Slashdot Mirror
Facebook, Google, and Microsoft Use Design To Trick You Into Handing Over Your Data, Report Warns (gizmodo.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gizmodo: A study from the Norwegian Consumer Council dug into the underhanded tactics used by Microsoft, Facebook, and Google to collect user data. "The findings include privacy intrusive default settings, misleading wording, giving users an illusion of control, hiding away privacy-friendly choices, take-it-or-leave-it choices, and choice architectures where choosing the privacy friendly option requires more effort for the users," states the report, which includes images and examples of confusing design choices and strangely worded statements involving the collection and use of personal data.
Google makes opting out of personalized ads more of a chore than it needs to be and uses multiple pages of text, unclear design language, and, as described by the report, "hidden defaults" to push users toward the company's desired action. "If the user tried to turn the setting off, a popup window appeared explaining what happens if Ads Personalization is turned off, and asked users to reaffirm their choice," the report explained. "There was no explanation about the possible benefits of turning off Ads Personalization, or negative sides of leaving it turned on." Those who wish to completely avoid personalized ads must traverse multiple menus, making that "I agree" option seem like the lesser of two evils. In Windows 10, if a user wants to opt out of "tailored experiences with diagnostic data," they have to click a dimmed lightbulb, while the symbol for opting in is a brightly shining bulb, says the report.
Another example has to do with Facebook. The social media site makes the "Agree and continue" option much more appealing and less intimidating than the grey "Manage Data Settings" option. The report says the company-suggested option is the easiest to use. "This 'easy road' consisted of four clicks to get through the process, which entailed accepting personalized ads from third parties and the use of face recognition. In contrast, users who wanted to limit data collection and use had to go through 13 clicks."
Google makes opting out of personalized ads more of a chore than it needs to be and uses multiple pages of text, unclear design language, and, as described by the report, "hidden defaults" to push users toward the company's desired action. "If the user tried to turn the setting off, a popup window appeared explaining what happens if Ads Personalization is turned off, and asked users to reaffirm their choice," the report explained. "There was no explanation about the possible benefits of turning off Ads Personalization, or negative sides of leaving it turned on." Those who wish to completely avoid personalized ads must traverse multiple menus, making that "I agree" option seem like the lesser of two evils. In Windows 10, if a user wants to opt out of "tailored experiences with diagnostic data," they have to click a dimmed lightbulb, while the symbol for opting in is a brightly shining bulb, says the report.
Another example has to do with Facebook. The social media site makes the "Agree and continue" option much more appealing and less intimidating than the grey "Manage Data Settings" option. The report says the company-suggested option is the easiest to use. "This 'easy road' consisted of four clicks to get through the process, which entailed accepting personalized ads from third parties and the use of face recognition. In contrast, users who wanted to limit data collection and use had to go through 13 clicks."
a target.
... a surprise for anyone who spent the last 30 years in hibernation, that is.
The three companies mentioned are companies which are best avoided for multiple reasons, and any person who is in control of his or her own IT
situation should know there are numerous ways to avoid using these companies.
Honestly, it is difficult to sympathize with people who still use Facebook or Microsoft or Google. It's like people who smoke cigarettes these days. They make incredibly poor life choices and yet they WILL want the rest of us to help them when the chickens come home to roost. Fuck them all.
This info has been out there for years yet no one is listening and/or cares. The mantra of people seems to be "it's free" so why not. I have long ago seen this coming. Use Fedora Linux or Debian. Use an iPhone over Android despite Apple having some issues. Use P2P apps in lieu of things like Skype. Own your own domain and use that for email. It's cheap and you have control of your user name and domain name. Tie that domain name to a privacy-respecting service like Fastmail.
Don't use spy devices like Alexa or Google Home. These exist not to help you but to harvest your data 24/7. Roll your own solutions, especially if you're technical or in IT. Use your own skills. Run a Pi-hole, block and defund the ad companies and tracking companies. Like drugs, just say no...
I just can't believe that companies like Microsoft or Facebook or Google would ever do anything underhanded or manipulative! I mean, it's not like have years of history of doing this, right? Right?
(As someone else posted, opting out probably gets you scrutinized even more, perhaps as a test subject for even trickier under-the-radar manipulation.)
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
a target.
How exactly is that ?
If you use an adblocker you never even SEE the ads.
Do explain how people who won't see any of the ads are going to be targeted ... I can hardly wait for you to demonstrate the next level of your stupidity.
Worth asking why GNU/Linux, Diaspora and DuckDuckGo are not a viable alternative.
1) You grant app from vendor X the right to some data Y.
2) You *think* you've granted the *APP* access, but because network access permission is on by default, you've actually granted the *company* that made the app permission.
3) All your private data is slurped up regularly and sold to data brokers.
They rely on you confusing the app they're giving permission to, with the company that made the app, they're *actually* giving permission to.
Of course when it comes to Google, all of this never happens, Google simply grabs permission by default, and you log into Google's site to disable Google examining data it *already* grabbed from your device.
e.g. on and Android phone, go to Settings, Apps, Google, look at permissions lower down, it will already have been granted access to your contacts, calendar, location, SMSs, microphone, and telephone. You didn't grant those permissions, Google granted themselves those permissions. Notice that "Network access" isn't a permission here, it's granted as a default to everything.
