Verizon Is Merging Its Cellphone Tracking Supercookie with AOL's Ad Tracking Network

schwit1 writes: ProPublica reports that Verizon is giving a new mission to its controversial hidden identifier that tracks users of mobile devices. Verizon said in a little-noticed announcement that it will soon begin sharing the profiles with AOL's ad network, which in turn monitors users across a large swath of the Internet. That means AOL's ad network will be able to match millions of Internet users to their real-world details gathered by Verizon, including — "your gender, age range and interests." AOL's network is on 40 percent of websites, including on ProPublica.

Comments

Well if this is true

[Anonymous Coward]

Then both those companies are shitbags. There should be strict industry regulation of this kind of thing (ads, tracking, etc) a lot better than currently is.

Re:Well if this is true

[ganjadude]

even if it isnt true... .both the companies are still scumbags

Re:Well if this is true

[tripleevenfall]

It would appear that a new, previously undiscovered species of scum has been isolated in this case.

Re:Well if this is true

[SeaFox]

Then both those companies are shitbags.

Would that be a new development for either of these companies?
Funny... I came here for news for nerds and I'm getting a time capsule from 10 years ago.

Re:Well if this is true

[nmb3000]

Then both those companies are shitbags.

Well, at least Verizon is telling people about it (albeit discreetly). Who knows how much sharing goes on behind the scenes?

There should be strict industry regulation of this kind of thing (ads, tracking, etc) a lot better than currently is.

If you even pretend to care about your privacy or reject this kind of advertising, it's better to just assume the worst. Block all advertising. Block all third-party scripts. Strongly consider blocking unknown first-party scripts.

And finally, next time someone in advertising or marketing whines about ad-blockers, consider following my wildly successful three-step program:

1) Explain that it's their own greedy-ass fault that people block this shit.
2) Punch them in the face.
3) Remind them that they should probably just commit seppuku.

Re:Well if this is true

[Anonymous Coward]

Then both those companies are shitbags. There should be strict industry regulation of this kind of thing (ads, tracking, etc) a lot better than currently is.

Well maybe not this guy outright...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowell_McAdam

But this guy is... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Seidenberg

Fucking Jewish.

Would you expect anything to come from them that isn't bullshit?

http://www.ujafedny.org/news/digital-media-marketing-honor-armstrong-and-haber/
From the Who We Are tab: "For more than 90 years, UJA-Federation has been a central force for communal planning and philanthropy in the New York Jewish community."

So all of this is managed directly or indirectly by Jews. And the public thinks it's "just shitbags". Take a nice look folks. You can just see them sucking newborn baby penis and whirling chickens over their heads for their sins as you read this.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11866467/New-York-judge-rules-that-Jewish-chicken-whirling-ritual-can-continue.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dzs-09Of99I

Everybody on the sidelines basically agrees on the sidelines but the regulators are Jew as well. Sidelines are sidelines they don't care. And those that aren't proclaimed Jews, take their money like the sellout punks they are.

It's like an alternate reality now (especially in USA) where everybody is so brainwashed as to be retarded. Turn off your fucking TV's.

Edward Snowden joins Twitter: 'Can you hear me now?'
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/29/edward-snowden-joins-twitter

Look at Verizon's top shareholders 2012... How Jew do you see?
http://www.cheatsheet.com/13f-transactions/do-verizons-top-shareholders-feel-valiant-about-the-dividend-consistency.html/

Now if they weren't Jewish we would be talking about whoever they were that are trying to hijack everything under the fucking sun. If they weren't Jewish we wouldn't call them Jews. They just happen to be Jewish. Surely this gets modded -10 Factual and queue the anti-Semite bullshit too. Jews are anti-Christian. There's all the anti you need to know. I don't give even half a shit about who is Semite or not. Told you in advance.

Re:Well if this is true

[Anonymous Coward]

You mean verizon. Let me help you out AOL is wholly owned by...

Re:Well if this is true

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey Adolf- Eva called and left a message.
She said that the pill that you gave her is really bitter.
Her headache is getting worse, so she won't be able to play "The Schoolgirl And the German Shepherd tonight". You may have to sleep in the Kennel.

Re:Well if this is true

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

The problem with 'regulations' is that it suggests that the activity is fundamentally OK; just needs a few little safeguards to prevent specific abuses.

In this case, they really need to just be declared hostis humani generis, and their extirpation made the duty of any person or nation that has the occasion to undertake it. Proposals involving salting the earth, skull pyramids, and flaying are also to be considered.

