A Practical Example of The Depth Tracking Software is Going To Right Now
And it’s so much worse than you think it is.
***I have no professional affiliation with Privacy Badger nor have I ever received compensation from them***
I have an app called PrivacyBadger. It’s awesome. It’s not an ad blocker, but it blocks things. It blocks all the other stuff you know is there, but if it’s not right in front of you (like an ad for a video game or Harbour Freight) you can willfully ignore its existence.
Which is what I usually do. Well, I used to.
Recently (last couple of years) new software from a company called “Admiral” has found its way to a lot of major corporate websites. It forces you to white-list the site so you see ads, or it annoys you into leaving the site.
I have never had a problem with reasonable ads, especially with the money these companies spend on content. They provide a service I appreciate and I hope they stay in business.
One site in particular I’m a fan of has had Admiral a long time and it never lets me pass. Which is weird because I don’t use an ad blocker on certain devices. I assumed it was just shitty glitchy software. I even went so far as to reach out to the Admiral and the site. No response.
About a week ago the Admiral thing popped up on Reuters.com and I was like, “ok what is going on?”. I wasn’t using an ad blocker.
Then I saw the number “38” on my Privacy Badger app icon.
Privacy Badger blocks tracking software. Not ads, but spying companies who want my data, location, web history, etc, and don’t usually do a great job of keeping that data safe once they have nefariously obtained it.
But, 38? Is Reuters the new Facebook?
For a little bit of context, Privacy Badger blocks 3 trackers on Disney.com and 2 on Pornhub. Reuters however, 38.
I know publications need revenue streams, but is the EU aware of this? I guess if you have tracking software Reuters offers a diverse audience, but maybe giving anyone with a few bucks access to me isn’t ok. And to be fair to Reuters the Badger block number changes from page to page as I surf Reuters, but 38? Should you have 38 trackers on you ever?
CNN.com = 8 blocked
I don’t have a Facebook account because I felt their business practices were just too shady. I’m still on Twitter, but I blocked Elon and keep seeing things that have me on the cusp of leaving. So I’m aware and bothered by the things all these companies do to us. That’s one of the reasons I was at Reuters to begin with. Aside from the EU’s better rules regarding corporate activities, Reuters feels more independent than American media as they don’t cater to one of the two audiences.
Hell, I won’t even use Apple products anymore.
“Privacy is (not) a basic human right”.
When Tim Cook decided to blurt that out I doubt he was thinking it would endure how it has. It was such sanctimonious bullshit then, and just a measuring stick for how disingenuous big tech was at that point in general. Becasue the day Cook said that (Feb. 28th, 2015) Apple had long since compromised itself and the integrity it may have had long before by giving backdoors to its iPhones to the China government.
FOXNEWS.com 14 trackers blocked
Anyone who reads my blog isn’t asking themselves, “Where’s Google?” in my little rants I have blown them up for years. I am also enjoying what media THEY aren’t allowing to make it to me from their ongoing anti-trust trial. So they are less getting a pass as much as the FTC is finally doing their job.
Back to Reuters… I was curious exactly why 38 trackers are necessary so I started researching. Here is what I found.
If you click OK on Privacy Badger, Reuters.com, these are the companies that will be harvesting your data. If you do read all of them, there are scary warnings I added from security companies about the specific trackers
***I have some comments here and there but if it gets boring skip past BOLD ***
IHS Markit Adhesion
S&P Globals Privacy Policy
https://www.spglobal.com/en/privacy/privacy-policy-english#digital-and-advertising-related-services — Goes to a blank page
Scorecard Research which is part of Full Circle Studies which is a subsidiary of Comscore
Privacy Policy https://www.comscore.com/About/Privacy
The privacy Policy governs the following:CreativeKnowledge, Full Circle Studies, measureAd, MobileXpression, PremierOpinion, RelevantKnowledge, TMRG, VoiceFive, OpinionSquare, PermissionResearch, and DigitalReflection.
zn8qfk42azo5fsr2r-trdigital.siteintercept.qualtrics.com
(Rolls off the tongue doesn’t it?)
