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Creepy Internet stuff

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cowboybob

Well-Known Member
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We all know that our personal stuff is being mined by the various Biggies of the internet. For my part, I'm not too concerned (just yet), but today I was a bit surprised by this:
upload_2016-4-10_16-56-43.png


Gettin' just a tad creepy... o_O
 
If you have a google account or an account on a site owned by google (i.e. YouTube, gmail, etc) it'll know your name and probably birth date (from when you set up your account). Nothing creepy per se -- It's information you would have to have put in at some point or another.
 
Still creepy, Matt. A level of familiarity that is, frankly, unwelcome...
 
Still creepy, Matt. A level of familiarity that is, frankly, unwelcome...

Fair enough. At least they're not digging through personal information that you never gave to them. That would be a whole new level of creepy.
 
Still creepy, Matt. A level of familiarity that is, frankly, unwelcome...
You probably don't know what's creeepy being a security tester myself I know what means in being creepy.probably you will not like this but anyone with a trojan injection tool can control your wireless AP's functions and can even take control of your internet by DNS poisoning now isn't that creepy.Whatever Google did was nothing compared to this and what it did was not illegal but you should keep your eyes and ears open for real security threats and if you still don't like the way google reacted then you should stop posting personal info like birthdate online.
regards,
TM117
 
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You probably don't know what's creeepy being a security tester myself I know what means in being creepy.probably you will not like this but anyone with a trojan injection tool can control your wireless AP's functions and can even take control of your internet by DNS poisoning now isn't that creepy.Whatever Google did was nothing compared to this and what it did was not illegal but you should keep your eyes and ears open for real security threats and if you still don't like the way google reacted then you should stop posting personal info like birthdate online.
regards,
TM117
Sorry but that is very old tech!! Even a complete computer noob like me can do way more stuff than that! RATS have been around a long time, and sticking a RAT inside a pic with photoshop is childs play. Anyone with a server should have some degree of knowledge on how to pen test it or they need to pay to get it tested. I know the Admins here constantly search for ways to break in to the software, its the only way to keep people out.

If you want really creepy think about this...................
MOST smart phones can be hacked and the camera and microphone remotely controlled silently ;), the first indication is a lower than normal battery time but by then..........

Send txts and makes calls on a phone, anything else is asking for trouble, never open attachments on a phone or download cute pics off the net, there is a reason for pointless cute pics and it isnt to make you laugh.
 
You probably don't know what's creeepy ...
Sorry but that is very old tech!!
Thanks, guys.

Actually, I started this thread hoping that some folks would start adding the really creepy stuff, just for FYIs to other members. And, in a sense (other than not supplying my B-Date, don't open stupid ****, etc.), if there might be some solutions out there to circumvent the intrusions...
 
Thanks, guys.

Actually, I started this thread hoping that some folks would start adding the really creepy stuff, just for FYIs to other members. And, in a sense (other than not supplying my B-Date, don't open stupid ****, etc.), if there might be some solutions out there to circumvent the intrusions...
Get linux and tell MS and google nothing, then to be really sure unplug the pc and bury in the ground, to be fair its about the only way to stop it these days. Data is knowledge and knowledge is power, those that collect the data therefore have the most knowledge and the most power. The moment a way is found to monetize something the lengths people/companies goto to grab as much as they can goes through the roof.

Recent experience proves even if your normally careful sooner or later they find a weak spot. Just keep personal info offline as much as you can.
 
Thanks, guys.

Actually, I started this thread hoping that some folks would start adding the really creepy stuff, just for FYIs to other members. And, in a sense (other than not supplying my B-Date, don't open stupid ****, etc.), if there might be some solutions out there to circumvent the intrusions...

After seeing that for every new whatever I open, my PC, which is quite slow, shows "waiting for Google analytics" , I do not expect my privacy being such anymore.

Consider that, this way, CB: it was not even a bot who wished happy birthday to you but a simple section of code properly writen, based on data you supplied sometime before. Was it someone real, most probably it would be not very polite with you.

I got convinced, in the pre-Web times, that most of our data, is really public out there.
 
Try lightbeam plugin for firefox, you need to be careful though but remember even if you mess up you can undo it. What lightbean does is show the last 10 sites you visit, it also shows where those connect when you visit them, you can click on these satalite sites and disable them so next time you visit the site the other sites cant track you.

Hang on might be easier to show screen shot..........................
snip.PNG


You can list the third party sites and block them. The screen shows what I have been doing tonight, really boring! ETO is the bottom circle and the triangles are pages I went too from links on here, The big one is twitter, I have spent two days on there following a story and gathering info, hence the high number of sites visited. This is all to do with my Computer technology course work, I have to write about how social media can be used to manipulate an outcome or promote a product (YAWN) most of the sites coming off the main twitter circle are newspaper links. Anyway you should be able to see how it all links together.

