barclaycon 569 Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 Indeed. This is the state of the internet today. It's called contextual advertising. Every time you go to a website a cookie is generated. This is just a small text file that sits in your Internet Files folder. It basically contains the preferences that you've used i.e. language, local area etc. Initially it was a good idea because it meant that you didn't have to keep entering the same details each time you went to a website. But it's been hijacked by advertisers and unscrupulous bastards like Google to profile you and taylor adverts based on your web surfing habits, which they will then bombard you with. They access these cookies to see where you've been and what you've been looking at. Unbelievable that they've been allowed to do this isn't it ? Let's say you go to Holland and Barrett's website to see if they've got a sale on. You will then start seeing adverts for vitamins etc. wherever you go. Forums, Facebook etc. etc. The only way to get rid of these annoyances is to clear out your Temporary Internet Files folder. Though you will find that when you go back to Hotmail, Gmail etc. you will have to re-enter your details all over again. It's the commercialisation of the internet. They don't give a toss and they can do it because nothing is policed. Same with Spam. They could get rid of it overnight if they wanted to but it's not in their interest to do so. Protect you identity, guard your data. Use the internet you way you want to, rather than the way they try and force you to. They don't own it, and if they make your web surfing experience so irritating then stop using their services. When Yahoo started delivering adverts straight to people's Inboxes I sent a message to the company involved saying 'your product must be pretty crap if you've got to force people to look at adverts for it'. 1 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
benjamin1945 16,139 Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 HUH, bark init... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
loppylugs 8,427 Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 Catfan, you are right about Google. I use a different search engine on principal. Use Adblock on my laptop, that cuts out most of them, but they sure sneak onto my Ipad. I hate the so and so's. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
barclaycon 569 Posted March 27, 2015 Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 Finally, something might actually be done about the intrusive 'contextual advertising' that drives us all nuts: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-32083188 I've recently done a test with all my compters as to how the BBC website now looks since they keep banging on about how you've got to have the latest browser to get the 'complete experience'. It's nonsense. I've tried Explorer, Safari and Chrome and the pictures still look blurry and the page layout full of big white gaps and infant school lettering. The optimisation (SIC) for smartphones just makes it crap for everyone else. If anything, Chrome looked the best - but we're talking in relative terms. The website was fine until they 'improved' it. 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted March 27, 2015 Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 Chulla my friend i'm sure like me you are of the age where you remember Izal and Bronco this junk mail falls into that catargory Quote Link to post Share on other sites
littlebro 234 Posted March 27, 2015 Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 #30 at least Izal had a use, 2 if you include tracing Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chulla 4,946 Posted March 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 I eventually found in the teeny-weeny print on the back of the terrific offer they were assailing me with, the email address to contact to tell them not to send anymore mail to my address. I sent it of and guess what - another load arrived two weeks later. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crankypig 457 Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 Chulla,I am with virgin media and I still get loads of junk mail from them.I recently went to the virgin shop in town to tell them I wanted to go on the cheapest package as my bill had been creeping up over 3 months.I was asked if I would be at home on a certain day,I said yes ,I was charged £20 connection fee,which I assumed someone would be coming to connect a new box,but the item was delivered by courier ,I had to sign to say I had received it,reading the letter that came with it I saw it said self connection! But i am already connected to virgin,so I am paying to connect it myself?anyway I then went away on holiday .Today I had an automated phone call saying 'you have had your new equipment for 14days,please connect it in 7days or return it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
catfan 14,793 Posted July 24, 2015 Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 Chulla I don't mind junk mail. At least you know your mail has not been redirected elsewhere, a sure sign of Identity Theft. 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
catfan 14,793 Posted February 16, 2019 Report Share Posted February 16, 2019 Did'nt Branson flog VM to the yanks Hutchinson Telecom or similar. Now a money grabbing outfit who put up their prices as regular as a packet of Exlax. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob.L 1,088 Posted February 16, 2019 Report Share Posted February 16, 2019 Not Hutchinson. They’re from Hong Kong and run the Three mobile network. Virgin Media are owned by an American company, Liberty Global. The same people who are intent on ruining Formula One. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
catfan 14,793 Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 I knew there was a US connection. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HSR 286 Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 34 minutes ago, catfan said: I knew there was a US connection. 13 hours ago, IAN123. said: Bransons crowd keep pestering us..i answered the call..and told the nice lady..the last thing your firm did right was releasing Tubular Bells. Didn't Tubular Bells cost him his Bentley! Isn't he lined up to take over from Sugar on the Apprentice.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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