Taking a step to resist Google's advertising-based privacy invasions

I run a website that has traditionally run Google's adwords advertisements. I don't get a lot of traffic, but after 5 years of business my adwords account is now up to a handsome $13usd.

Because I run this website, Google emailed me yesterday to let me know that — as an advertiser — my website will need to update it's privacy policy.

Why? Because Google will now be tracking the behavior of individual users via their "interest-based advertisements" in order to better target them with ads. Apparently, this is among the suite of technologies they gained access to by purchasing DoubleClick.

I have to update my privacy policy, now that Google has drafted me to help them invade the privacy of my users. I guess they just don't want me to be caught off-guard and get sued for their actions. Thanks for the head's up there, Google.

So I've researched the matter further. According to this faq item there is no way for a publisher to opt out of this "service". While you might be able to opt out of displaying ads resulting from such collected data, there is no way to opt out of actually helping to collect the data aside from quitting the adwords program entirely. (Well Google, it looks like you'll be cutting me a check for that $13 after all now, doesn't it?)

So, severing that business relationship takes a load off of my mind. Nonetheless, there is still the matter of us consumers. How may we protect ourselves against such behavioral targeting?

Checking Google's FAQ, they recommend that you opt out of their spying with a cookie. Isn't that a clever idea? Use a cookie to ask not to get cookies?

Even this irony is not lost on Google. They know that users like to be able to clear out their cookies, and might find it counter-productive to clear out their anti-cookie cookie. So Google has developed a Firefox plugin to maintain their special cookie, even if you delete all the rest of your cookies.

Of course, this unprecedented insult to the dignity of internet users worldwide begs many questions:

• Is their plugin secure, or will it mine my computer from an even more tender vantage point?


• Would it be reasonable to trust Google to maintain this plugin indefinitely? What if it stops working — even by design. How would we even know?


• Will you be forced to use a browser their plugin is compatible with before you can be protected from their snooping?


• What if Google can use this one opt-out cookie to perform all of their tracking needs? All it has to be is an identifier keyed against the database in their servers, after all.


• Should we trust the remedy of our oppression to our very oppressor?


• Should a user's privacy and dignity be stripped away by default, and only protected voluntarily if we ask nicely enough and jump through some hoops?

I encourage my readers to tip Google's opt-out cup back into their laps. There must be one or many better ways for a user to protect their online privacy. I would like my readers to be able to read what I am saying without fear of being spied upon for example, since Blogger is hosted by Google.. but also because most free blogging platforms presently feature Google or DoubleClick advertisements.

So I will list the counter-options that I am aware of which users can use to defend themselves. I don't have much just now, but I encourage you to post comments (or email me at jesset@gmail.com) with better suggestions or clarifications, and I will update this article accordingly.

• Firefox plugin Ad blocker, blocks most well-known advertising networks, including Google and DoubleClick, and also blocks the dreaded Google Analytics website tracking script.


• Browser-agnostic proxy-filter Privoxy, you can run this from Windows or Unix based machines. Instruct your browser to use this proxy, and on non-SSL based connections it will actively scrub ad code, scripts, image bugs, and annoyances from web pages.. it also scrubs your outbound HTTP headers for popular personally-trackable data. Unfortunately, from it's vantage point as a proxy it cannot aid with SSL-based connections.


• Come on guys, help me fill out this list!

So it comes down to us, we must arm ourselves in order to enjoy a relatively non-obtrusive stay on the interwebs. I have never used Ad Block before. I have a firefox bookmarklet that manually squashes visually annoying ads, but aside from that I have not been bothered and I have clicked on advertisements which I have found interesting. That was back when the web was stateless. Now however, it appears as though I'll have to take the step of saying goodbye to advertisements, and tell Google, and every other web-ad provider to take their revenue streams and shove them.

I am sorry, I truly am.. but when you exploit your position in the industry to grind the little guy like so much wheat, I simply cannot defend or support you any more. I will continue to bilk free services from you, Yar Har Fiddle Dee Dee, but I will actively do what I can to protect my privacy. I will junk your advertisements and I will encourage others to do so. I will take, and take pains not to give back. If this attitude is burdensome to you Google, then you ought to change your policies and apologize to your public.. bind yourself procedurally to be kept honest.. or else we will abide until the day that someone who can accomplish that will replace you.

Monkeys and typewriters

If 10 monkeys assailed 10 typewriters for 10 minutes you would eventually get a realtime stream from 4chan /b/

This is the Freelancer's domain!

Heed all ye who approacheth!

In the year of our lord 1992 I used Autocad r11 (yes there was an r11 :D) and mathematically prepared a blend of a sierpinski triangle with a penrose.. triangle.. and made the unholy figure you see illustrated here.

