How does the Daily Mail know...?

[CivicMan]

If I'm viewing a Daily Mail page, the Google ads on the page specifically mention my hometown, Brighton. I'm just casually surfing, not a logged in reader or anything. Not just the the Mail, other sites too.. How do they do that?

[Chris Hinds]

Your IP Address and Internet Provider usually...

[zac510]

Store cookies/etc that log which sites you have been to so they can serve ads that match the demographic of the sites you have been to.

[CivicMan]

Chris Hinds said:

Your IP Address and Internet Provider usually...

So in a nano second of clicking a page link, the Mail knows who I am? Are you saying then that any website can know exactly who is viewing their site? Is there a privacy issue here?

[davido140]

no, they know roughly where you are, not who you are. in much the same manner that you might roughly know someones location from their phone area code.

[zac510]

Well I did an IP search on the poster above and found out that his name is Chris Hinds.

[Condi]

Never had adverts coming up

"Single girls in Brighton waiting for you" or similar? No? You need to explore more of the internets!

They use IP addresses to roughly locate you, often using the nearest postal location. Mine sometimes comes up as a small village rather than the town a few miles away because the village is something to do with the postal address? Not sure what exactly.

[Tiggsy]

Condi said:

Never had adverts coming up

"Single girls in Brighton waiting for you" or similar? No? You need to explore more of the internets!

Hang on...so Reading isnt a hotbed of single women?

[FunkyNige]

CivicMan said:

Are you saying then that any website can know exactly who is viewing their site? Is there a privacy issue here?

When you go the Daily Mail page, Revsci.net put a tracking cookie on your computer. This allows Revsci to keep a track of which other sites (who are affiliated with Revsci) that you go to and give you adverts accordingly. As you went to the Daily Mail, you'll get ads for immigrant traps, if you go to lots of holiday sites you'll get holiday ads, etc.

[TonyRPH]

Your browser can reveal a lot more than you'd probably like..

These URLs are from http://browserspy.dk - the site is safe to visit.

Try this it should reveal your location.

And this reveals your browser information.

There are many more tests you can perform.

[cjs]

TonyRPH said:

Your browser can reveal a lot more than you'd probably like..

These URLs are from http://browserspy.dk - the site is safe to visit.

Try this it should reveal your location.

And this reveals your browser information.

There are many more tests you can perform.

Scary stuff!

[Murph7355]

The moral to this story is...don't go to the Daily Mail site.

Don't buy their paper either.

Many of the world's ills would be cured if everyone followed this simple rule

[Derek Smith]

It has its advantages.

I subscribe to a company's marketing emails. If one of their products interests me I click through, read all about it, including reviews, all that sort of thing and then move on. Some time later - this varies but can be a as short as the next day - I will get another email where the specific item has been dropped in price by a few percent or they pull the postage charge. It doesn't always happen but I assume it has something to do with the rate of take-up of the offer.

Once at least the second email has come back with 'We noted your interest in [such and such] . . .'

I subscribe to half a dozen marketing emails and it works for all of them.

The offer sometimes is later replicated on their website, but this isn't the norm.

Another way of getting an offer is to go onto their website, review a few products of the item you want and then wait. The next direct marketing email will contain an offer on one of the products you've looked at.

You don't save much, just a few quid, but it all adds up.

[soap]

cjs said:

TonyRPH said:

Your browser can reveal a lot more than you'd probably like..

These URLs are from http://browserspy.dk - the site is safe to visit.

Try this it should reveal your location.

And this reveals your browser information.

There are many more tests you can perform.

Scary stuff!

Indeed. Apparently I'm in Birmingham.

[dewaltman]

soap said:

cjs said:

TonyRPH said:

Your browser can reveal a lot more than you'd probably like..

These URLs are from http://browserspy.dk - the site is safe to visit.

Try this it should reveal your location.

And this reveals your browser information.

There are many more tests you can perform.

Scary stuff!

Indeed. Apparently I'm in Birmingham.

Doesn't work on a 3G connection then......apparently I'm in Bristol (I'm about 300 miles from there!)

Edited by dewaltman on Saturday 16th October 11:18

[onlynik]

soap said:

cjs said:

TonyRPH said:

Your browser can reveal a lot more than you'd probably like..

These URLs are from http://browserspy.dk - the site is safe to visit.

Try this it should reveal your location.

And this reveals your browser information.

There are many more tests you can perform.

Scary stuff!

Indeed. Apparently I'm in Birmingham.

Me too, however there are other ones, which pinpoint Aberdeen.

[soap]

onlynik said:

Me too, however there are other ones, which pinpoint Aberdeen.

I've had a look around - I'm either in Birmingham, London or Cheltenham

[davido140]

dewaltman said:

soap said:

cjs said:

TonyRPH said:

Your browser can reveal a lot more than you'd probably like..

These URLs are from http://browserspy.dk - the site is safe to visit.

Try this it should reveal your location.

And this reveals your browser information.

There are many more tests you can perform.

Scary stuff!

Indeed. Apparently I'm in Birmingham.

Doesn't work on a 3G connection then......apparently I'm in Bristol (I'm about 300 miles from there!)

Edited by dewaltman on Saturday 16th October 11:18

I tried to use iplayer from a 3g dongle before and I got told I couldnt as I was not in the UK (I was in Manchester!).

Lord knows why the traffic was taking such a long route.

[ShadownINja]

TonyRPH said:

Try this it should reveal your location.

Well, bugger me. I appear to live in a nicer location than I originally thought. Is that the sound of my house valuation going up by 20%?

[davido140]

ShadownINja said:

TonyRPH said:

Try this it should reveal your location.

Well, bugger me. I appear to live in a nicer location than I originally thought. Is that the sound of my house valuation going up by 20%?

No, some kids are breaking into your car.