They are really https://www.qualtrics.com/
There is a promotional video not really explaining, but showing how a sock company that makes ugly socks manipulates the market through use of your data.
a.pub.network
Freestar
These guys do not offer a link to a privacy policy without doing an additional search.
https://freestar.com/privacy-policy/
cdn.permutive.com
It goes to an error code. And “Access Denied”
From Permutive.com:
Permutive enables publishers to increase their ad revenue and advertisers to increase reach by future-proofing against OMP collapse, user opt-out, and the deprecation of third-party cookies.
Permutive advertisers can collaborate with premium publishers to target all audiences with precision and scale while safeguarding data privacy. No third-party cookies are required.
Oh the irony as they are a third-party cookie.
connatix-d.openx.net
They go to a server page offering a link, so that’s nice as the link takes you to a page that says, “Demand transparency”.
sync.intentiq.com
“Page can’t be found”
tpc.googlesyndication.com
“404 error”
“The requested URL / was not found on this server. That’s all we know.”
pagead2.googlesyndication.com
I searched and it has something to do with google pop-ups. But no one really knows for sure.
s2124157686.t.eloqua.com
This is Oracle and it takes you to the log in page. Which is also illegal I believe.
Watching their sale video they boasted “we helped our clients send over 8.8 billion messages over the cyber weekend”, so I guess Oracle is to blame for my spam folder.
Securepubads.g.doubleclick.net
A warning I found from https://techwarn.com/
Securepubads.g.doubleclick.net is an extension that gets attached to browsers, without the user’s consent. With time, Securepubads.g.doubleclick.net can degrade the overall performance of your system. In fact, the virus starts to advertise various contents. Developers support the virus with various “positive claims”. For example, some say Securepubads.g.doubleclick.net is a smart way of finding deals and coupons in the market. These claims are absolutely fake and misleading. You must not consider Securepubads.g.doubleclick.net as a choice for coupons. The doubleclick.net virus should be removed. This is potentially an unwanted software program (malware) that can affect your system. In the long run, you will be burdened with so many deals and suggestions. This virus can make you lose your mind!
Securepubads.g.doubleclick.net can do many changes to your system. For example, it can alter your browser settings. Some users have experienced changes in this DNS settings and endless redirections. You can always check and modify DNS Settings. By default, the virus was developed to drive more traffic to affiliated websites. It embeds seamlessly with JavaScript. That means, all browsers can be infected by the virus. The moment you connect to the internet the virus gets activated.
Ad.doubleclick.net can disturb your online sessions with annoying popups. As mentioned previously, you will be redirected to random websites. This virus is capable of taking you to advertising sites and other phishing websites. Phishing websites are known for collecting personal information!
pubads.g.doubleclick.net
direct.ad.cpe.dotomi.com
Another, “can not be found”
Very high profile, if you want to know about Dianomi google Julian Petterson.
Here is his twitter. It’s self-explanatory. @JulianfPeterson
vid.connatix.com
Video ads
colossusssp.com
“Nothing found”
ping.chartbeat.net
This one is kinda fun, their entire page is devoted to saying, “we will not slow your computer down”. I assume because all these cookies slow your computer down.
17de4c15.akstat.io
Also Charbeat. Unclear what this does.
adserver.adtech.advertising.
Although it has nothing to do with these people taking your info, https://clearcode.cc/blog/what-is-an-ad-server/ answers all the questions about this pretty well.
The rest below are a lot of the same.
17de4c15.akstat.io
static.adsafeprotected.com
try.abtasty.com
cdn-ima.33across.com
**End Bold**
Hell, that’s enough.
So whether you buy into the “it’s anonymous information” thing or acknowledge the reality that Edward Snowden illuminated with the world, do you really want 38 random companies taking all your information?
If you take enough info they can find out anything about you and anyone who denies that is ignorant or full of shit. The anonymous information Facebook had available, in the primitive years, was used to influence an election. What could Google do now? Hell, what could the NSA do now?
I’m just an idiot blogger, but this is something you may want to think about a little more than you are.