You *think* you're granting a Google app the right to search your calendar for upcoming events, but actually that data is slurped to Google and the search is done there, both for searches you do, and for searches that Google can do within it's own interpretation of it's own unread privacy EULAs.
i know you can live without facebook (i just helped someone sort out their facebook settings. after digging through the fucked up ui, they just opted to deactivate and opt out of further emails instead), without google, without amazon or apple.
but many can't do without windows. and the more privacy-friendly win7 is eol in 19 months. even if you lock down windows 10 with something like shutup10, it still leaks your data like a mofo and sucks your bandwidth like a lot lizard in heat. a sub for 'enterprise' is not a solution. so what are we supposed to do in this fucked-up 'take it or leave it' scenario? where you have no choice but to use windows 10, for whatever reason (work, gaming, lack of skill set for proper linux setup and use, etc)...
and many can't do without a wireless phone, even a flip phone gives the same location data and shit to carriers, unscrupulous merchants and others using cell repeaters or bluetooth or wifi radios to track people, the feds, etc... 'smart phones' are the worst offenders here in all this, locked down hardware, no control over hardware, hidden or unavailable settings, no disclosure, poor security, rogue apps siphoning off data, you name it.. it happens... basically everything microsoft wants for for windows 10 (even the fucked up security).
where are the fucking lawsuits on this already.
Adblockers are illegal so I insist you stop.
YouTube Red: "Try it now" or "Not now" buttons only. No "Never" button to avoid being asked on every single video.
Funny, but no. Troll away, but it will likely never be illegal to block ads, and if that day ever came, I'd be off the Internet in a heartbeat. Sometimes the only way to win is to not play the game. There is too much to do already without the Internet. To be honest, I'd rather be out there fishing and hunting anyway.
Google Photos on an iPhone copies your photos to Google servers, then the app offers to "Delete photos from your device to free up space? They have been safely backed up to your Google account" ; doing so makes you even more dependent on Google.
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
This is nothing new and even apple and mozilla should be in this list for pushing services that are not necessary. Steam too is just as bad.
Which uses last-century design language to try to trick me into porting my Github projects over to Sourceforge. Never change, Slashdot!
Say what? You're hitting an if-I-stick-my-head-in-the-sand-nobody-can-see-me level of stupid yourself, friend.
Think you can't be tracked if you don't allow ads (or cookies, for that matter)? Guess again.
Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
The only way this gets fixed is by nullifying EULAs and have the relationships be governed by norms and reasonable expectations of average users. Unfortunately mealy mouthed EULAs masking what companies are really collecting and doing from normal users. A perfect example is the sleazy Unroll Me which pitches to users that they'll unsubscribe users from mailing lists however its business model is selling the contents of your email which is entirely disconnected from the user's expectations of the service.
Don't you get it yet?
... Once you type or photograph it with a live Interwebs connection; it's public forever.
Anything you post on the Internets is available to the whole world.
Your government, their enemies, your ex, their PI, your friends, your children, you mother, your future self
Anyone who doesn't understand this is in need of a serious lesson in how the world works.
Do not meddle in the affairs of geeks for they are subtle and quick to anger
"Another example has to do with Facebook. The social media site makes the "Agree and continue" option much more appealing and less intimidating than the grey "Manage Data Settings" option".
That's a bit rich for /. to post that. This site does the very same thing. At least in Europe it does. When opening the site we get the "We value your privacy" pop-up asking us to agree to all the advertising shenanigans. Oh look, the big "I agree" button is all coloured and in green, the universal colour for go, good or safe. The opt-out is just plain boring white.
Google makes opting out of personalized ads more of a chore than it needs to be and uses multiple pages of text, unclear design language, and, as described by the report, "hidden defaults" to push users toward the company's desired action.
In other words, tactics that Google learned from Microsoft, the only difference being that for Microsoft it was not ads. Google is a good student. Google is a fast follower. Google is the new evil.
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
What is the definition of evil?
do I have to create an account? do I want to create an account? Generally no!
:)
I really hate the youtube issue with prove your age. right I am required to give them info because they are restricting content based on age. like I cant watch a game of thrones clip. easy to get around but still annoying.
Just my 2 cents
Windows 10 greets me with a security warning every month, because I have switched off the option of submitting code samples for virus protection.
I develop my own software and I do *not* want it to go to Microsoft.
Every month I have to re-affirm that I have opted out of delivering my software to them. Stop that sh*t!
To Terminate, or not to Terminate, that's the question - SCSIROB
He said targeted, not tracked.
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
Doesn't one imply the other?
(Let's not forget that, if you don't have a Facebook account, once FB becomes aware of your existence, they create one for you anyway.)
Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
Not necessarily. How can an ad you aren't seeing target you? Now yes, targeting does imply tracking, but not the other way around. I keep track of my wallet, keys, and phone, but rarely target them.
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
First, are you and your family members willing to pay $4.99/month to exchange your gossip and photos? If you were, I am sure experience would be quite different. Also lets get some perspective. Unlike Comcast, nobody is making you spend an hour on the phone to opt out. It's still just a few clicks. If we are too cheap and lazy to protect our privacy, how can we expect others to do it for us?
Lots of things that you're not seeing are capable of tracking you.
Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
Isn't that part of the reason why the GDPR includes the requirement for privacy by default?
Not that the companies are following that yet.
And we're talking about ads targeting you. Not tracking. Please, do try to keep up.
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
You seem to be keeping your gaze too low. You are not just a target for buying stuff; you are also a target for modifying your opinion and behaviour in politics and other questions.
