, but not normal consumer places like Sears, Wallyworld, Kmart, etc.  I buy from Ebay, Amazon, NewEgg, etc, so one of those might be affiliated with Kmart.  My Google account points to a different throwaway Gmail address.  I'm sure it's tracking cookies.  I don't mind targeted ads on the pages I visit, we gotta pay to play.  But sending me an mail to an address that they shouldn't have just pi$$es me off.


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## Dan_S (Nov 29, 2015)

JimDawson said:


> I'm sure it's tracking cookies.


Jim, I'm a web developer. I in fact wrote my companies tracking system, and it can track pretty much anything you do on a page it's embedded on. However, it's not possible within the confines of JavaScript and cookies to get your email address off your machine. The only way i could get it, would be if you logged into my companies userid system, or you typed it into a form.



JimDawson said:


> I buy from Ebay, Amazon, NewEgg, etc, so one of those might be affiliated with Kmart.


this is probably it, as all three of these companies have huge affiliate programs.


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## Anthony G (Nov 30, 2015)

savarin said:


> Such as a reputable company like  VW for instance?



Touche' .....................I guess GM fits that bill, too.


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## eugene13 (Nov 30, 2015)

There is no more privacy, get used to it.  I don't know who the quote belongs to, and I probably read it somewhere on the internet so it has to be true, i guess I'm used to it, does this make scence, I hope not.


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## dlane (Dec 10, 2015)

I can be looking at somthing on Enco , Amazon then come to this site and the exact same thing is in the advertising on the home page ?


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