Re:Well if this is true

[Anonymous Coward]

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/10/trade-officials-announce-conclusion-tpp-now-real-fight-begins

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Froman

Right right... notice 1 Jew or many Jews scamming.. you are immediately Adolf Hitler. Such profound demonization you think you have. Did you go to school for it?

If every Jew scams.. does that make everybody else on Earth Hitlers too? Or only if you whirl chickens over your heads while sucking baby dicks Rabbi?

Also, explain this:
https://encrypted.google.com/#q=urbandictionary+jewed

I assure you I have never actually added an urbandictionary entry in my life, yet there is your most commonly understood English. Must be Hitler.

Wouldn't I be speaking in German if I was Hitler?

You aren't so bright. Take care of yourself, and each other.

Re:Well if this is true

[Anonymous Coward]

http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=8130435&cid=50674885

Surely this gets modded -10 Factual and queue the anti-Semite bullshit too.

Jews always try to hide something don't they.

Re:Well if this is true

[davester666]

Nope. Same type as before. pond.

Re:Well if this is true

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey Adolf, Eva left another message:
"Stop eating so much Sauerkraut. Every time I blow you, I burp for hours."

Oh, a message from Goebbels:
"I saw what you did. Bitch. You simply have no sense of Fashion:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Goebbels&defid=2697594

So then, Tonight, behind the Bunker? I'll bring the Meth, Hermann scored me some of the best shit. American!"

Re:Well if this is true

[Anonymous Coward]

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/10/trade-officials-announce-conclusion-tpp-now-real-fight-begins

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Froman

Right right... notice 1 Jew or many Jews scamming.. you are immediately Adolf Hitler. Such profound demonization you think you have. Did you go to school for it?

If every Jew scams.. does that make everybody else on Earth Hitlers too? Or only if you whirl chickens over your heads while sucking baby dicks Rabbi?

Also, explain this:
https://encrypted.google.com/#q=urbandictionary+jewed

I assure you I have never actually added an urbandictionary entry in my life, yet there is your most commonly understood English. Must be Hitler.

Wouldn't I be speaking in German if I was Hitler?

You aren't so bright. Take care of yourself, and each other.

I wholeheartedly agree.

Re:Well if this is true

[Anonymous Coward]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEIxvawYg5s

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11866467/New-York-judge-rules-that-Jewish-chicken-whirling-ritual-can-continue.html

Re:Well if this is true

[Anonymous Coward]

This is animal abuse, plain and simple. And these so-called "Jews" wonder why so many people around the world find them despicable.

Re:Well if this is true

[Anonymous Coward]

...There should be strict industry regulation of this...

Why? Why should there be any regulation of this other than consumer choice of product use?

Re: Well if this is true

[Anonymous Coward]

Because is many cases the consumer had no effective choice of product use. Some carriers are better than others in some areas. Even when there is a choice, what stops other carriers from doing the same thing? There aren't that many of them even in allegedly competitive markets.

That's why we need regulation, or in this case an outright prohibition of the activity.

Re:Well if this is true

[Anonymous Coward]

This is animal abuse, plain and simple. And these so-called "Jews" wonder why so many people around the world find them despicable.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=jewed

https://encrypted.google.com/#q=yellen+bernanke+greenspan+jewish
http://forward.com/opinion/185284/janet-yellen-brings-jewish-side-to-fed-again/

http://www.usdebtclock.org/

http://gawker.com/5653158/rick-sanchez-melts-down-says-jews-control-the-media
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/01/rick-sanchez-fired-from-c_n_747607.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/01/rick-sanchez-jon-stewart-_n_746764.html

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/10/trade-officials-announce-conclusion-tpp-now-real-fight-begins
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Froman

Whirling chickens looks all hokus pokus and abracadabra and might make other godless think they look magical... they are not. They are anti-Christian and doing what you would expect from anti-Christians. They are not the only anti-Christians either. Rabbi's sucking baby dicks isn't kosher either.

Re:Well if this is true

[antdude]

All of them are like that these days. :(

Change in contract

[spacepimp]

I would hope this is considered a contractual change and that all customers are hereby free of obligation to Verizon.

Re:Change in contract

[Anonymous Coward]

Verizon's contract (like all contracts written by corporations to deal with the little people) says Verizon can unilaterally change it without notice. Their customers all agreed to that.

Re:Change in contract

[EndlessNameless]

Such clauses are likely to be deemed unconscionable and thus unenforceable.

Re:Change in contract

[sexconker]

Of course they are unenforceable - a contract requires parties to consider, understand, and agree to terms.