You can be targeted through other vectors than traditional ads, e.g. notification flows, news flows, ads-or-propaganda-disguised-as-news, product placement, insurance company policies, employability, police knocking on your door, ...
As an extreme, think China. The view we outsiders get is that if they collect the wrong data about you, they will *target* you in a way that no ad-blocker will stop.
Some humiliation porn...
Ezekiel 23:20
Have you ever read their EULA?
"When you upload, submit, store, send or receive content to or through our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content. "
"You can be targeted through other vectors than traditional ads" - you can, but it doesn't seem to happen a lot. The main motivation is ads, this is where money presently are. If you block all ads, tracking you is a waste of time.
Opinion manipulation is frowned upon after Cambridge Analytica. No legal protection though. Still, if you are not using platform that customizes news for you, you are immune.
VPN is cheap. Pretend you are from Netherlands, get GDPR protection. It might still be technically possible to track you, but it is much more difficult and results are less reliable. With 99% of population ignoring privacy completely no one will care to track you.
First, this "we" is ill-defined. Second, "cheap" is a borderline-moral judgement you shouldn't be making. Better say "there are enough ill-informed people out there to make FB's, Google's et al. models profitable". And, consequently, third...
we (the better-informed) can (and *should*) make bad press for Google, FB and their ilk, to help getting more better-informed people. I don't expect their business models to break down so soon, but every bit helps.
Don't be a defaetist ("People are idiots, after all"). Do something about it and explain stuff to people. My experience is that they are able to learn.
what can be attributed to three companies who are some of the worst offenders of screwing up general UI design.
Who the hell cares about my privacy settings when I can no longer safely use maps for navigation due to its shitty settings of minimising into a useless picture in picture everytime there's a hiccup on my phone and has removed the option to force audio output throught the speaker meaning I can't hear it with bluetooth on either.
Who the hell cares about privacy settings on a website that makes it borderline impossible to easily scroll through past messages, or whose mobile app doesn't let you post pictures because it ends up in a select picture loop.
And as for Microsoft, one word... err two words: Start Menu *raises middle finger*
I'm sure the user stories and kanban cards of these companies are full of hidden evil.
>> Facebook, Google, and Microsoft Use Design To Trick You Into Handing Over Your Data, Report Warns
No shit sherlock !
You use services that take ownership of your data and you expect privacy ? Not gonna work!
Just don't use them !
Don't give your data to some random corp.
aaaaaaa
Plenty of proof that these companies value data of its users over protecting their privacy. But the addiction of Facebook and Google services, and the popularity of Microsoft Windows and other business products seem too much for many to quit them. Beyond that is the hypocrisy of users who make excuses for one company and call out others doing the same as evil. Personally I think none of them have the best interest of the end user in mind.
I think a lot of people also don't realize how much it costs to provide a service like Gmail because it's all electronic, and so they don't apply the 'nothing is for free' maxim to it.
"What lies behind us, and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." Ralph Waldo Emerson
Given how popular many of the most offending products are for privacy. I have to wonder if many who complain are hypocrites who like to whine and moan about privacy. But do very little to take action to send a message to these services such as stop using their products. Users have become addicted to Google, Facebook, Microsoft products and that was not something that just happened. Or is it something that users can simply quit in protest.
It's technically possible and completely feasible yes... but it makes a big difference by saying NO, because since GDPR ignoring a persons right to opt out is illegal (for EU citizens at least), that is a bigger disincentive than you might think since the benefit has to be worth explicitly breaking that law, before it was more a case of "track fucking everything because it's free - we will figure out how to profit later" but now even in a morally bankrupt corportation they will want to know how much value they can extract from it before collecting that info since it's illegal (enter fight club equation).
In Windows 10, if a user wants to opt out of "tailored experiences with diagnostic data," they have to click a dimmed lightbulb, while the symbol for opting in is a brightly shining bulb, says the report.
The summary may well be correct in general, but this is a stupid example.
Using a lit light bulb to indicate on, and a dark one to indicate off. That's how light switches have worked since the invention of electric light. How can that be an example of trying to trick people?
it's an indicator to tell you how much your personal information is worth to a company, if you can easily disable these features with one click then it's probably not all that important to them and they probably don't use it for much. if it takes 13 clicks to disable, you can be sure that is really, really important for them to have your personal (private) information. all the more reason to persist and turn it off.
On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.
You can split hairs all you want, but a difference that makes no difference is no difference.
Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
Blocking ads may well never be illegal but already some sites take ages to load if ads are blocked and I would not be surprised to see totally different pages with less functionality or even higher prices served up to users who block ads in the near future.
Facebook, Google, and Microsoft being Facebook, Google, and Microsoft. What a surprise!
Call it "Spybook" from now on. I honestly believe this is one way we can actually make a difference: give them a nickname that sticks and hopefully makes it all the way to pop culture. "Spybook" says everything that needs to be said about this company in a single word. You don't even need to explain anything -- just say "Spybook", and they'll be forced to actually think.
The main motivation is ads, this is where money presently are.
In my country that is probably true, but I would guess not in a country with a totalitarian regime. I may be in a minority, but I am not really very bothered by the ads being targeted. I can ad-block most of those, and anyway, if I am happy buying a certain brand of $STUFF then it doesn't matter that much whether my happiness is based on whether it was a company, a friend or my own experience that formed the opinion.