Then, combined with the zany text you see, I affixed this 4'x3' banner to my bedroom door. At the time, I was known by the pre-interweb moniker "The Freelancer" and I think some of our friends called ourselves "The Triad" so..

Anyway! That's a rundown of some of my crazy high school antics! :D The end

Media crashing into "now"

The Evolution of Faye

I am a connoisseur of serial, archived media content.
For example, I download entire seasons of television programs from the interweb, and watch them when I want to.

One invariable side effect of this approach is your media crashing into "now". That is when your cozy backlog of new material to consume runs out, and you have to wait with every other schlep for the next episode to air.

Bit torrent is good and our friend, so as soon as there is an official airing anywhere in the world, I can has a copy. For example I can see Doctor Who months before it airs here in the states (I actually bought online and gave several of my friends important T-shirts months before the episode "Blink" aired, complete with weeping angels (the design is no longer available online, just text only or no text now!)

Yet still, you feel so mortal waiting for the next episode!

I also read web comics. I have RSS for most of mine, so they are easy to keep track of.

But I began reading Questionable Content a couple of weeks back. I hit "first" and just read through from the beginning since it's a good serial, and I had no hope of properly understanding the backstory without.. well.. reading it.

But now, 10 days and 1213 episodes later. *bam!* it's now-time! whaaanh! I ran out of QC!

I suppose the consolation is now I can make use of JJ's RSS Feed now. No more guessing and searching for where I left off last ;)

How to port forward like a pimp daddy

SSH can tunnel TCP ports for you. But what if you need to tunnel UDP as well? SSH doesn't speak UDP.

Oh. But netcat does. Also, netcat is awexome. Throw in a fifo and you'll be taking over the world in no time. Just ask Guillaume Cottenceau, he will show you how it's done, friend. :3

I had never used a fifo before; I wasn't even sure what they did. They sure seem nice! But notice the end of the article? After patting yourself on the back for making netcat and fifo's dance, you learn that socat laughs and does the job of both of them simultaneously. :)

to be strictly accurate, socat itself is capable of openssh encryption so....... if you work out another authentication method, socat could even replace the SSH client and server in this tunnel!!1!one

I, for one, welcome our new socket forwarding overlords. :D

The Device HAS been modified, yo!

So some students from the Digipen Institute of Technology Had an idea for a game. Of course, it's an idea stolen from a book series I never wrote in high school -- specifically; what would happen if you could create planar portals in pairs (doorways if you will .. Monster's Inc did this too!) that both physically and visually linked two locations in regular space?

My treatise explored what such power would do to society (security, construction, travel, etc). Monster's Inc explored the concept as a doorway to alternate worlds (back and forth between Earth and Monstropolis). These folk weaponized their portals and built a couple of FPS: most notably "Portal" which twists and tortures the celebrated HL2 Source/Havok engine.

Critical reception was strong. The quirky game mechanic melded wonderfully with an OCD story line and cast of characters so short as to be virtually non-existant. Fans went wild (in spurts), sometimes fan game maps were made. Sometimes fanart. VGCats made a Comic Strip and an AMV based on the credits song "Still Alive". Penny Arcare envisioned an infinite slide using this tech. Randall Munroe gave villian GlaDOS a boyfriend.

A music group with no website who appropriately named themselves "Victims of Science" remixed sounds from the game and some of the dialog by GlaDOS and the turrets to make a song called "The Device has been Modified". It became popular enough to rival the following of the original end-credits song "Still Alive" by Jonny Coulton.

TDHBM is actually really fun to AudioSurf to as well. One day I found a video someone made of them playing AS to TDHBM. I felt like whipping that link out into chat today, so I did's a video search.

But I found this first.



Apparently this thecybercat dude is one of the best Portal players in the world, with record speed runs posted on Youtube.

Also, he can swing himself some visual effects. This is some kind of AMV he's got here.
But the link underneath that in Youtube says "Go check out my NEW version of this! It's way better" and then that leads you here:



...

er,

...

Sorry, this just makes me mentally blue screen and I can never remember what I just saw. But check out the Youtube comments on that sumbitch! The response is unanimous and uncontested (as of this blogposting); thecybercat now has an undead army at his command.

Now I'm wondering where you can get higher res versions of these videos for mah media center? :3

Cest amoure?

They say that the internet is a place which enables stalkers to track down their prey. Some have cited Second Life as a venue which is often used to this purpose.

This is a short story about a pretty young lady caught up in just such a scenario. It's just that she's, you know, not precisely the one being followed ;)