Re:Change in contract

[Anonymous Coward]

They are enforceable via Verizon employees refusing to cancel you, then harassing debt collection agencies and false statements made to credit reporting agencies. I tried to cancel Verizon. I had to make a complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to get the debt collectors to stop hounding me for an illegal termination fee after they unilaterally raised my contract price and changed terms.

And Companies Wonder...

[Anonymous Coward]

...why people block ads and tracking if they are able. I do. I've said this before and I've taken flak for it, too, but I really miss the Blackberry heyday. Blackberry devices and the company in general didn't track the daylights out of people like Apple, Google, and Microsoft are wont to do. I am seriously considering going back to a Blackberry Classic. I don't use a single app that my mobile phone didn't ship with. I rarely, if ever, browse whilst using my mobile phone. I text and email, that's about it.

Ever care to notice that we are now choosing what amounts to a feudal lord when we pick a handset. And then we proceed to get locked down. Blackberry, while not perfect, was/is better in this regard.

Re:And Companies Wonder...

[Anonymous Coward]

For all it's faults, this is why I still use Firefox. IE wants to track you. Chrome was probably built around tracking you. Firefox is the only major player run by a non-profit.

Re:And Companies Wonder...

[viperidaenz]

Run by a non-profit, funded by advertisers

Initial funding in 2003 was from AOL
2004 - 2014 was Google
2015 on-wards has been Yahoo!

Re:And Companies Wonder...

[Anonymous Coward]

the 'super cookie' isn't really a cookie at all. it is headers or meta data containing a unique identifier injected by verizon while your http/s requests are en-route, an ad blocker on your phone won't do a damn thing. this is bad, but what would be most worrisome is if aol and its advertisers get demographic or other data (personal information, phone number, address, location data, etc) from verizon that corresponds to that unique identifier (i.e. you).

Re:And Companies Wonder...

[Anonymous Coward]

Blackburry's success was secure communications for businesses. With BYoD taking over and BB being left in the dark ages, the corporate world stopped worry about what BB offered. The world didn't end when the majority of people moved to other products. BB assumed they would be in their great position by default. They were wrong, they'll soon be gone as a result.

Re:And Companies Wonder...

[Anonymous Coward]

the 'super cookie' isn't really a cookie at all. it is headers or meta data containing a unique identifier injected by verizon while your http/s requests are en-route, an ad blocker on your phone won't do a damn thing. this is bad, but what would be most worrisome is if aol and its advertisers get demographic or other data (personal information, phone number, address, location data, etc) from verizon that corresponds to that unique identifier (i.e. you).

Only http. Verizon (or anyone else) cannot modify https traffic.

Re:And Companies Wonder...

[Anonymous Coward]

Mozilla still feels market pressure and thus, for example, hasn't taken a serious effort to thwart tracking.
Unlike truly "free" open source project, they are highly pressed to maintain a high number of users lest their browser and their "muscle" in the browser space becomes less relevant. So they make decisions designed to keep a high user count and for that they trade off a bit of security or privacy.
Having said that, Mozilla Firefox is still my favourite browser in that it's our best shot at maintaining some level of privacy.

Re: And Companies Wonder...

[Anonymous Coward]

The market at work, only in this case what the market rewarded is security and technological ignorance in favor of shiny toys. Then people insist in using their shiny insecure garbage at work, and ignorant management has largely let them because it saves short term cash.

That is the BYOD revolution in a nutshell.

what domains do I have to block?

[Anonymous Coward]

I already block facebook's domains and a load of other popular trackers in /etc/hosts

What domains do AOL and Verisign use?

(Thanks in advance.)

Re:what domains do I have to block?

[meadow]

I use AdAway, a system-wide ad blocker, with Android. Also *highly* recommend Firefox (and others) Ghostery plugin. You might be able to get a list of domains from Ghostery, or perhaps other ad-blocking software.

You can opt out.

[olsmeister]

You shouldn't have to, but you can.

Relevant Mobile Advertising
AOL is now part of Verizon, and we will soon combine Verizon's Relevant Mobile Advertising program into the AOL Advertising Network. These programs use certain customer information to help make the ads you see more interesting and useful.

The Relevant Mobile Advertising program uses your postal and email addresses, certain information about your Verizon products and services (such as device type), and information we get from other companies (such as gender, age range, and interests). The AOL Advertising Network uses information collected when you use AOL Services and visit third-party websites where AOL provides advertising services (such as web browsing, app usage, and location), as well as information that AOL obtains from third-party partners and advertisers.

