Had some spare time this morning with weather probs and not much line checking and decided to find where all these tracking cookies originate.
Swep my computer yesterday with adware and when it slowed down today I rechecked it and it was loaded back up with it again.So I spent morning checking site by site where the originate.
The biggest culprit was PGA site. Immediately get 3 when you click on scoreboard--
2o7.net
atdmt.com
doubleclick
While adware only shows them I cut them off at the feet after bout 2 hours of experimenting.
Will share with the crew--maybe most know already--note once you download spyware blaster you have to active it to IE if that is browser you are using.
Controlling tracking cookies
Q. I went to http://www.networkadvertising.org/ and attempted to opt out of cookies and other adware. I was unable to do so. Why? And what can I do to get rid of adware?
A. The site in the question allows computer users to stop receiving adware from Atlas DMT and DoubleClick. You simply check a couple boxes and submit your form. You are automatically opted out, assuming the process works. Sometimes it doesn't, as the person who sent this message found.
When you check these boxes and click submit, these two companies send you cookies. These are little text files that tell the companies you have opted out. Supposedly, they then leave you alone.
However, if you have blocked cookies, or if you have installed anti-adware software, the two companies might already be blocked. In that case, no cookies, either good or bad, could get through from the two companies.
Before we continue, let's explain what cookies do. These are little text files that include some information. They cannot be used to produce ads, steal your personal information or do anything else. As text files, they are inert. They can only be read.
So let's say you regularly go to a Web site that sells books. That site maintains a database of its customers, including you. It knows everything you have purchased there, along with your credit card number and address.
When you go to that site, your Web browser checks to see if there is a cookie from that company. It finds one, probably stemming from your first visit to the site. The browser sends the cookie to the site. The cookie includes a number. The site matches the number to its database, which tells it who you are. It then produces a welcome page that says, "Hello, Joe! Here are some titles you might like!"
Suppose you buy a book. The company knows who you are, so it already has your credit card number and other information. So you don't have to fill that in. That's an example of a good cookie (which most of them are).
There are also less desirable cookies. They're called tracking cookies. These are sent to you by advertisers. As you visit various sites, ads on those sites receive the tracking cookies and add information. This builds data about where you surf, so ads can be tailored to your interests.
If you are unable to opt-out of adware (or spyware, as it is often called) at networkadvertising.org, you have probably done something to block DoubleClick or Atlas DMT. Many anti-spyware programs are available. Most will block these two companies. You may have installed one. You could try to figure out the problem, but I wouldn't bother.
Here's what I do. I set my cookie level to low. Do that by clicking Tools>>Internet Options. Select the Privacy tab and move the slider. I also installed SpywareBlaster, a free program that does a good job of blocking adware. You can get it at: http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html
Some adware still gets through. I run Ad-aware to find it. Ad-aware lists the objects it finds, mostly tracking cookies. The object's name ends in the form XXX[1].txt. Before deleting the tracking cookies, I go to the Privacy tab and click Edit. In the box marked Address of Web Site, I enter XXX.com and click Block. You can find a link to Ad-aware at: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/
Swep my computer yesterday with adware and when it slowed down today I rechecked it and it was loaded back up with it again.So I spent morning checking site by site where the originate.
The biggest culprit was PGA site. Immediately get 3 when you click on scoreboard--
2o7.net
atdmt.com
doubleclick
While adware only shows them I cut them off at the feet after bout 2 hours of experimenting.
Will share with the crew--maybe most know already--note once you download spyware blaster you have to active it to IE if that is browser you are using.
Controlling tracking cookies
Q. I went to http://www.networkadvertising.org/ and attempted to opt out of cookies and other adware. I was unable to do so. Why? And what can I do to get rid of adware?
A. The site in the question allows computer users to stop receiving adware from Atlas DMT and DoubleClick. You simply check a couple boxes and submit your form. You are automatically opted out, assuming the process works. Sometimes it doesn't, as the person who sent this message found.
When you check these boxes and click submit, these two companies send you cookies. These are little text files that tell the companies you have opted out. Supposedly, they then leave you alone.
However, if you have blocked cookies, or if you have installed anti-adware software, the two companies might already be blocked. In that case, no cookies, either good or bad, could get through from the two companies.
Before we continue, let's explain what cookies do. These are little text files that include some information. They cannot be used to produce ads, steal your personal information or do anything else. As text files, they are inert. They can only be read.
So let's say you regularly go to a Web site that sells books. That site maintains a database of its customers, including you. It knows everything you have purchased there, along with your credit card number and address.
When you go to that site, your Web browser checks to see if there is a cookie from that company. It finds one, probably stemming from your first visit to the site. The browser sends the cookie to the site. The cookie includes a number. The site matches the number to its database, which tells it who you are. It then produces a welcome page that says, "Hello, Joe! Here are some titles you might like!"
Suppose you buy a book. The company knows who you are, so it already has your credit card number and other information. So you don't have to fill that in. That's an example of a good cookie (which most of them are).
There are also less desirable cookies. They're called tracking cookies. These are sent to you by advertisers. As you visit various sites, ads on those sites receive the tracking cookies and add information. This builds data about where you surf, so ads can be tailored to your interests.
If you are unable to opt-out of adware (or spyware, as it is often called) at networkadvertising.org, you have probably done something to block DoubleClick or Atlas DMT. Many anti-spyware programs are available. Most will block these two companies. You may have installed one. You could try to figure out the problem, but I wouldn't bother.
Here's what I do. I set my cookie level to low. Do that by clicking Tools>>Internet Options. Select the Privacy tab and move the slider. I also installed SpywareBlaster, a free program that does a good job of blocking adware. You can get it at: http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html
Some adware still gets through. I run Ad-aware to find it. Ad-aware lists the objects it finds, mostly tracking cookies. The object's name ends in the form XXX[1].txt. Before deleting the tracking cookies, I go to the Privacy tab and click Edit. In the box marked Address of Web Site, I enter XXX.com and click Block. You can find a link to Ad-aware at: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/
