Big Brother Really Is Watching You

[n614cd]

So the problem really is the court is still operating online as it it's 1995? is their website members.aol.com?

literally all they need to do is update their robots.txt.

Nope. robots.txt deals with a web crawler. This is content scanning of email.

Tim

 

[Braineack]

OP said the yahoo software is following links within the email content to an outside server -- that server can control access. Even if that software doesn't respect robots.txt, which im assuming it does, the server should still be able to see what/who accessed the link, and if it truly is coming from yahoo, then blacklist it.

The court is blaming yahoo for their security shortcomings.

in the least, the urls should be protected if they are private access, unique pin per url, simple login account, named access, etc.

I find it more unethical that a court will charge a lawyer per link hit for information that costs them absolutely zilch to host than a free email service selling targeted advertising based on an algorithm it uses when scanning the emails...

pro tip of the day: don't hire a lawyer who uses free yahoo email and doesn't click the opt-out button.

 

[smoke665]

the server should still be able to see what/who accessed the link, and if it truly is coming from yahoo, then blacklist it.

When the problem came up, they were able to verify that the traffic was from Yahoo, which is why they have now blocked Yahoo entirely. Once they did that Yahoo engineers actually called them to find out why the government servers were blocking them. Once the problem was explained they sheepishly admitted that it was problem they weren't aware of but didn't have an immediate solution. So for the time being they remain blocked. The access granted by the links are read only of specific documents, that don't grant other access, and are generated by the court system when anything is filed for which the attorney is the attorney of record on the case.

 

[snowbear]

So the problem really is the court is still operating online as it it's 1995? is their website members.aol.com?

Geocities!

 

[SquarePeg]

Along this same Big Brother watching us theme - this happened last week:

I was shopping at Target with Princess last weekend. I looked at a lighted make up mirror and asked her if it was the same one that she has. She said no. I put it back. I didn't google it or use a Target app or anything like that. I picked up some make up brushes, looked at them and put them back. Didn't mention them at all. Later that day, both of those items popped up in my Facebook online ads feed. Not the exact brand but an ad for make up brushes and another for a lighted mirror. No way that was a coincidence. I didn't google or shop online for either of those items.

I was telling Princess about it and she told me how she and some friends were trying on jeans in a store at the mall and half an hour later an ad for jeans at that store popped up in their Instagram ads feed.

I posted about this on Facebook and so many people had similar stories.

 

[Overread]

Only thing I've noticed is that these days ebay keeps giving me advertisements in ad slots on websites and whatever I've been looking at recently is always "discounted now" in the banner . Then again Ebay has been sending me emails for years now with a "just for you" only for the content to be nothing like what I actually buy or look at on ebay (its always what THEY want me to buy).

As for ads appearing for what you looked at in real shops I think some of that might just be selective bias in what you're noticing (same as how if you never had a red card but then bought one, you'd see red cars everywhere even if its not the " popular " colour at present).
Other times it can happen because you wound up doing a search for those things at another time and forgot it. Other things are just common - jeans in a local store is pretty common so ads for that being sent out will hit people who have been in local stores who want jeans.


Sometimes being a geeky wargamer photographer person thingy has its bonuses - cause make-up, jeans and most other "common" things for me are just utilitarian so those ads never interest me so I never feel spied upon like that

As for yahoo yeah that's very sketchy and rather shocking that their system would not just read, but also follow links. Methinks that its going to bite yahoo somewhat hard considering its been accessing court documents and likely more besides.

 

[compur]

Along this same Big Brother watching us theme - this happened last week:

I was shopping at Target with Princess last weekend. I looked at a lighted make up mirror and asked her if it was the same one that she has. She said no. I put it back. I didn't google it or use a Target app or anything like that. I picked up some make up brushes, looked at them and put them back. Didn't mention them at all. Later that day, both of those items popped up in my Facebook online ads feed. Not the exact brand but an ad for make up brushes and another for a lighted mirror. No way that was a coincidence. I didn't google or shop online for either of those items.

I was telling Princess about it and she told me how she and some friends were trying on jeans in a store at the mall and half an hour later an ad for jeans at that store popped up in their Instagram ads feed.

I posted about this on Facebook and so many people had similar stories.

Now, that is creepy!

Facebook evidently has a feature called “Location Services” that tracks your location via your phone so it wouldn't take much for them to get data on what store you were in and what part of that store you stopped at and, of course, your ID. So, data on anywhere you go with your phone will be mined by that software and they can then target ads accordingly. Or, do whatever else they want to do with the info gathered.

I think Google has similar software (and probably others do too).

Another reason I don't own a "smart" phone though I'm sure somebody is still tracking me to some degree via other means.

 

[smoke665]

Later that day, both of those items popped up in my Facebook online ads feed. Not the exact brand but an ad for make up brushes and another for a lighted mirror. No way that was a coincidence

No it wasn't, as mentioned above if you have the Facebook app on your phone you're not only telling them places you visit but a lot of other things. Thanks to the sophisticated software, and with the information you give them they're able to mine other information from public records, credit card companies, loyalty cards, etc., even if you're offline. Using the FB app on your phone or the multitude of other similar apps is like strapping a camera to your forehead. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech...s-your-every-move-facts-vs-fiction/521613002/

 

[snowbear]

There are inside location services that provide signals where GPS can't normally get, like shopping malls. It wouldn't be a stretch to imagine those being able to pinpoint your location within a building, and comparing that to what merchandise is near by - a form of spatial analysis.

 

[smoke665]

There are inside location services that provide signals where GPS can't normally get, like shopping malls. It wouldn't be a stretch to imagine those being able to pinpoint your location within a building, and comparing that to what merchandise is near by - a form of spatial analysis.

Been doing it for awhile now https://lifehacker.com/how-retail-stores-track-you-using-your-smartphone-and-827512308

 

[TreeofLifeStairs]

These “people” must be uninterested in me. I see very few ads that pertain to me.

 

[smoke665]

These “people” must be uninterested in me. I see very few ads that pertain to me.

If you knew the amount of information on you out there, it would freak you out. I just opened an online account at a bank, and as part of their verification process they asked me to answer questions like which of these streets did you live on in 1967, or what year was a certain vehicle I bought back in 1987, and which of these people do you know.

 

[TreeofLifeStairs]

These “people” must be uninterested in me. I see very few ads that pertain to me.

If you knew the amount of information on you out there, it would freak you out. I just opened an online account at a bank, and as part of their verification process they asked me to answer questions like which of these streets did you live on in 1967, or what year was a certain vehicle I bought back in 1987, and which of these people do you know.

Those are easy. I wasn’t born yet in 1967, and I couldn’t drive in 1987.

 

[Grandpa Ron]

Unless you wish to live like the Amish or are rich enough to own your own system, you have to live with the agreement you signed up for when you accepted the "free" service.

It is what they do, it is how they make a very good living. The fact that most folk could care less as long as they provide the services needed, is why they stay in business.

 

[unpopular]

Guys. You didn't read the whole story. Yahoo intercepted a total of four emails, three of which were spam and the other was a letter from some lady to her cat talking about how Ronald Reagan wants to Make America Great Again.

That was the extent of emails on Yahoo's servers, however, they share the information with Fancy Feast.