I havnt blocked any of these site or anything as I am having to use twitter etc this is all being run in a Virtual Machine rather than on the actual hardrive, so when I have finished I just delete the VM image. I do this so I can follow links on the twitter post with some form of safety, the VM is actually sitting on an external USB3 3TB drive so I am not exposing my main C drive.

Although the VM thinks its the C drive if you see what I mean. I also make sure the VM has not network connection to the real machine and there is no sharing enabled, finally I dont use a fixed drive volume size, I set the VM to say 120GB and the software uses or claims X amount of space at a time until it reaches your set limit, I rarely get near this and mostly I delete all VM's as soon as I have finished with them so any virus or malware is shredded.

I dont always do this, I normally only go this far if I dont know where I will end up with following links, so like tonight having to sift through twitter (man its boring!) its easy to click a link and end up somewhere you dont want to be.
 
I was also annoyed by the b day cake thing and find the gross and childish images that get posted daily on the Google home page generally annoying too, especially the animated ones. Apparently, there is a highly paid woman who's sole job is those images.

As I have mentioned before, practically everything you do is monitored these days- even just walking down the road you are probably record by a camera. The creeps can even sort through your trash bin and harvest all sorts of data about you. Then there is the electoral role, the phone book, and the register of births and deaths in the UK, etc etc.

You hear people say, Oh I run MSDOS, I have a powerful virus checker, I am very careful, I have Apple, I run Linux so they wont get me and the present mantra, I am not going for Win 10. This is the worst possible mistake because, as LG implies, it is dead simple to hack any system. The worst thing is not realizing it. I heard an Apple devote say that he used IOS so he as safe- Apple has never been infiltrated.

If the crooks, or anyone else, decide to focus on you, you are done for. It is as simple as that. Apparently, Adobe Reader is one of the most dangerous programs- because it is so widely used, it is a prime target for hackers. I stopped using it before Xmas 2015. And it is not worth mentioning mobile (cell) phones of any denomination.

What I find unbelievable is the sloppy security with credit cards, about as bad as cars (autos) were pre 2000: a four digit PIN and, on top of that, only comprising numbers. :banghead:

spec
 
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Thanks, guys.

Actually, I started this thread hoping that some folks would start adding the really creepy stuff, just for FYIs to other members. And, in a sense (other than not supplying my B-Date, don't open stupid ****, etc.), if there might be some solutions out there to circumvent the intrusions...

Simply stop:

browsing the Web
using credit cards
communicating through email
using any Android app
talking to your neighbors
telling your friends how happy you are because you are planning a vacation trip to XXX
browse Ebay offers
read newspapers online
Google anything
and so on...
 
Simply stop:

browsing the Web
using credit cards
communicating through email
using any Android app
talking to your neighbors
telling your friends how happy you are because you are planning a vacation trip to XXX
browse Ebay offers
read newspapers online
Google anything
and so on...

Breathing :D
 
I realize that beyond my WiFi connection is a universe of potential woe, interspersed with the occasional oasis of wonder. I make a concerted effort to limit my personal info dispersal but in some instances (e.g., PayPal) major info is required. Rightly or wrongly, I have to give it up and take my chances that their fire walls are adequate.

So, eternal vigilance is required. Beyond that, member's experience/solutions are sought.

For instance, a conversion to Linux is attractive, but I have NO idea if all my apps would work, what driver's are available and the litany of other issues I know nothing about. I could google it, of course, but I prefer to limit my queries to within the confines of ETO because I trust and respect the core members.

Even then, given the current "Members Online Now" (as of 0843 today) stats:
upload_2016-4-13_8-41-41.png

it's obvious the lookieloos and robots far exceed member participants.

Oh well... :woot:.
 
Creepy is when google sends you a ";)" 9 months before your birthday.
None of that worries me, I would be far more concerned if it said............" Happy LAST Birthday" :D 12 months looking over your shoulder :D
 
Happy LAST Birthday" :D 12 months looking over your shoulder :D
12 months? Could be 4 months, or 4 weeks, or 12 minutes. (last birthday <= 12 months) note the less than.

Once I was sitting on an air plain, first class, and the person that set down beside me, played "the angle of death" in a TV series.
Believe me when the angle of death sits down beside you and says; "how are you feeling?" I want to get up and run off the plain.
 
Creepy is when you get birthday greetings form some hotel in India where you did a quick stopover on your travels.

Weird and surprising is when the hotel you are staying at in Kuala Lumpur leaves you a little birthday cake in your room.
Picture 005.jpg

Disturbing and confusing is when you read what is written on the accompanying card.
Picture 006.jpg

JimB
 
Creepy is when you get birthday greetings form some hotel in India where you did a quick stopover on your travels.

Weird and surprising is when the hotel you are staying at in Kuala Lumpur leaves you a little birthday cake in your room.
View attachment 98908

Disturbing and confusing is when you read what is written on the accompanying card.
View attachment 98909

JimB
As far as I am aware this is the first time some one has 'come out' on ETO :p.
 
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