We do not share information that identifies you personally as part of these programs other than with vendors and partners who do work for us. We require that these vendors and partners protect the information and use it only for the services they are providing us.

These programs use online and device identifiers, including AOL browser cookies, ad IDs from Apple and Google, and one created by Verizon, known as a Unique Identifier Header (or UIDH). When the Verizon and AOL programs are combined, the UIDH will be inserted in certain web traffic that is sent only to Verizon companies (including AOL) and to certain partners who will be authorized to use the UIDH only as part of Verizon and AOL services. More information is available about the Relevant Mobile Advertising program and the UIDH.

You have a choice about whether to participate in the Relevant Mobile Advertising program. The UIDH discussed above will stop being inserted in web traffic from your device after you opt out of the Relevant Mobile Advertising program, but will still appear for a short period of time after you opt out. Please note that if you opt-out of Relevant Mobile Advertising, but you have opted in to Verizon Selects, you will continue to receive relevant advertising and the UIDH will remain present.

You also have choices about how AOL uses information for advertising purposes.

Re:You can opt out.

[Stickybombs]

Link to opt out: https://ebillpay.verizonwirele...

ProPublica?

[Anonymous Coward]

If their ad network is on 40% of websites, did they have to namedrop an example site I've never heard of?

Re:ProPublica?

[Lab Rat Jason]

Yes, because name-dropping a popular website would have elevated the public's consciousness about the press release.

Re:ProPublica?

[vux984]

If their ad network is on 40% of websites, did they have to namedrop an example site I've never heard of?

Its called full disclosure. Check what site TFA is hosted on.

Re:ProPublica?

[Anonymous Coward]

If their ad network is on 40% of websites, did they have to namedrop an example site I've never heard of?

They aren't name dropping. They're disclosing that that network. Julia Angwin and Jeff Larson who actually wrote that blurb (not schwit1) work for ProPublica.

Re:ProPublica?

[Anonymous Coward]

It wasn't an example site; it was the site that did the reporting. Don't you even RTFS?

Re:ProPublica?

[RavenLrD20k]

Wait...it's not enough to just RTFH, and a real pain in the ass to RTFS, but now we're expected to hover over links to see where they're hosted too? I think you ask far too much of us. /sarcasm>

Dodged a bullet

[Anonymous Coward]

I sure am glad right now I've never had a Verizon account.

The best summation I've seen

[sootman]

Past:
Users: "Please do not track us."
Companies: "Fuck you."
 
Now:
Companies: "Please do not adblock us."
Users: "Fuck you."
 
https://twitter.com/vonWolfehaus/status/647141176403865601

Re:The best summation I've seen

[JustAnotherOldGuy]

Yup, they track the hell out of everyone and everything, and then complain when people try to stop it.

Look for sponsored articles in the media soon about how ad-blocking is "theft" or "stealing".

Full disclosure: I run a bunch of web sites and some of them display ads (mostly google, but a few others as well). And I'm fine with people visiting my sites and using an ad-blocker if they want to. I don't block or ban people who don't want to see the ads, that's their right. It may mean that some of my sites will disappear eventually due to lack of revenue, but that's just the way the world works. I have no right to force people to see ads and I'm not going to be a dick about it.

Re:The best summation I've seen

[roc97007]

If the ads are appropriate, I'm ok with them. Like reasonably sized camera gear on a photography site, small, silent biker gear ads on a motorcycle forum. I may even occasionally click on them. And I kinda like the Roadkill and Snorg ads that have pretty girls. But full page video popovers of some car commercial? Screw that. With a really big screw.

I guess you could say that the more obnoxious sites (are you listening, seattlepi?) are ruining it for everyone else.

Re:The best summation I've seen

[zlives]

the question here is not even about ads (though related) but about tracking.

Re:The best summation I've seen

[JustAnotherOldGuy]

But full page video popovers of some car commercial? Screw that.

Agreed, and I've never allowed anything like that on any of my sites. No full-page ads, no dropdowns, no auto-play sound or video, no interstitials, no popups, no pop-unders...none of that crap.

I hate the increasingly aggressive path that advertising has taken, and even though I get regular come-ons from the ad companies asking that I allow intrusive ads, I always say "no", and delete the email. I just won't do that to my site's users.

Re:The best summation I've seen

[Cajun Hell]

Users: "Please do not track us."

Companies: "I'm not tracking you; I'm providing you with a richer experience and helping to make you more aware of things about which you might have great interest."

Users: "Yeah, um, whatever. Don't do that."

