Google tracking cookie spans AdSense, DoubleClick
Yes, Google is using the same tracking cookie across both its AdSense and DoubleClick online ad contraptions. This allows the Mountain View ad giant to collect your surfing habits as you move from AdSense partner sites to sites using DoubleClick's ad management platform - although the company indicates that at least in some …
who really gives a shit apart from geeks?
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How
can they track my habits when...
*.doubleclick.* is blocked at my firewall and none of Google's cookies are accepted?
Firefox, NoScript, Adblock, CS Lite and RefControl... Track that Google.
and...
...a custom hosts files that directs all AdSense and DoubleClick traffic to 127.0.0.1
Re: How
Perhaps they just log your IP addy and date/time of access then cross reference it to your ISP's dirtybase of what they gave you at the time.
@camilla
Would that be the dynamic IP address which I make sure changes every day by rebooting my router?
I wouldn't imagine my ISP would divulge this information without a court order anyway, although more appalling abuse of customer privacy has happened in the past... BT/Phorm.
And then there is always the ProxySel addon for times of extreme tinfoil hattedness.
Bluetack!
Get the free PeerGuadian app and get the free "Bluetack" list, then block all these nasty little ad sites from harvesting your personal habits!
It's your data, protect it!
@adnim
Its probably likely though that your ISP assigns a static host name to your connection, something a bit like
cutsomer1.btbb.kingston.net
which doesn't change, so a reverse DNS lookup would allow them to track you even if your IP does change
Ben Tasker
My ISP's hostname changes when i get a new IP
Cust287 to Cust322 etc
@Ben
Sorry no cookie, pun intended ;-)
Like Zerofool2005 my hostname changes with IP. The IP address itself forms part of the hostname.
naifs
>> Firefox, NoScript, Adblock, CS Lite and RefControl... Track that Google
No problem..
1) In one browsing session there are few chances you change your ip address. A lot of tracking and targeted ad serving can be done just with this. Ads must not be served via javascript. This is the most used way at this time, but direct injection in the source code is perfectly possible, and is done very well by several "tools" sold to ISPs.
2) Google is a search engine. A good one. You can't hide what you search. You are using google, they know what you search, they know who you are.
3) Persistence other sessions. There are ways for this beyond browser cookie and even public IP address. At first, your ISP knows who you are. It can use the information, or resale it. For example your isp could resel to google a unique " anonymous " identifier and its public ip addresses other time. Or better, google could sell your ISP a tool crafted to serve "targeted advertising" to its customer in order to " enhance user experience " and " optimize the revenue per customer ".
The tool is very easy to design: just a cookie injector: any http request sent from your personal connection to any of google service, whatever the ip address, will have a unique cookie header inserted which is recognized by DClick / Adsense.. you can not block it. You can not detect it. And it is not a big cost for ISPs.
customers
"It's unclear which contracts and which customers Chen is referring too."
if you are not paying google to show your ad, you are not a customer.
(cluestick being all gallager-like icon)
