Does the vine hack computors?

[its hilly]

Not meant in a nasty way.
But yesterday I tried to check M-I-Ls phone no to see if she can get broadband, and today as soon as I looked on the vine an ad for broadband came up at the bottom of the page.
And I remember others commenting on how 'appropriate' the ads on here are.
Is it coincidence or do the cookies 'see' what websites you've been on?

[Snadger]

The ads can be appropriate to the topic by latching onto key words methinks.
(Frightened to mention the two big melons I intend growing!)

[HotStuff]

It's unlikely to be the Vine that's doing it, it's probably Google.

Interest-based advertising: How it works - Google Ads Preferences

[bishop]

A cookie is a small txt file containing a unique ID tag placed on your comp by a website. The website saves a complimentary file with a matching ID tag. In this file various information can be stored, from pages visited on the site, to information voluntarily given to the site. When you revisit the site days or weeks later, the site can recognize you by matching the cookie on your computer with the counterpart in its database. certain websites can read your cookies and know what web sites you have visited, as hotstuff said unlikely to be the vine.

[Nicos]

I've asked Admin to respond to this!

[piskieinboots]

I would say yes it (or google, or BG, or the R***i**s ) does pick up on what you have viewed - I have been viewing a mail-order (I don't do real life shopping!) catalogue for bits for new home, it keeps putting that ad on the bottom screen - it never did before.

[Nicos]

I get loads of adverts in French!

[piskieinboots]

I get loads of adverts in French!

There we are then

[zazen999]

I do get them but not at home, as I have a Firefox ad blocker and don't get ANY ads at all.

It just picks up on words that you type and adds them to your profile, so that ads that will appeal are targeted to show.

It's like them taping your conversations and showing a selection of ads that will appeal on the tellybox. Scarey stuff eh?

[Nicos]

urmm...well I think it's on here!!...I just ignore them...I'll have a close eye out today on here!

( advertisers nightmare!)

[bishop]

if you use the auto log in on this, or any site, you are using a third party cookie, these are easy to read by marketing companys so yes they will know what other web sites you have visited . if you are worried about cookies and want to remove them, use this free prog Ccleaner, ive been using it for over three years it removes all internet history cookies web sites visited etc. let me if you want it will put a link on and let you know how to set it up.

[Paul]

Hi all,

We use a service called Google Adsense to deliver relevant interest-based ads. These ads do NOT hack your computer, nor do they collect any personal data on you.

Here's an excerpt on how it works. Retrieved from Interest-based advertising: How it works - Google Ads Preferences [04/06/2010]

Interest-based advertising: How it works

Many websites, such as news sites and blogs, use Google's AdSense program to show ads on their sites. It's our goal to make these ads as relevant as possible for you. While we often show you ads based on the content of the page you are viewing, we also developed new technology that shows some ads based on interest categories that you might find useful.

The following example explains this new technology step by step:

Meet Mary

Mary's favorite hobby is gardening. With Google's interest-based advertising technology, Mary will see more relevant gardening ads because she visits many gardening websites. Here's how that works:

1. When Mary visits websites that display ads provided by Google's AdSense program, Google stores a number in her browser (using a "cookie") to remember her visits. That number could look like this: 114411.
2. Because many of the websites that Mary visits are related to gardening, Google puts her number (114411) in the "gardening enthusiast" interest category.
3. As a result, Google will show more gardening ads to Mary (based on her browser) as she browses websites that use AdSense.

No personal information

Throughout this process, Google does not know Mary's name or any other personal information about her. Google simply recognizes the number stored in Mary's browser, sees that it falls into the gardening enthusiast interest category and shows more gardening ads. Google will also not use sensitive interest categories, such as those based on race, religion, sexual orientation, health, or sensitive financial categories.
Editing interests with the Ads Preferences Manager

Google also lets Mary edit the interest categories associated with her browser's number. In addition to gardening, Mary also likes to play golf so she adds this interest using Google's Ads Preferences Manager. Now she will also see more ads about golf.
Interest-based ads on YouTube

YouTube also uses interest-based advertising to show relevant ads on its site. If Mary watches many videos about cooking on YouTube, she may see more ads related to cooking as she browses YouTube and websites that use AdSense. Similarly, she may see more gardening ads on YouTube based on sites she previously visited. Because YouTube is integrated into the Ads Preferences Manager, Mary can edit the interest categories that are relevant to her in one place. To learn more about YouTube's approach, see YouTube Advertising and You.
Using a different computer or clearing the browser's cookies

Anytime Mary uses a different browser or computer, her number won't carry over because it is specific to the browser she used before. When Mary clears her browser's cookies, the number is deleted and Google no longer knows that a user of that browser may be interested in gardening and golf.
Opting out

If you prefer not to receive this type of interest-based advertising, you can always opt out by clicking the "Opt out" button on the homepage of the Ads Preferences Manager. After you opt out, Google will not collect interest category information and you will not receive interest-based ads. You will see the same number of ads as before, but they may not be as relevant.

For more information, check the Frequently Asked Questions and visit the Advertising and Privacy page of our Privacy Center.

Thanks!

Paul Macey
Grow Your Own

[bobleponge]

Not sure what that lot all says about me, I've got an advert about Thai brides!!

[Nicos]

Shame on you Boble!!

Mind you- I bet you share a server!..that's more about your Germanic maties isn't it???

When I was looking at Wayne's thread about his sponsored bike ride, I had an advert- in French about bicycles!...maybe not so much of a coincidence??

[Tomatoking]

This is my take on the whole advertising situation.
Without advertising we would have no Formula 1, no basic Sky, and no GYO forum, which we all enjoy for free.

OK, you could say not so free, as the advertisers put the advertising budget onto the price of their goods, and those who pay for the goods end up paying for those free services for all of us to enjoy.

We all get hacked off by certain adverts, and it seems that the ones who complain the most are those that do not buy the products , but still get the free services.

I do not mind being targeted, after all it is me who chooses to click or not to click, and imagine having to pay everytime that you logged on to GYO or turned on your PC. That would be the alternative, the BBC have been doing it for years.

I just want to also thank Paul for his clear and informative post, I now realise why I sometimes get french adverts popping up.

MR TK