The next step after cookies.

[hazelnut]

Sometimes you just wonder... what next? Then you read something which makes you think that keeping yourself track free on the internet is getting a harder thing to do.

 

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304682504579157780178992984

 

On Wednesday, Microsoft quietly announced in a blog post that the company will give marketers the ability to track and advertise to people who use apps on its Windows 8 and 8.1 operating system on tablets and PCs. The company will do this by assigning each user a number—a unique identifier—that monitors them across all of their apps

 

Google's plans, which the company disclosed in only the broadest of terms last month, would also make use of a unique ID. But the tracking could be far-reaching, say industry experts. Google's system could tie together data about users across all the company's products—Gmail, the Chrome browser and Android phones. In a statement about its efforts, the company said "technological enhancements" like an identifier could improve security "while ensuring the Web remains economically viable."

 

Facebook's new ad service, launched earlier this month, gets around the traditional third-party advertising cookies by doing the tracking on its own. When a person visits a website selling shoes on a work PC, a piece of Facebook code placed on that site—Facebook's own cookie—recognizes that the person has logged into Facebook using that browser before. The shoe seller can then send the person an ad for the shoe on Facebook's mobile app—even if that person never registered with the shoe seller.

[Winapp2.ini]

just flash your MAC every time you access the internet

[Nergal]

just flash your MAC every time you access the internet

(Warning slightly PG content below )

I'm not sure why showing our privates to our network-card's Machine Address will help, but ok will do.

[Andavari]

There's unique ID's living in the Windows registry all over the place. But at least Microsoft can no longer say they don't use any identifiable information about it. Just another reason I'm glad to be skipping Win8/8.1 altogether.

 

(Warning slightly PG content below )

I'm not sure why showing our privates to our network-card's Machine Address will help, but ok will do.

 

Next time you're in a store ask how many flash pics a flash drive can hold.

[login123]

Microsoft's unique ID will have a switch-off setting, as does Apple's. Facebook lets members opt out of cookie-based ads; Google hasn't said either way.

 

Google's silence is revealing, imho.

Is this whole thing about ad revenue, or something else?

I'm going out to scout pawn shops for old computers that will run xp and Linuxes with a minimum of effort.

No UEFI. No GPT format. No TPM. No Bluetooth. No HP software.

 

And if they sell tin foil hats, more the better.

[Andavari]

I'm going out to scout pawn shops for old computers that will run xp and Linuxes with a minimum of effort.

No UEFI. No GPT format. No TPM. No Bluetooth. No HP software.

 

I'd put No HP hardware at the top of that list, followed by No HP software. Just sayin'

Edited November 1, 2013 by Andavari
typos

[login123]

I'd put No HP hardware at the top of that list, followed by No HP software. Just sayin'

 

Well, yes, and its a pity. I had really good luck with their stuff at first, actually would have qualified as a fan.

But nowadays they seem to be cutting corners in several areas.

Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard, who (probably) started in a garage, would be very disappointed.