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The Truth about Facebook!

Fishstick said:
"also collects information about you from other sources such as newspapers and IM services. This information is gathered regardless of your use of the web site"

I'd like to know how they do that, especially technically. So facebook "knows" who I IM on AOL/MSN/etc or what sites I go to from google reader even though the two are compeltely seperate? That's pretty amazing!
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Many blogs/sites now use the "login via Facebook" feature, by which Facebook's API authorizes a remote login, passes your photo and profile info to the site in question, and takes note of which site you are logging in from. This allows Facebook to "watch" certain activity on 3rd-party sites. Also, if I develop a "Facebook App", and you authorize and "install" it, Facebook will pass me your profile data, and I can also get (limited) info on your friend's profiles per recent changes to the FB TOS. Technically both work the same; a 3rd-party site passes you to Facebook where you login (and activity is tracked), and then Facebook passes you back to the 3rd-party site (or loads it in an iframe/FBML).

The same is true of websites serving Google AdSense. When the javascript loads, an ad is served from Google, and Google takes note of the site you are on. Ads are served based on the keywords found in the page serving ads, and also based on your "personality profile" which is determined by your browser habits (determined anytime you use any Google services or access any 3rd-party sites using Google services such as "AdSense" or "Analytics"). Google Analytics takes all sorts of data, including time spent, keywords searched for, and info about your PC and browser.

Google and Facebook are just two examples; just about any service that offers an "embed" code does the same thing (ads, YouTube, login credentials, API calls, etc etc etc). See for yourself:



Click the "I agree" button, and watch your browser's status bar. It will say something like "transferring data from xyz.youtube.com"- as the video loads, YouTube is also seeing the URL of this thread right here, at which point they could spider it and check for keyword density. They would thus "know" you like JREF, and "know" that JREF dealt with concepts X, Y & Z. If you went to YouTube later, it might suggest an Alex Jones video, or an ad for gold.

This information could be abused, however, most rational people agree that Google's (et all) motive is in targeting ads more efficiently, thus boosting ad revenues.

Google has also been working on "Real-Time Ambient-Audio Identification"; for example, say a dog barks in the background in your house- they might serve a dog food ad. However, at present, most webware which accesses you mic and/or camera relies on Flash to do so. You should see a "allow this app to access my mic & camera?" warning when loading any such app.

If you are especially paranoid, disable Flash and javascript, and use proxies. That will limit "them" to only server-side analytics (which is still a daunting amount of data).
 
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aggle-rithm said:
Despite having read this, I am no wiser.
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It is not uncommon to format your HD every few months, just to clear out all the junk that slowly collects from typical use.

I used to do the same, until I got fed up with Windows and bought a Mac.
 
FreshHat said:
As far as Facebook knows, I'm 107 years old, as I gave them a birth year of 1903 for my profile, in the hopes that it makes any data they gather on me pretty much worthless.
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I 'adjusted ' my birthdate as well. In fact I do not believe that I gave JREF my correct birthdate either, or for that matter any forum.

In posts I have usually rounded up, or down, my age.
You spooks and agents don't need to know!:D
 
zaphod2016 said:
It is not uncommon to format your HD every few months, just to clear out all the junk that slowly collects from typical use.

I used to do the same, until I got fed up with Windows and bought a Mac.
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Hmmm, at work we have three PowerMacs running Final Cut.
They regularily need to have the user preferences files for Final Cut wiped and remade.
One of the RAID drives failed(mirrored drives) and under instructions from an Apple Genius we performed a re-build of that drive. However, we then noticed that the drive names/numbers changed making it nigh on impossible to know after the fact which slot the failed drive had been in.

Yeah, Steven,,, he ain't a God!:D

ETA: when the Final Cut user preference files get corrupted (which they do because for some odd reason the longer you use the program the more 'junk' gets deposited in the files) the program crashes randomly. Sound familiar?
This is a problem that most Final Cut users know about and have been 'working around' for years. No fix is expected
 
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zaphod2016 said:
If you are especially paranoid, disable Flash and javascript, and use proxies. That will limit "them" to only server-side analytics (which is still a daunting amount of data).
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I'm paranoid enough to run Firefox on Ubuntu with NoScript and Ghostery on high :D

But mainly cause I hate drive by nighter java spamware installers when I go to a "questionable" site. Plus I don't like Facebook knowing what I do outside of facebook.
 