Still, if you are not using platform that customizes news for you, you are immune.
Ahh, but how do you know? I am not even sure that I see the same front page or contents of Slashdot as you do.
Pretend you are from Netherlands, get GDPR protection. It might still be technically possible to track you, but it is much more difficult and results are less reliable.
I already live in the EU. I would be surprised to learn that the global information players collect substantially - if any - different information about me than about a person from/in USA or Zimbabwe.
Your software is just fine - well written, functional... I'm going to continue using the Host File Engine by mmell February 17, 2017
ABP is insufficient as a solid hosts file does everything APK reminds us about fast turtle
his hosts program is actually pretty good by xenotransplant August 10 2015
his hosts tool is actually useful for those cases in which one does indeed want to locally block stuff outright while consuming minimum system resources by alexgieg September 25 2015
I like your host file system by Karmashock September 09 2015
I do use APK's host file on all my systems at home by OrangeTide December 01 2017
I personally use a HOSTS file blocker produced from a genius called APK by 110010001000 October 27 2017
* Best part's the Linux 64-bit model's faster/more efficient (does 2x the work in 1/2 the time)
APK
P.S.=> For a faster/safer/more reliable internet... apk
id rather have gigabytes recorded about me, than be invisible as if I did not exist, at least in 100s of years in the future, I will be part of history, not deleted.
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
U post behind a FAKE NAME & say THAT? Come on, lol - best laugh I've had in days!
* :)
APK
P.S.=> Thanks for the "*RoTfLmAo*" albeit @ YOUR expense (but then, not really - you're the one that's NOT a "real person" @ all, lol)... apk
You have been told multiple times to stop spamming
Its called a significant absence. A profound lack of data around a single subject.
It inspires people to dig deeper (see conspiracy nuts)
When in the perspective of a corporation, think "initiatives". This stuff is great on charts.
These will be the target data set because they have the most to gain by spending time/effort there
Ideally, you want to be somewhere in the middle.
Don't be the guy with no data about himself out there, and don't be the guy with the most data about himself.
I don't obey you & your advertiser FEAR of my program blocking ads that infect/track/slow us & your attempt @ CENSORSHIP!
* :)
You'll ALWAYS fail vs. me & you know it - give up - you have NO POWER over me (you know - the thing "your kind" CRAVES because you've always been powerless whimps, lol)
(HOWEVER - I quite CLEARLY have POWER over you - FEAR, proven by you STALKING ME constantly by UNIDENTIFIABLE anonymous posts proving you DO indeed, FEAR me...)
MORE PROOF "your kind" FEARS my program AND me:
You VAINLY tried to "downmod hide" this very post last time I posted it https://tech.slashdot.org/comm...
(No matter - I nullify your MULTIPLE SOCKPUPPET farmed "downmodpoint" EFFETE useless 'weapon' EASILY since I have UNLIMITED posting ability vs. most AC posters, lol - you LOSE again as ALWAYS as I run you DRY of your "downmodpoints" inevitably by REPOSTING... lol!)
APK
P.S.=> THANK YOU Jesus for keeping WEEZILS like him on the lower end of the food chain since God HELP us if "your kind" (the 'not-men' UNIDENTIFIABLE anonymous DO-NOTHING "ne'er-do-well" JEALOUS "Lil' Jowies" (lol) in LIFE) ever DO get power - you're the WRONG KIND to have it as you tend to ABUSE it since you've NEVER had it or the responsibility that COMES w/ it & you never will & you KNOW it (vainly seeking it online & there you FAIL too & I'm the PROOF thereof))... apk
Libel & LIES get you nowhere FAKE person (lol) - Got PROOF of your false accusation? Didn't think so (OH, I know what you'll TRY & fail next but I have that situation WELL IN HAND as usual vs. FAKE NAMES for FAKE LIES of "so-called 'lives'" like you)
* :)
See subject: NEITHER DO YOUR "downmodpoints" https://tech.slashdot.org/comm... you MULTIPLE SOCKPUPPET farm to get them vs. me as I RUN YOU DRY of your EFFETE irrelevant 'weapon' every single time INEVITABLY & I win - what do you do by comparison? Well - what "your kind" ALWAYS has to do - LOSE losers, lol!
APK
P.S.=> THANK-YOU THOUGH (sincerely) for letting me tell you off perfectly, here (best laugh I've had in DAYS @ your expense (but no loss for YOU really, RIGHT? You're a FAKE person behind a FAKE NAME online (lol))) https://tech.slashdot.org/comm... ... apk
Information such as my name, address, and telephone number are public record thanks to the government and easily obtainable via any number of websites. Something like my bank account number, credit card numbers, pin codes, and passwords I would consider "private data". The anonymized information that companies like Microsoft gather I do not consider private. I am glad if Microsoft knows that there software crashed or that I use Chrome instead of Edge 99.99999% of the time.
I would like to see one of these idiots that are OUTRAGED by metrics actually point out what specific data they disagree with that is being collected.
-==- Buy a Mac and leave me alone!
'target' for who. That's the question. If you block all ads, you're probably not a target for the marketeers anymore. However, you might become a target for the 3 letter agencies in the world, because they deem your resistance to tracking suspect.
APK is a Russian Spambot who tries to trick people into installing his software on their computers.
Once people do this, their personal data is transmitted to Moscow, and their computer is turned into a node in the APKBotNet.
