@JennyJ I don't have any voice activated devices and the only apps with permission to access audio are the camera, contacts, text messages and recorder (a very recent addition). I have no idea how it's happening!
I use Brave too (as mentioned above) and it's a great browser which is privacy focused.
It blocks companies like Google following you around and tracking all your activities.
I know some people use different browsers for different activities. You might have one just for Facebook (if you use Facebook) or other invasive social media, or perhaps one you use just for internet shopping. I use an online, free version of Photoshop that doesn't like my normal blockers, so I use Brave for that.
Frankly I don’t care if Google and those of its ilk are tracking me as my life is so mundane there is no merit in following my moves. I am quite capable of ignoring ads that pop up and just skim straight past them.
Not being technically savvy I am afraid that if I install something like an ad blocker I will screw up and end up interfering with the whirry bits inside the computer. However there is one site I look at from time to time where the slow uploading of advertisements is an irritation - on the News Now page which I periodically look at to see which players LCFC will (not) be buying, the onward links are wretchedly laborious.
@BenCotto a simple ad blocking browser plugin like Adblock will sort that site out. Easy to turn on/off for any particular site. Lots of folk use Adblock. Using the browser you normally use for visiting the troublesome site you mention, just go to https://adblockplus.org/ and it will detect the browser you are using and offer instructions.
A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
@JennyJ I don't have any voice activated devices and the only apps with permission to access audio are the camera, contacts, text messages and recorder (a very recent addition). I have no idea how it's happening!
It's a mystery! Or a rather strange coincidence, although being a suspicious and cynical soul I do sometimes wonder if permissions can be overridden without us knowing about it. Probably I'm being paranoid about that though.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
It's a mystery! Or a rather strange coincidence, although being a suspicious and cynical soul I do sometimes wonder if permissions can be overridden without us knowing about it. Probably I'm being paranoid about that though.
It's good to be thinking that way when using any technology which connects to the internet. Many things need configuring properly to be safely used, but don't come with adequate instructions.
A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
I bought my laptop from John Lewis and asked them to install an adblocker when they set it up to my requirements and transferred my files. That way I made sure everything was compatible. 😊
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
"Frankly I don’t care if Google and those of its ilk are tracking me as
my life is so mundane there is no merit in following my moves. I am
quite capable of ignoring ads that pop up and just skim straight past
them."
I suppose if you don't mind bankrolling Google and FB etc. I'd rather them not use my data and me as a money spinning project, in ways I have no clue about. As they say - if you are getting a product for free, know that you are the product. I think of it in the same way as trying to understand the provenance of what I buy. I try and find out where it came from, who and what made it, what went into it. In this case I am the product for sale, so I want to know, going forward, who will use my data, why and where.
One thought that stays with me is this - your data is out in the ether in perpetuity. This stuff does not 'die' or disappear when we stop thinking about it or we decease. Every scrap of data can be floating about for harvesting - every detail of your online life. Whether it's 'interesting' or salacious is not the point. Your habits are often what are sold, your daily patterning, what time you are online, your income range, what you eat, how you dress, if you go on holiday, where your cursor moves and how long it pauses, which keywords you preference, what town you are writing from, what time you go to bed. All the data is available for sale and there are multibillion pound corporations who pay well to know these details about you and the world - for current or future use, to anticipate and create trends and markets.
I like to know that my data stays mine, as much as possible, and to know something of the risks I'm taking with it; this in the understanding that I have no real idea how the data will, could or might be used. I don't comprehend the tech, my imagination boggles at the scale of data mining. So, in that light, I use the free protection from currently trusted sources to watch my back for me. Maybe it will prove naive to think Ghostery etc will make a difference to my online footprint, but it's safeguarding I can easily have in place for the moment. Your data is gold, so treasure it.
@Fire I just signed up for the Ghostery thing thanks to you(do you get rewards for referrals? ). I don't really get it though- I chose the free one, am I supposed to do something other than make an account?? There didn't seem to be any options on what to do next.
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Not being technically savvy I am afraid that if I install something like an ad blocker I will screw up and end up interfering with the whirry bits inside the computer. However there is one site I look at from time to time where the slow uploading of advertisements is an irritation - on the News Now page which I periodically look at to see which players LCFC will (not) be buying, the onward links are wretchedly laborious.
It's a mystery! Or a rather strange coincidence, although being a suspicious and cynical soul I do sometimes wonder if permissions can be overridden without us knowing about it. Probably I'm being paranoid about that though.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.