Companies: "You don't understand. If you understood, you wouldn't ask me to stop helping you."

Users: "Nevertheless, I am asking you to stop."

Companies: "We are obviously having a communication problem here. Your asking me to stop means that you don't understand what you're asking. If you don't understand what you're asking, that means I'm not really getting your informed consent. And obviously, I won't block you from finding out about exciting opportunities, without your consent. Someone is trying to censor the information that you receive, and I hereby join you, the users, in resisting censorship!"

Re:The best summation I've seen

[roc97007]

It boggles the mind, that advertisers haven't figured out yet that intrusive ads are the *reason* that adblockers exist. If ads remained unobtrusive and silent, the number of people using adblockers would be significantly smaller.

Re:The best summation I've seen

[JustAnotherOldGuy]

the question here is not even about ads (though related) but about tracking.

Right, I understand that, but a LOT of tracking is done via ads. It's not just stuff like supercookies, those came along much later in the game.

Pretty much every time you see an ad, your metrics are being tracked and correlated with other data. Ask me how I know....

Re:The best summation I've seen

[JustAnotherOldGuy]

It boggles the mind, that advertisers haven't figured out yet that intrusive ads are the *reason* that adblockers exist.

Yup, I know. I've had this conversation with nearly every major ad company and loads of smaller ones. They understand it perfectly, they just don't give a shit.

Really, I've had ad reps from AOL (Advertising.com), Doubleclick, Fastclick, GuerillaMedia, AdClickMedia, and many others I can't even remember tell me that they "understand" that people don't like the ads but "it's where the business is right now" or words to that effect.

Really, they know...they just don't care, or I should say they didn't.... up until recently they didn't care because very few people used ad-blockers (or even knew what they were). Now that more people are becoming aware of them and using them, the industry is truly in a panic. They created this and now they don't know what to do about it.

Re:The best summation I've seen

[bmo]

They know, but the people paying their bills don't care, so the "don't care" trickles down through the ad networks.

Brand X wants an in your face ad. Ad company Y can persuade brand X with common sense, but then Brand X isn't filled with marketers full of common sense, just avarice. So Ad company Y sells Brand X's "vision" of an ad because Ad Company Y's employees need to eat.

The only way to fix this is to do a eugenics program on marketers.

--
BMO

Re:The best summation I've seen

[Anonymous Coward]

Look for sponsored articles in the media soon about how ad-blocking is "theft" or "stealing".

Companies accuse us of theft? That's rich. What are we supposed to call what they've been doing to us for decades now, a favor?

Re:The best summation I've seen

[Anonymous Coward]

"being a dick about it"

that describes almost all of what marketers and advertisers DO.

Re:The best summation I've seen

[Dutch Gun]

You're freakishly good at getting into their heads. Every time I try that, I get scared of losing my way in the eternal blackness and have to bring myself back.

Re:The best summation I've seen

[JustAnotherOldGuy]

It gives the marketers a perfect reason to tell advertisers that they need to ramp up the number of ads they run (meaning more $$$ for the marketers). They tell them that if 10% of of their ads are being blocked then they need to run more in order to over come that.

It doesn't really work that way but the advertisers don't think this through...increasing the number of ads run doesn't magically overcome the ad-blocker, but for some reason they go along with the "more ads" idea. As long as they get paid they don't give a shit, trust me.

These people would sell you live ebola in a convenient tablet form as long as they got paid.

Re:The best summation I've seen

[sootman]

> Look for sponsored articles in the media soon
> about how ad-blocking is "theft" or "stealing".

No need to wait. They've been saying that for years, and they're pounding that drum louder than ever.

"As abetted by for-profit technology companies, ad blocking is robbery, plain and simple..."

http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/ad-blocking-unnecessary-internet-apocalypse/300470/

And this douche thinks the problem is with device makers and browsers. Yeah. It's Apple's fault that a Verge article is 9.5 MB and 263 HTTP requests.

Re:The best summation I've seen

[JustAnotherOldGuy]

Yeah. It's Apple's fault that a Verge article is 9.5 MB and 263 HTTP requests.

I couldn't agree more. The idea of loading a single page that's nearly 10 MB in size seems utterly insane to me, but it's routine now, no big deal.

I used to browse BoingBoing* back in the day when the page wasn't loaded to the gills with ads and every link was an Amazon associate link.

The pages went from ~50k to ~5 MB or more with no added functionality (they're probably twice that size now). I mentioned the page bloat in a comment there once, and they banned me.