Spammer APK needs to stop spamming, especially when his off topic spam gets down modded.
When that happens it does not mean post your off topic spam again, it means people don't want to see your off topic spam.
I turned off targeted ads and news articles when I recently setup a new device. Wow. The breadth of things I've been missing are amazing.
I've been seeing headlines for in depth reporting on the trials and tribulations of the Royal Family (and I live in the USA). Important {other gender} products. News articles about things Other than Microsoft/Google/Facebook.
It's kind of amazing actually how narrow my information funnel has been. While commentators have warned of this happening and the potential pitfalls, it's very interesting to see what information I've been unaware of.
Although - even when I turned off ad targeting, the number of attractive women in the ads increased.. I expected a normalization. But I guess pretty faces sell everything to everyone.
the entire system is set up to spy on users. Sell a product thats not spying on people all the time and your brand will be trusted again.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
You can be targeted through other vectors than traditional ads, e.g. notification flows, news flows, ads-or-propaganda-disguised-as-news, product placement
And all of those are ads for one thing or another; products, events, political candidates... If we're avoiding these platforms, we aren't seeing them.
insurance company policies
You mean the way the insurers share information behind the scenes so you can't file a claim with one and jump to another to drop your rate (e.g. insurance fraud)? Or are you talking about them scraping Facebook and other social media (e.g. one of the platforms we avoid)?
employability
Same.
police knocking on your door
Well, I mean, if you give an immature internet troll your address or you're making terrorist threats... Got any examples where that wasn't the case?
As an extreme, think China. The view we outsiders get is that if they collect the wrong data about you, they will *target* you in a way that no ad-blocker will stop.
In that case, "they" is the government. Here, they still have to validate that data in some way or another to do any more than investigate you (which they're constantly doing anyway), and I only see that becoming stronger as more and more data is gathered. If that weren't the case crime would no longer be a problem and we'd see people being arrested by the feds for visiting places in the same parking lot as marijuana dispensaries because that's still federally illegal and, near as they can tell, that's why you parked in that lot; we don't have that situation and we're not going to get there as long as we maintain our 2nd.
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
I just explained the difference 2 posts up, it's not my fault you don't get it. Maybe this will help:
track
trak/
verb
1. follow the course or trail of (someone or something), typically in order to find them or note their location at various points.
target
tärt/ verb
1. select as an object of attention or attack.
If we're all being tracked, none of us have been selected, so the tracking we are discussing here isn't targeting anyone. The information collected is used to target ads, which don't get to me, ergo I am not being targeted, though I am being tracked. Hell, I'm even being tracked with the intent to target me with ads and other offers but, at least today, I still maintain control of whether I'm actually targeted or not. Might that change in the future? Not while Facebook, Twitter, and the like remain the minority; so let's ensure that they do.
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
How can an ad you aren't seeing target you?
Targets are often missed.
He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
buying a GNU/Linux laptop sight unseen in the limited set of form factors offered by System76 and other GNU/Linux specialists
Yes. Buy from System76 or Dell will allow you to buy computers with Ubuntu pre-installed. My employer does this to save money.
I don't see how it saves money. System76 laptops tend to be almost as expensive as Apple, and there's no 11.6" option (hence "limited set of form factors"). Nor can I try the keyboard or screen before buying (hence "sight unseen").
Jesus was a Jew.. hahaha.. yeah eat that fact you Jew hatter!
Avoid APK's work at all costs. He is a loser in real life and on the internet.
The ONLY way anything is going to change is if people stop using Social Media entirely. Even if the majority won't, you should do what you can to protect yourself and get off Social Media entirely.
Cowards who will say "There's no point don't bother" need not comment; I don't want to hear your pussy-ass whining, either be part of the solution or be judged as part of the problem!
APK Hosts File Engine 2.0++ 64-bit for Linux h t t p : / / a p k . i t - m a t e . c o . u k / A P K H o s t s F i l e E n g i n e F o r L i n u x . z i p (remove spaces between chars & download).
Yields more security/speed/reliability/anonymity vs. any 1 solution (99% of threats = hostnames vs. IP address that most firewalls use) more efficiently/FASTER + NATIVELY 4 less!
(Vs. "Bolt on 'MoAr' illogic-logic" competitors slowing you, hosts speed you up 2 ways (adblocks + hardcodes u spend most time @) vs. competition loaded w/ bugs (DNS/AntiVir) + overheads (messagepass ('souled-out' to advertiser addons) + filtering drivers) & their complexity leads to exploitation).
* ONLY 1 of its kind in GUI on Linux!
Better vs. Windows model in speed/efficiency/merge!
APK
P.S.=> See subject: You're Right - a court case vs. AdBlock set precedent on the grounds of IF ads try ENTER YOUR HOME minus you wanting 'em "A man's KING of HIS castle" & can oust 'em (best way's above)
Your software is just fine - well written, functional... I'm going to continue using the Host File Engine by mmell February 17, 2017
his hosts program is actually pretty good by xenotransplant August 10 2015
his hosts tool is actually useful for those cases in which one does indeed want to locally block stuff outright while consuming minimum system resources by alexgieg September 25 2015
I like your host file system by Karmashock September 09 2015
I do use APK's host file on all my systems at home by OrangeTide December 01 2017
I personally use a HOSTS file blocker produced from a genius called APK by 110010001000 October 27 2017
I support APK's stand on the hosts file Trax3001BBS
* Best part's the Linux 64-bit model's faster/more efficient (does 2x the work in 1/2 the time)
APK
P.S.=> For a faster/safer/more reliable internet... apk
Twas JEWS who killed Christ (or rather Pharisees that Christ took a WHIP to beating them out of his father's house as they turned it to a bazaar for SHEKELS) - only time Christ EVER got violent I know of...
