Jim in Anchorage Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 How is it web sites know where I am? Lets say I search Burger King. No location, just Burger King. The first thing that comes up is a map of Anchorage with the burger kings marked on it. Creepy if you ask me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 Cookies or IP address I believe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 http://www.ipaddresslocation.org/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Anchorage Posted October 25, 2010 Author Share Posted October 25, 2010 http://www.ipaddresslocation.org/ Thats weird. My laptop has a different address than my pc, even though they go tru the same modem. I still say its creepy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary M Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 Thats weird. My laptop has a different address than my pc, even though they go tru the same modem. I still say its creepy. Maybe the "King" is stalking you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 Cookies or IP address I believe Gotta be tied to the IP address. I travel quite a bit and notice the ads and crap change their location based on which town I'm in. So, cookies alone aren't going to do it. I've just assumed they're tracking the IP back to location. I've tried dumping all cookies, history, offline content, etc.; but they still track to location. And I agree, kinda creepy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 How is it web sites know where I am? Lets say I search Burger King. No location, just Burger King. The first thing that comes up is a map of Anchorage with the burger kings marked on it. Creepy if you ask me. Not trying to make you even more paranoid but the practice will likely get refined with time. The foundational issue is that activity on the internet is far from private. There is a tug of war underway between those who want to make data about what you do on the internet even easier to get and those who want to protect your privacy. There are great argumants to be made on both sides of the debate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopsGuy Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 Not trying to make you even more paranoid but the practice will likely get refined with time. The foundational issue is that activity on the internet is far from private. There is a tug of war underway between those who want to make data about what you do on the internet even easier to get and those who want to protect your privacy. There are great argumants to be made on both sides of the debate. I can see the argument for more targeted advertising. Last week I got a direct mail promo/coupon for a hairstylist specializing in "relaxers". The salon location is in the 'hood, while I live in a pretty tawny (and very white) section. Also, I'm a white male with a very Irish sounding name (never mind that I'm bald). I was sort of angry that the direct mailers, located in Texas, sold this to the salon-owner as a viable strategy to gain new business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 I can see the argument for more targeted advertising. Last week I got a direct mail promo/coupon for a hairstylist specializing in "relaxers". The salon location is in the 'hood, while I live in a pretty tawny (and very white) section. Also, I'm a white male with a very Irish sounding name (never mind that I'm bald). I was sort of angry that the direct mailers, located in Texas, sold this to the salon-owner as a viable strategy to gain new business. My local board of elections let the candidates know that I requested an absentee ballot, they've been sending me "reminders" to vote for them on my absentee ballot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 How is it web sites know where I am? Lets say I search Burger King. No location, just Burger King. The first thing that comes up is a map of Anchorage with the burger kings marked on it. Creepy if you ask me. This is a reason I get very annoyed using Google. If I search for spark plugs than for a week I get ads on every page for "ASFASG Sparkplugs!" If I search for anything, literally, I was looking for prices on rye grass and I was flooded with banners, etc on seeds. The worst offender is Campmore, but I love the company and they are so easy to work with with great prices so I tolerate them. Pretty much, any company that pays enough get their banners over anyone elses. This has made an interesting fight between domain owners and search engines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EZC-Boston Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 Is Fez on vacation or slacking??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 This is a reason I get very annoyed using Google. If I search for spark plugs than for a week I get ads on every page for "ASFASG Sparkplugs!" If I search for anything, literally, I was looking for prices on rye grass and I was flooded with banners, etc on seeds. The worst offender is Campmore, but I love the company and they are so easy to work with with great prices so I tolerate them. Pretty much, any company that pays enough get their banners over anyone elses. This has made an interesting fight between domain owners and search engines. Disable 3rd party cookies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Caveman Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 Gotta be tied to the IP address. I travel quite a bit and notice the ads and crap change their location based on which town I'm in. So, cookies alone aren't going to do it. I've just assumed they're tracking the IP back to location. I've tried dumping all cookies, history, offline content, etc.; but they still track to location. And I agree, kinda creepy. It depends on the site, but many sites use a combination of IP address and cookies. Cookies come in handy if you want to remember when a user manually changes their location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 Disable 3rd party cookies I've done that, however, because I am pretty much always signed on to Google and Yahoo, etc, it still posts the info. There is no privacy on the internets. Hi FBI people! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 Looking for more fast food joints other than Subway? I think BK serves milk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Anchorage Posted October 28, 2010 Author Share Posted October 28, 2010 Looking for more fast food joints other than Subway? I think BK serves milk. I continue my boycott of subway. They are too $ anyway[$10 for a double meat 12 inch that doesn't even fill me up]. BK double cheeseburger with bacon rules Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 I continue my boycott of subway. They are too $ anyway[$10 for a double meat 12 inch that doesn't even fill me up]. BK double cheeseburger with bacon rules Really... 10 bucks?? I am not joking, is that becasue prices are higher in AK. ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Anchorage Posted October 28, 2010 Author Share Posted October 28, 2010 I dunnno I never bought one elsewhere so I don't know if its higher or not but yeah $7 regular, $10 double meat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 (edited) I dunnno I never bought one elsewhere so I don't know if its higher or not but yeah $7 regular, $10 double meat. Seems about 2 bucks higher. Do they have the 5 dollar foot long thingy/promo in your neck of the woods? Cripes... You can get a whole crappy pizza at Little Caesars for 5 bucks... Can't find a frozen one in the suppermarket for that much. Edited October 28, 2010 by ExiledInIllinois Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Anchorage Posted October 28, 2010 Author Share Posted October 28, 2010 Seems about 2 bucks higher. Do they have the 5 dollar foot long thingy/promo in your neck of the woods? Cripes... You can get a whole crappy pizza at Little Caesars for 5 bucks... Can't find a frozen one in the suppermarket for that much. Yeah they got that $5 deal but only at certain times of the day...never, it seems when I am there. I have no idea what a pizza costs because I always make my own. Food prices in Anchorage for things like meat, cheese, milk are probably close to Nat average-its the fruits and vegetables that are high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 Yeah they got that $5 deal but only at certain times of the day...never, it seems when I am there. I have no idea what a pizza costs because I always make my own. Food prices in Anchorage for things like meat, cheese, milk are probably close to Nat average-its the fruits and vegetables that are high. Fruits and vegtables? Don't they grow colossal (with all the daylight in the summer) veggies in the Mat-Su Valley? You just bigger one's that take longer to eat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 Thats weird. My laptop has a different address than my pc, even though they go tru the same modem. I still say its creepy. I get a ton of ads that give results to job searches I made a few months back. I realize it's coming from the cookies and all of that stuff, but it's definitely a bit creepy. I haven't done any job searching for probably about 2 months now and I wonder how much longer these ads will continue to show up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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