But now every site is like that, loads upon loads upon loads of remote calls, embedded ads, video crap, tracking beacons and metrics services, etc etc etc.

-

*The site has gone completely to shit; don't bother.

Yay, what a breakthrough

[JustAnotherOldGuy]

Yippee, just what I wanted- more tracking! Woo hoo, time to celebrate! Oh, wait.......

browsers that will take proxy settings?

[Anonymous Coward]

What Android browsers let you use a proxy?

What I learned from TFS

[gfxguy]

AOL still exists?

Re:What I learned from TFS

[roc97007]

Yeah who knew?

Oooooh.....

[roc97007]

Glad I'm not on Verizon anymore.

Re:Good choice & I *think* you'd like this...

[Anonymous Coward]

Does Slashdot have an optional spam filter for the comments? I keep seeing this hosts file engine spam and I'm pretty sick of it.

I guess it's time ...

[fahrbot-bot]

... for Google to change its slogan from "Don't be evil" to "Don't be Verizon".

On the other hand... it's a new TV spot opportunity for Verizon: "Can you fear me now?"

don't use companies that advertise

[Anonymous Coward]

Once the advertisers realise that people are boycotting them because they are irritated by the intrusion maybe things will change ? maybe not

I wish..

[Anonymous Coward]

People would do a mass exits from Verizon when news like this is released.
Maybe they would get a clue that hey, our customer base just left because they didn't agree with our policies.
You think maybe we should change our policies?

Hackula Says AOHell

[Anonymous Coward]

Hackuriffic AOHell ahead Bat(ch)ulus!

Ha ha

Opt-out?

[U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M]

Every time I try to opt out of some ads for a product, I get a shitload of redirects and always end up at:
https://ads.youtube.com/ads/pr...?...

Which of course results in an error since I can't connect to https://ads.youtube.com/ in the first place...

Re:AOL is for cows.

[Anonymous Coward]

Give it a rest sexconker (1179573).

We know it's bored little you: http://news.slashdot.org/comme...

Not gonna happen here!

[mschwanke97402]

You just knew this was coming when Verizon bought AOL. Glad I am not a Verizon customer. Now, I'm sure that I will never be one!

Now my question won't get answered. Thanks!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Whether you're selling or not, the fact that you always get called a troll indicates that people see you and trolls as sufficiently similar.

Probably means you're annoying and no one's interested in your lavish use of CAPS and bold.

I asked an important question, but now I'm unlikely to get an answer because there's three screenfuls of your text putting people off.

Thanks for nothing.

Facts quoted from /. users say otherwise

[Anonymous Coward]

"I like your host file system." - by Karmashock (2415832) on Wednesday September 09, 2015 @03:57PM (#50489401)

&

"his hosts program is actually pretty good" - by xenotransplant (4179011) on Monday August 10, 2015 @03:34PM (#50287195)

See subject & those quotes - tell us another one, lol...

* :)

(Trying your PUNY wannabe "jedi mindtricks" speaking for "everyone"? Please... lol, go away & save that b.s. for the WEAK minded - it doesn't fool anybody here!)

APK

P.S.=> Drinkypoo quoted in my 1st post does an even BETTER job -> http://slashdot.org/comments.p... ... apk

Re:It's not spam... apk

[Anonymous Coward]

so you try call it "spam"

I'm not trying to call it spam, I am calling it spam. The issue isn't your "facts" but rather your lack of social competence. If, as seems likely, you are unable to control yourself and will continue to spam Slashdot's comments section then I need a technical solution to the problem. A Slashdot comment spam filter would do the job nicely.

Registered /. users say otherwise

[Anonymous Coward]

"I like your host file system." - by Karmashock (2415832) on Wednesday September 09, 2015 @03:57PM (#50489401)

&

"his hosts program is actually pretty good" - by xenotransplant (4179011) on Monday August 10, 2015 @03:34PM (#50287195)

See subject & those quotes - tell us another one, lol... ARE YOU EVEN REMOTELY ON TOPIC, unidentifiable ac troll? No - so, tell us - Who's the troll here? Answer = YOU!

* :)

(Trying your PUNY wannabe "jedi mindtricks" speaking for "everyone"? Please unidentifiable ac troll: Go away & save that b.s. for the WEAK minded - it doesn't fool anybody here!)

APK

P.S.=> Drinkypoo quoted in my 1st post does an even BETTER job -> http://slashdot.org/comments.p... ... apk

Re:Good choice & I *think* you'd like this...