* Ironies abound all THRU that!
APK
P.S.=> I don't HATE jews (learn to spell, 'hatter') - I pity FAKE jews known by John the Revelator as "Those who SAY they are JEWS but are not but rather the SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN" (they're destined to FAIL)... apk
See subject & can you prove your words? No. Your advertiser FEAR of my program blocking ads that infect/track/slow us & your attempt @ CENSORSHIP shows!
* You'll ALWAYS fail vs. me & you know it - give up - you have NO POWER over me (you know - the thing "your kind" CRAVES because you've always been powerless whimps, lol)
(HOWEVER - I quite CLEARLY have POWER over you - FEAR, proven by you STALKING ME constantly via your UNIDENTIFIABLE anonymous posts proving you DO indeed, FEAR me...)
MORE PROOF that "your kind" FEARS my program AND me:
You VAINLY try to "downmod hide" my post last time I posted it https://tech.slashdot.org/comm...
(No matter - I nullify your MULTIPLE SOCKPUPPET farmed "downmodpoint" EFFETE useless 'weapon' EASILY since I have UNLIMITED posting ability vs. most AC posters, lol - you LOSE again as ALWAYS as I run you DRY of your "downmodpoints" inevitably by REPOSTING... lol!)
APK
P.S.=> THANK YOU Jesus for keeping WEEZILS like him on the low end of the food chain since God HELP us if "your kind" (the 'not-men' UNIDENTIFIABLE anonymous DO-NOTHING "ne'er-do-well" JEALOUS "Lil' Jowies" (lol) in LIFE) ever DO get power - you're the WRONG KIND to have power - You ABUSE it since you've NEVER had it or responsibility that COMES w/ it & you never will & you KNOW it (vainly seeking it online & there you FAIL too & I'm the PROOF thereof))... apk
APK fears the truth that everyone finds out that he is a loser in real life and on the internet. He would also appreciate it if you didn't know that he has a very long history of being an asshole.
You advertisers FEAR my hosts program blocking ads that infect/track/slow us & your attempt @ CENSORSHIP of my posts downmodbombing 'em (I run you DRY of 'em in the end every single time, lol - useless)!
* You'll ALWAYS fail vs. me & you know it - give up - you have NO POWER over me (you know - the thing "your kind" CRAVES because you've always been powerless whimps, lol)
(HOWEVER - I quite CLEARLY have POWER over you - FEAR, proven by you STALKING ME constantly via your UNIDENTIFIABLE anonymous posts proving you DO indeed, FEAR me...)
MORE PROOF that "your kind" FEARS my program AND me:
You VAINLY tried to "downmod hide" my posts last time I posted it https://tech.slashdot.org/comm...
(No matter - I nullify your MULTIPLE SOCKPUPPET farmed "downmodpoint" EFFETE useless 'weapon' EASILY since I have UNLIMITED posting ability vs. most AC posters, lol - you LOSE again as ALWAYS as I run you DRY of your "downmodpoints" inevitably by REPOSTING... lol!)
APK
P.S.=> THANK YOU Jesus for keeping WEEZILS like him on the low end of the food chain since God HELP us if "your kind" (the 'not-men' UNIDENTIFIABLE anonymous DO-NOTHING "ne'er-do-well" JEALOUS "Lil' Jowies" (lol) in LIFE) ever DO get power - you're the WRONG KIND to have it - as you ABUSE it since you've NEVER had it or responsibility that COMES w/ it & you never will & you KNOW it (vainly seeking it online & there you FAIL too & I'm the PROOF thereof))... apk
A profound lack of data around a single subject. ... inspires people to dig deeper...These will be the target data set because they have the most to gain by spending time/effort there
No. The type of people who are most likely to block ads are the very same people who would be less influenced by them if they did see them.
I don't obey you & your advertiser FEAR of my program blocking ads that infect/track/slow us & your attempt @ CENSORSHIP!
* :)
You'll ALWAYS fail vs. me & you know it - give up - you have NO POWER over me (you know - the thing "your kind" CRAVES because you've always been powerless whimps, lol)
(HOWEVER - I quite CLEARLY have POWER over you - FEAR, proven by you STALKING ME constantly via your UNIDENTIFIABLE anonymous posts proving you DO indeed, FEAR me...)
MORE PROOF that "your kind" FEARS my program AND me:
You VAINLY tried to "downmod hide" THIS post last time I posted it https://tech.slashdot.org/comm...
(No matter - I nullify your MULTIPLE SOCKPUPPET farmed "downmodpoint" EFFETE useless 'weapon' EASILY since I have UNLIMITED posting ability vs. most AC posters, lol - you LOSE again as ALWAYS as I run you DRY of your "downmodpoints" inevitably by REPOSTING... lol!)
