So a bit ago I got an add for “canned rambutan”. I had looked up Rambutan a few days prior after hearing it mentioned 10 hours into the video game Baby Steps. I wasn’t using a VPN at the time and I didn’t have fingerprinting protections active but I only mentioned it to a few sources (according to my browser history) all of which generally are implied to be private.

Which of these do you think is the reason the ad networks know?

  • Wikipedia
  • Startpage Search
  • Duckduckgo Search
  • My ISP
  • Firefox
  • My Firefox Extensions
  • Kubuntu
  • CachyOS
  • The omnipotent algorithm connecting my mentions of Baby Steps with my progress through the game.
  • Does this only make sense if my browser history is incomplete?
  • Maybe I was using DNS over HTTPS via Cloudflare at the time of my search.

Any guesses as to where the weak link is?

  • Cyberflunk@lemmy.world
    191·
    5 days ago

    well, it would make no fucking difference if you had a vpn on, ALL IT DOES IS MOVE YOUR EXIT POINT. it cannot touch your browser traffic.

    frustrates me to bo end the bullshit fucking ads/lies vpn companies peddle

    • FoundFootFootage78@lemmy.mlOPEnglish
      10·
      5 days ago

      If my exit point is my ISP, and my ISP is selling my data to advertisers (hypothetically), then a VPN would make a difference. That’s why I mentioned it.

      • Cyberflunk@lemmy.world
        4·
        5 days ago

        search data would be difficult to obtain for a service provider. it would require a retargeting campaign or something to extract your search values.

        search data is already tls encapsulated at the browser. isp can see your tcp metdata, but not the data.

        also… not the point. sorry

        • FoundFootFootage78@lemmy.mlOPEnglish
          2·
          5 days ago

          I should’ve known that but forgot. You’re right, my ISP shouldn’t be able to see anything but that I visited Wikipedia. They wouldn’t know that I searched for rambutan.

    • Skankhunt420@sh.itjust.works
      2·
      4 days ago

      Wasn’t Mullvad famously raided and found to keep no logs?

      I’d sure trust that more than any ISP in UK or USA and I think you would be crazy not to as well.

      One has a proven track record, the others undoubtedly do it and have been known to do it and tell you they do it.

      It frustrates me to no end that people can’t understand that truth.

      Even with TOR and shit they say don’t do that and I think that’s wrong. Sure sure, fingerprinting or whatever. I believe there is a much more tangible risk of your ISP knowing that you are connecting to TOR in the first place especially in countries like UK and USA.

      Sure if you lived in Belize or something where it doesn’t matter it wouldn’t be a big deal but living in those two countries and even like Canada and Germany automatically makes you a target for using it.

      Out of those options or a VPN I pay anonymously with Monero or mail cash to I would consider that much, much safer than any ISP.

      I encourage you to look up what Snowden said about ATT helping the NSA during Prism which is absolutely still ongoing.

      In fact, here you go heres a small part of it https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/how-att-helped-the-nsa-spy-on-millions/

      But sure keep preaching about how VPNs don’t do anything and instead trust the companies that have direct interests to the governments they serve to stay in favor and that have your credit card and address on file. That is much more secure!

      • Cyberflunk@lemmy.world
        1·
        3 days ago

        I didn’t say they didn’t do anything, bit the lies they peddle about protecting your browsing is shit, browsing is almost universally https now, you’re iso can’t see shit, except the IP address you’re connected to, a VPN just moves your exit point, that’s it, you’re iso knows you’re connected to a VPN also, btw

        I didn’t say they didn’t do anything my rage is against the marketing