[Anonymous Coward]

You were modded down by unidentifiable completely off topic ac as he did it and's out of modpoints http://yro.slashdot.org/commen... and your posts after his have him crying, hahahahaha! He posts using his registered user account and he'd remove that downmod. Talk obvious and stupid of him. That's real trolls for you. Dumber than a box of rocks.

Good choice & I *think* you'd like this... apk

[Anonymous Coward]

See subject & for the BEST possible custom hosts file APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-2 32/64-bit http://start64.com/index.php?o...

FREE & not 'souled-out' to advertisers + adds speed, security, & reliability, doing FAR more w/ FAR less, more efficiently vs. redundant browser addons & locally installed DNS servers @ home + fixes DNS' many security issues!

It obtains its data vs. online threats & adbanner blocking from 10 reputable sites in the security community!

It SPEEDS YOU UP 2 ways (adblocking + locally cached in RAM favorites placed @ the TOP of hosts for fastest resolution speed), whereas by way of comparison, other "so-called security 'solutions'" SLOW YOU DOWN!

It does all that using something you already have vs. "bolting on browser addons 'MOAR'" in addons that's usermode slower & increases messagepassing, cpu + ram overuse overheads!

* :)

MalwareBytes' hpHosts Admin (MalwareBytes employee) hosts & recommends it -> http://hosts-file.net/?s=Downl... & MalwareBytes = BEST antivirus per this VERY recent testing of them all http://www.av-test.org/en/news...

&

It's safe per it being checked by 57 antivirus programs recently in BOTH its 64-bit model https://www.virustotal.com/en/...

+

In its 32-bit model also https://www.virustotal.com/en/...

---

"The premise is quite simple: Take something designed by nature & reprogram it to make it work for the body rather than against it..." - Dr. Alice Krippen: "I am legend".

APK

P.S.=> By "yours truly" - "The Lord of Hosts" so-to-speak:

PERTINENT QUOTE/EXCERPT:

"The image this title brings to mind is of a mighty military commander, one who can at a mere word summon rank upon rank of protective power" from https://answers.yahoo.com/ques... & THAT WORD = hosts!

(Accept NO substitutes!)

...apk

Registered /. users say otherwise

[Anonymous Coward]

"I like your host file system." - by Karmashock (2415832) on Wednesday September 09, 2015 @03:57PM (#50489401)

"his hosts program is actually pretty good" - by xenotransplant (4179011) on Monday August 10, 2015 @03:34PM (#50287195)

See subject & those quotes - tell us another one, lol...

* :)

---

Also : Your issuing downmods on my posts from your registered account don't change a thing (which is why you're trolling me COMPLETELY OFF TOPIC by ac)!

You won't post using your registered /. account or you'll remove those abused bogus downmods since you can't validly technically prove me wrong, lol!

OR

I've burnt YOU, in particular, so MANY TIMES on my points on hosts you can't disprove, you don't DARE post using your registered /. account - as I'll just toss those TONS OF DEFEATS you've faced @ MY HANDS so many times RIGHT BACK IN YOUR FACE, lol, & you KNOW it... I surely do!

(Trying your PUNY wannabe "jedi mindtricks" speaking for "everyone"? Please... lol, go away & save that b.s. for the WEAK minded - it doesn't fool anybody here!)

APK

P.S.=> Drinkypoo quoted in my 1st post does an even BETTER job -> http://slashdot.org/comments.p... ... apk

Re:It's not spam... apk

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, that's what Slashdot's moderation system is for. Unless you are moderating, you can browse at rating 0 to almost never see these posts or 1 if you never want to see them. Only if you are moderating do you need to browse at -1 to look for moderation malfeasance.

TheReaperD

Whew.. that's good to hear

[thewolfkin]

now they can spy on me together. I hate to think of them wasting time spying on me separately and comparing notes. The inefficiencies affect my engineering sensibilities. Any decent futurecaster see this as the snowball that will blow up into the one cookie. The one cookie to rule them all.

Re:Whew.. that's good to hear

[RavenLrD20k]

Kinda gives a new meaning to "Come to the Dark Side, we have cookies." ...or maybe it doesn't. Might be what they meant all along, and us being all innocent thought of the tasty kind instead of the tracking kind.

You know...the more I think about it, the more it looks like the Dark Side are supposed to be bad guys...

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

I'm gonna let you finish your thought but...

[thewolfkin]

..I don't use a single app that my mobile phone didn't ship with. I rarely, if ever, browse whilst using my mobile phone. I text and email, that's about it.