APK
P.S.=> THANK YOU Jesus for keeping WEEZILS like him on the lower end of the food chain since God HELP us if "your kind" (the 'not-men' UNIDENTIFIABLE anonymous DO-NOTHING "ne'er-do-well" JEALOUS "Lil' Jowies" (lol) in LIFE) ever DO get power - you're the WRONG KIND to have it as you tend to ABUSE it since you've NEVER had it or responsibility that COMES w/ it & you never will & you KNOW it (vainly seeking it online & there you FAIL too & I'm the PROOF thereof))... apk
See subject: I'm probably 1 of the MOST content & happy guys you've ever met. House/Car all paid up, bills ontime, family that loves me (grace of God thanks Jesus (couldn't have done it myself, I had your help)).
* That's vs. your MyLife link (those aren't accurate, everyone KNOWS it & the other things it has are mere queries which won't find a THING on me (no lawsuits etc.)) - as I said above?
Man - I got lucky. Computing, in a way, SAVED MY LIFE!
I saw folks here in 1 of the MOST violent, AIDS, & crime/drug ridden cities in the USA start "F'ing themselves up" & I avoided the ruination that comes w/ it. I got lucky that Almighty God saved me from it. I saw SO many folks I know die violently, go to prison, families DESTROYED by heroin etc. & knew it wasn't for me & I CUT THEM LOOSE (distanced myself, politely).
I may not be "King Billy" (as I call Mr. Gates, who USED to be 1 of my business heros, not intellectual ones) but am very pleased & thank God for my life - I escaped hell.
Many I knew... didn't.
LASTLY: Others can judge by a JURY OF OUR /. PEERS for themselves vs. your bs as to the QUALITY & EFFICACY of my work https://tech.slashdot.org/comm...
APK
P.S.=> Your other link leads to a FF article not your bs about me that's all lies anyhow - I pity you man - do SOMETHING USEFUL & of service to your fellow man, bettering yourself too - it works WONDERS & makes you a BETTER man inside (where it counts, cuz where your HEAD goes, your ASS follows)... apk
I have setup hundreds of new or wiped iPads at work. The more privacy-oriented settings (no location data, no sharing with Apple, no Apple ID, no Siri) are all smaller and less prominent. Some also ask if you're sure.
See subject "Dear WANNABE 'SiDeWaLk-ShRiNk of /.'" & https://www.youtube.com/watch?... & as Eli tosses his machete down - why?
Like he, I got 'dragged down' to the level of the road slime (& in my case the INFORMATION Super-Highway where I have to deal w/ "your kind" & worse the DEVIL on your back (as you operate like him lurking in ANONYMOUS shadows trying to put that DEVIL in me & what you mistake for anger IS disgust w/ MYSELF actually as I've NEVER learned to 'turn the other cheek' since those that do get their ASS cheeks ripped apart by SWINE like you & your lying bs, & anally raped - not I)).
* Righteous indignation (not anger) & I always let YOU destroy yourself but the VERY FACT I have to DEAL w/ you makes me feel as if I've been dunked in used french-fry oil & can't WASH IT OFF (now I suppose you take 'comfort' in that right? I pity you - you've the DEVIL in you).
APK
P.S.=> INEVITABLY the result for you (vs. myself by analogy w/ MY "Book of Eli" hostfile, lol) & YOURS as UNIDENTIFIABLE anonymous trolls is above - & I dirty myself (temporarily til I remember WHAT you are) acknowledging ALBEIT destroy, you... apk
This is why all the laws are close to useless like gdpr, thankfully tho some websites include a reject all button.
Meanwhile the narcissistic ones make you jump 500 fucking hoops just to say no, the closest I've ever felt to being raped on the internet.
The decentralized revolution can't come soon enough.
"You can be targeted through other vectors than traditional ads" - you can, but it doesn't seem to happen a lot.
How do you know that ? If you use the news feed, that is controlled entirely by how Facebook thinks you should be interested in. Their "relevant news", "suggested posts" and all other crap is the same.
I watched that porno without seeing a single ad thanks to HOSTS FILE BASED blacklisting
Also, I suck APK's cock
See subject: Collided w/ them & 'horns' himself @ 18 (masonic order + JESUITS during collegiate academia) & their allies w/ NO SEMITE blood in them.
IF I told you the truth of it you couldn't accept it - see, since HE hates the Creative ALMIGHTY spirit but can't get him? HE works thru us, like slime does, attacking his beautiful miracle of LIFE (mostly us)) - & largely thru 'useful idiots' like yourself, disposable like Hitler's SA Brownshirts.
PUT IT THIS WAY (& not ONLY me in my tribe's tree): "'ve SEEN things you people WOULDN'T believe" (quote Roy Batty from Blade Runner).
Black eyed ones later & their 1st line "brownshit SA" masons later (See Albert Pike's "MORALS & DOGMA" dedicated to "horns" per a PERSONAL very BRIEF "IN the name of Jesus Christ SATAN get the BEHIND me" OUTTA my face relationship we had)
Man - put it THAT way & all his DEAD BLACK EYE kids later & finding out someone NEAR & DEAR to me went thru it 10 yrs. to the DAY later but could've handled it better...
(The Dead Eye Shark eyes made me swoon - I fear NO MAN, but that almost collapsed me & I TRIED to rationalize it, couldn't (both events in 1983-1988 the STUPID part of my life LONG done lessons learned - ones I hope YOU never have to learn)).
* DO I KNOW WHO I AM TALKING ABOUT? You have NO idea...CAPTCHA (ironically) = HORRIBLE.