zaphod2016 said:
Many blogs/sites now use the "login via Facebook" feature, by which Facebook's API authorizes a remote login, passes your photo and profile info to the site in question, and takes note of which site you are logging in from. This allows Facebook to "watch" certain activity on 3rd-party sites. Also, if I develop a "Facebook App", and you authorize and "install" it, Facebook will pass me your profile data, and I can also get (limited) info on your friend's profiles per recent changes to the FB TOS. Technically both work the same; a 3rd-party site passes you to Facebook where you login (and activity is tracked), and then Facebook passes you back to the 3rd-party site (or loads it in an iframe/FBML).
.
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I'm aware that facebook API's exist. However, all of this still presupposes that you actually log in via facebook, or actually use said sites. The video makes it seem as if Facebook is this all-knowing entity - "this information is gathered regardless of your use of the website". This also still does not explain how Facebook is supposed to have access to my IM information.
 
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DC said:
ah thanks for reminding me of facebook. got to cancel my account, they are selling data.
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Did you see Southpark just a few days ago about the process of canceling your facebook account. You will be digitalize and have to play Yahtzee with your profile; then win.
 
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Instead of deleting your Facebook account, just get them to change your name, lose all your friends (both of them), delete your photos, change the e-mail name to an account that you do not use (maybe even set one up for this) then log out, and do not come back. That way there is no more connection between your Facebook account and you.
 
The whole facebook thing is so silly. It's just one huge waste of time. Call me old fashioned but i like to email in relative privacy.

I signed up only to delete my account not long after...In the process i noticed the "how to permanently delete your facebook account" has nearly 50,000 fans ; did they delete thier accounts then join up again to tell all their friends how brilliant the feature was?!
 
Steelmage said:
Did you see Southpark just a few days ago about the process of canceling your facebook account. You will be digitalize and have to play Yahtzee with your profile; then win.
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LOL no havent seen it
 
Red3 said:
The whole facebook thing is so silly. It's just one huge waste of time. Call me old fashioned but i like to email in relative privacy.

I signed up only to delete my account not long after...In the process i noticed the "how to permanently delete your facebook account" has nearly 50,000 fans ; did they delete thier accounts then join up again to tell all their friends how brilliant the feature was?!
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bah, aslong you dont send your emails with a Homing pigeon you are not old fashioned :D
 
Fishstick said:
I'm aware that facebook API's exist. However, all of this still presupposes that you actually log in via facebook, or actually use said sites. The video makes it seem as if Facebook is this all-knowing entity - "this information is gathered regardless of your use of the website". This also still does not explain how Facebook is supposed to have access to my IM information.
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The Facebook API looks for the cookie it uses when you are using facebook. Login out of facebook terminates your session yes, but the cookie remains on your PC. The API checks each visitor to the 3rd party site for it's own user cookie, and if it finds one it then knows User Fishsticks visits this third party site. Although the cookie has no useful information to be read, (Normally just a serial number) facebook can cross match that serial to the db that assigned it to "Fishsticks"

It's the same way google targets ads to yourself, Even if you don't have a Gmail account

That's why I block Facebook via noscript when I am not on it, As I can never be assed deleting cookies each time.
 
akama1 said:
That's why I block Facebook via noscript when I am not on it...
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This, and related "cookie paranoia" always makes me chuckle (no offense).

The data collected -- and shared without your knowledge or consent -- by shopper's cards for supermarkets and drug stores (especially COSCO) and any catalog company from which you place an order, is several magnitudes more serious and intrusive than any data collected by cookie tracking. That data includes your personal info, income, psychographics/demographics, home value, and much more.

It's almost as if you'd think there might be a "conspiracy" by direct marketers to keep public scrutiny and outrage focused on harmless cookies so that you don't notice the mountain of personal data they've collected. Hrm... ... ... ...nah.
 
SkepticGuy said:
This, and related "cookie paranoia" always makes me chuckle (no offense).

The data collected -- and shared without your knowledge or consent -- by shopper's cards for supermarkets and drug stores (especially COSCO) and any catalog company from which you place an order, is several magnitudes more serious and intrusive than any data collected by cookie tracking. That data includes your personal info, income, psychographics/demographics, home value, and much more.

It's almost as if you'd think there might be a "conspiracy" by direct marketers to keep public scrutiny and outrage focused on harmless cookies so that you don't notice the mountain of personal data they've collected. Hrm... ... ... ...nah.
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I heard ATS is as bad as facebook and survives on pure BS, encouraging delusions to be posted and discussed as serious information.
 
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