Don't get me wrong. I'm happy for you. But that's a hugely hugely fragment of a fragment of the population. there are entire countries where the phone is the primary computer device. I'm in North America and right now that's me. Because my laptop and tablet's screens are currently dead to me. I'm glad that option's open to you. Blackberry was fine in it's day and heaven knows I miss actual physical keyboards you can type without staring like an idiot. But it's far from a practical alternative the most anyone.

Re:It's not spam... apk

[Anonymous Coward]

I agree but I'd make a distinction between individual comments that get moderated -1 and persistent cases of comment spam like with this hosts file engine thing. The hosts file engine posts are always the same. Why should people have to waste their time and mod points on posts that constantly spam the comments section and are consistently modded down? If the comments are automatically flagged as spam then I think it would save everyone time and energy.

Re:It's not spam... apk

[Anonymous Coward]

He knows that. He's a troll who has a registered account here that apk's wasted on hosts files and he's still butthurt over it.

Re:It's not spam... apk

[Anonymous Coward]

When you do all the minusmodding with your registered account + sockpuppets, yes it's persistent. You're not fooling anyone here with your bullshit. In fact, I have to say you're fucking stupid if you think you are. Everyone knows what was told to you that if you don't like seeing below 0 posts then adjust your settings.

Re:It's not spam... apk

[Anonymous Coward]

Hahahahahaha ac troll's running out of modpoints he abuses and so are his sockpuppets finally. Talk giving that away!

Drinkypoo said it best for me

[Anonymous Coward]

"SJW just means anyone who cares about anything that the person using the term SJW thinks is stupid, or bad, or wrong. If you have the gall to care, even though they are apathetic fuckheads, then you're a SJW. They have to deprecate you because they know they're shitbags and you're making them feel like what they are. And they will happily lump people with sensible ideas in with assholes." - by drinkypoo (153816) on Sunday October 04, 2015 @01:27PM (#50656879) FROM-> http://yro.slashdot.org/commen...

* Truer words were NEVER spoken on /. - & that's what you're up to here...

(Simply REPLACE "SJW" with "spammer" in that quote above, & Drinkypoo makes my point FOR me, perhaps BETTER than I could...)

APK

P.S.=> I state facts you can't prove wrong so you try call it "spam" - You're not fooling anyone but yourself on that account, weasel (& I see you begging since you're out of modpoints to downmod me with - Yes, thank-you for giving away YOU are the fool "consistently" downmodding me, & you alone + possibly other no-minds I've utterly NUKED on hosts files (with your numerous sockpuppets no doubt))... apk

HTTPS Everywhere FTW

[jaa101]

So, which mobile browsers can be set to enforce HTTPS everywhere? Seems like this is a fix that the carriers can't do much about.

Re:HTTPS Everywhere FTW

[petermgreen]

You can't really enforce https everywhere because there is no gaurantee that content available at http://site.whatever/some/path is available at https://site.whatever/some/pat... . Some sites don't accept https connections at all, some redirect them back to http (/. i'm looking at you), some offer different content on http and https.

The eff have an extension called "https everywhere" that tries to enforce https on sites that are known to support it. It looks like said extension is available for firefox for andriod.

Contracts and consideration

[sjbe]

Of course they are unenforceable - a contract requires parties to consider, understand, and agree to terms.

A valid contract does NOT require both parties to evaluate or understand the the terms, though they do have to agree to them. A contract does require an offer, an acceptance, two legally competent persons, an exchange of something of value (called consideration) and a mutuality of obligation. Comprehension is not required for the contract to be valid. The value of the things exchanged does not have to be equal and there is no requirement that both parties carefully consider their actions. They merely have to be considered capable of and have an opportunity to understand what they are agreeing to (which is why children cannot sign valid contracts) but they don't have to actually understand them.

You may be confusing consideration in the legal sense with the act of considering in the sense of analysis. They are not the same thing.

Re: Contracts and consideration

[Anonymous Coward]

The term "Meeting of the Minds" ...

Inevitable

[Ayanami_R]

Really, did no one think the advertisers wouldn't have a backup plan? Or ten? Everyone seems to think that they have "won" because ad blocking isnt just for geeks anymore, but the ad companies haven't even really started fighting them yet. The more people resist, the more advertisers are going to push stuff in your face. Why? Because companies are seeing that it's still effective, so they pay for it, and the tracking data is valuable to help plan strategy as well.

Re:Good choice & I *think* you'd like this...

[Anonymous Coward]

Users of inferior redundant inefficient browser addons post and so can apk. You help him prove his point by your offtopic crap.