We all know that our web browsing is logged to try to send us ads they think will sttract our sttention - and mobey - just a fact of ysing the Web and mostly goes without notice. Luckily I am not seduced by ads, if I need something I just look for it.
So I needed something, a tiny photographic component, a thread adspter - less than £1 each on Amazon inc. shipping. From China, in about two weeks. I WaNT IT NOW, well, tomorrow will do.
So i looked up the number of a local camera shop on the Web, phoned them just to see if they had it in stock, no mention of my camera gear. They do.
Now I am being bombarded with ads from them for Nikon cameras and lenses and Lumix cameras, the ones I have. So, either Google or Amazon have made "public" the fact that I have a Nikon. Only Amazon knows that I have a Lumix. Never bought anything for that 'cos it does not bave lenses or flashguns or anything else that bolts on and I have not even bought a case for it. Not even sought info about it.
Hmm, will watch out for more "third party" ads. Some one is making a fortune on my data, wonder if and how I can screw them . . .
An interesting bit on the web confirms that the far etched Sci_ Fi stuff might be for real. Holey camoley, what else can the cyber world do? See this......https://www.wired.com/2014/11/countdown-to-zero-day-stuxnet/
That's why I have Adblock installed and disable notifications.
No ads! (https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffc08.deviantart.com%2Ffs27%2Ff%2F2008%2F180%2F8%2F7%2FThat_weekend_feeling_by_Droneguard.gif&hash=f4768950adb18ea0ff5b3d2eb72a04931fb16e03)
Quote from: Icarus on September 10, 2018, 01:45:37 AM
An interesting bit on the web confirms that the far etched Sci_ Fi stuff might be for real. Holey camoley, what else can the cyber world do? See this......https://www.wired.com/2014/11/countdown-to-zero-day-stuxnet/
Stuxnet is old stuff! WannaCry hit a lot of countries and was almost certainly launched from North Korea. Anything launched from NK can be condidered a government sponsored weapon. But the Stuxnet application did vary from the usual money making endeavours. I often wonder how much they keep quiet about. Though the predicted "cyber hell" during the first Iraq war, possibly the first where cybernetics and digital systems were critical, did not serm to happen. The world has moved on since then . . . But in the wrong direction?
And yes, things have mimicked the predictions of sc-fi but the edge of the use of digital systems and weapons is still a way away I think. The spread of AI, or even "expert systems," will just make things worse - unless the security systems have as many clever types as the hackers.
Added to this if Elon Musk's 'Neuralink' project comes to fruition the 'worst' of sci-fi is on the horizon, everything from true cyber-addiction through 'Tron' like cyber-warfare to near instant control of weapon systems.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/07/elon-musk-discusses-neurolink-on-joe-rogan-podcast.html
Social media and false news seems to be the favoured path currently (er, according to the news . . .), another sc-fi prediction. It exploits the basic lack of ability of Joe and Joan Average to handling complex information - a powerful weapon. Even I have to keep topping up my scepticism tank and I am not a fan of (anti) social media. Actually Facebook seems to be shedding membership at the moment - partly to Youtube, which might not be an improvement.
Ads are just a minor pain-in-the-butt that possibly predict worse to come. I was never in full favour of blanket regulation but I can see the possibly need for it to protect the public here. The recent European protection regs were a step in the right direction IMO. However, it is hard to regulate one's enemies except in a third party way that commercial organisations are going to resist every way they can, regardless of the wider risks to society. I predict, even in the "free world", more moves in the direction that the Chinese have taken. Without such we will increasingly be at risk from bad actors.
I use Firefox with addblock+ and NoScript.
NoScript is a pain in the ass but I still persevere.
I search for all kinds of stuff for my work. Celebs, evil things, weapons, games, videos of politicians, authors, studios, etc.
... maybe that explains my fairly eclectic spam.
When I was learning Spanish I started getting Spanish language Home Depot ads. Still do occasionally.