APK
P.S.=> Like Bruce Lee was told "The DEMON wants you" since he's ALREADY got "your kind" & OBVIOUSLY you - you can't beat me straight up on tech here so you SHIFT to what may 'enrage' me - you can't. You evoke PITY since I know where & WHAT you're BOUND FOR (I understand you, & PITY you, useful idiot of the antithesis of God himself, all the viruses of the spirit that originate w/ him in his SEWER where even HE 'rules' & per Milton "I'd rather RULE in Hell than Serve in Heaven"? BS deluding even himself ... there ya go & I'm NOT with it or the "insta" We'll give you ALL This for zero" (BS I got it anyway, took 20++ yrs. & clean conscience))... apk
The information collected is used to target ads, which don't get to me, ergo I am not being targeted
While I agree with most of what you've written ... since you're being rather pedantic, two can play at that game: you ARE being targeted, but the ads are missing you.
Like if I pick up a rifle and aim it at you, I am targeting you. If you have a magic BulletBlock script which stops my shot from getting to you, that doesn't mean you weren't targeted. Just means you didn't get shot.
Evidence ? Or pure faith ?
Bingo Dictionary - Pragmatist, n. A myopic idealist.
The ads are targeted at the time of the request. If my ad blocker prevents the request, the targeted ad was never generated (the ad network never had me in its sights) and I was not targeted.
To use your own analogy, if you never see me, you never pick up the rifle to target me, even if you might have a file on me that details my past whereabouts and activities.
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
The ads are targeted at the time of the request. If my ad blocker prevents the request, the targeted ad was never generated (the ad network never had me in its sights) and I was not targeted.
That's ... actually probably a fair point.
I was going to say that the code to request the ad is in the page and your browser is just ignoring it ... but you're probably right, the actual "targeting" most likely isn't in that blob of code; it happens after your browser runs it. I'm not intimately familiar with how exactly advertisements are generated, but that seems like the most likely scenario.
Well played. I rescind my previous objection.
Hey, I'm just glad there was a gun analogy where nobody died. Good on you for that, sir.
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
tee hee, you're so easy man.
Admit nothing. Deny Everything. Make Counter-accusations.
See subject: Inaccuracies like people I'M NOT RELATED TO, my address isn't right, and more (& I'm not Sue you call me either) & what I said's fact vs. it - what more can I say.
APK
P.S.=> Oh yea, I can say THIS to you: F' off, lol - I never "get my ass beaten" by UNIDENTIIABLE anonymous JEALOUS "lil' Jowies" like YOU - you're not even a person who'd stand behind YOUR OWN WORDS who HIDES who YOU really are is why... apk
Your alleged address (& no name I asked you for) was a lie https://news.slashdot.org/comm...
Since you mention psychiatric credentials & you play "SiDeWaLk ShRiNk of /." WHERE's THE PROOF OF YOUR CREDENTIALS? Where your FORMAL EXAMINATION of my alleged mental condition given in a PROFESSIONAL PSYCHIATRIC ENVIRONS you have to go with your credentials too??
It's not. Do you know anything about THE GOLDWATER RULING? Well, look into it because you MINUS those things above means you're libeling me and breaking the LAW with your libel.
APK
P.S.=> Man, whoever you are, you're obviously suffering DELUSIONS of GRANDEUR thinking you're a PSYCHIATRIC PRO 1st of all & SECONDLY you're STALKING ME constantly online as UNIDENTIFIABLE anonymous troll (says the rest about you w/ lies I caught you in @ the top of this post on "WHO YOU ARE" - I know what you are - a LIAR)... apk
I've made that offer, in the past, did so - by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 29, 2018 @12:07AM (#56863424)
You outright lied right there in that quote of you: Proof you gave no name + lied on your alleged address days ago too https://news.slashdot.org/comm... so go away UNIDENTIFIABLE anonymous troll, 'shoo'...
Would you like me to identify myself? I am never going to do so. - by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 29, 2018 @12:07AM (#56863424)
Yea, I know - you lied & have again been caught RED HANDED doing so!
APK
P.S.=> All you do is STALK ME online as UNIDENTIFIABLE anonymous constantly like some OBSESSED LUNATIC would - unbelievable... apk
c6gunner FAKE NAME: I own my own home & have for more than a decade & you by comparison HIDE behind a FAKE NAME online &?
* When YOU write a BETTER program that you can show /.ers like & use as I have https://tech.slashdot.org/comm... then you can talk let alone TRY cut my work down!
APK
P.S.=> Otherwise you're talking out your ass - heck, not even 'otherwise': You are as some "phantasyland" name you use here... apk
f3rret ( 1776822 ) FAKE NAME online? Grow up & you've the devil in you. I mean, what? You "get off" on harassing others online as you do me??
APK
P.S.=> Get a REAL life man... apk
Bullshit that wasn't you & I caught your LIE there too but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt - show me where you "id'd" yourself to me 2-3 yrs. ago!
APK
P.S.=> I suspect as usual since you've got so much "integrity" (not) HIDING behind UNIDENTIFIABLE anonymous posts STALKING ME constantly on /. (man, I must've REALLY gotten your goat & busted you up trying to "take me on" that you HIDE now that way, lol - it's obvious, especially how much time of yours you WASTE in your obviously WASTED LIFE doing it) & such "courage" (especially NOT) not STANDING BEHIND YOUR WORDS identifying yourself - you're only FOOLING YOURSELF if you think others don't see it as I do, you PSYCHO little loon, lol... apk