Looking up symptoms online? These companies are tracking you

Put your cookies on manual and deny anything other than first party sites ONLY if you need some sort of login. That will fix part of the problem. Second, don't use google.

a reply to: Rezlooper

I have to say, I get the impression that many of you believe that by not allowing 'cookies' to be stored locally provides some sort of insulation from prying eyes.

That is not how client server software works. Indeed, if machines are as compromised as some would have us believe, keystrokes, deleted or not, are all captured. It is a vast and pervasive violation of our 4th amendment rights by our own government and/or a wide net cast by criminal elements taking advantage of the backdoors embedded in our systems.

Sweet dreams everyone.

a reply to: Rezlooper

It's your own fault if you are typing your own personal stuff into websites and search engines lol.

a reply to: ziplock9000

For me, I've looked up symptoms online before, for both, family members and myself. Now that I have kids, I find myself doing more and more and it sure beats rushing off to the doctor right away when you can figure something out, and most often its something simple. And so far, I've never gotten spammed for it. I rarely ever pay attention to the constant barrage of ads on the web. So, I say, whatever, even though I think it's ridiculous, but oh well.

originally posted by: InverseLookingGlass
a reply to: Rezlooper

Damn.

That's why all the dating sites started trolling me after I searched for penis reduction surgery.

Time for a mass protest. Everyone search for "ebola symptoms" at the same time.

Strange, the opposite happened to me after searching penis enlargement supplements, these porno sites won't leave me alone.

Jeez. I've been in staggering pain from a two month long gout attack that actually gave me a staff infection that required emergency surgery. Even though I have been on a shocking amount of narcotics, steroids, antibiotics and NSAID's I'm miserable. I wish all of the queries I have done on the NET would find someone or some company that would find me some help. I would try anything. Interesting post. I'm not suprised at all about this back door personal medical information mining. HIPPA won't protect anyone in the States on this one.

I'm really regretting blaming that fart on that old gypsy woman at the market when I was in Croatia last year.

Cheers! (Cherry juice, not beer)

a reply to: Rezlooper

Another silly thread about people using the internet and then complaining that other people are watching them.

The internet costs money. If you're not paying it more than the pittance you pay your ISP, the deficit has to be found from elsewhere. This is how it is found. Don't like it? Stop using the internet and look up your symptoms in a public library.

If you want to keep using the internet, play by its rules and be grateful. Nobody is obliged to let you online.

a reply to: Rezlooper

Are you sure it is as stated in the article and not a gathering of statistics for companies , insurance or medical based , to share ?

originally posted by: TonyS

originally posted by: greencmp
a reply to: Rezlooper

And now that we have the mandatory sharing of every citizen's health records with the government (I still can't believe that happened), the possibilities for abuse, intentional or accidental, is staggering.

That is stunning, isn't it. What ever happened to patient/physician privilege and confidentiality.

Unfortunately, the "Controllers" are of the opinion that everyone's health status is the "Government's Business". I think they believe that somehow everyone is obligated to share their health status such that the CDC and other health agencies can track disease incidence.

The youth of course, don't know any better, so my guess is that in 20 years, no one will give this any thought at all.

Big Brother isn't coming.
Big Brother IS HERE!

EHR happened. No matter how often or how loud I screamed "Big Brother is Coming, It is Coming!", it was for naught.

If none are as blind as those that will not see, what do you say about those that are deaf because they refuse to hear?

Electronic Health Records are not only "mandatory" but your doctors could lose their practices if they do not comply.

This is the tip of the iceberg. You don't want to know what else has happened while you were sleeping.

You "need" to know. But you don't "want" to know.

originally posted by: Astyanax
a reply to: Rezlooper

Another silly thread about people using the internet and then complaining that other people are watching them.

The internet costs money. If you're not paying it more than the pittance you pay your ISP, the deficit has to be found from elsewhere. This is how it is found. Don't like it? Stop using the internet and look up your symptoms in a public library.

If you want to keep using the internet, play by its rules and be grateful. Nobody is obliged to let you online.

I practically live on the internet and I have used the internet since before many on ATS were even born. It is hard to believe, but the first computer I worked with took up the space of an entire building. It required repair technicians to be present 24/7 and we had no less than 3 on site per shift. You had to dress for July in Minnesota year round; I passed out one mid day in June after taking three steps outside, due to the severe change in temperature from inside the building to the temps outside. So, I have watched the PC evolution from the orchestra pit and I saw the storm coming, from the moment I upgraded from my QVC Sanyo PC to my grand IBM XT, back in 1983. The IBM XT had pre-programmed disks. Yeah, back then you programmed your computer to do what you needed it to do. It was time consuming and working through the bugs created its own set of problems, but that was how it was done.

Along came the preprogrammed disks and I knew there was going to be a change a coming. My first clue was I had to change the way I did business to fit the way the program was written. Not being one that was fond of change, at the time, I hated it. My constant lament was “A computer is supposed to do the job you want “it” to do.” “Why do I need a computer if I have to do what it wants “me” to do?” It is easy to see I lost that battle. Computers were here to stay and we started becoming their slaves from day one, almost.

My job requires large amounts of research. I produce healthcare instruction tools. The internet makes my job much easier in some ways and much harder in others. I started crawling around the World Wide Web on a blazing 300 baud modem and spent most of my time hanging out at “The Well”. My brother sent me a couple of years later, a 1200 baud modem for Christmas. He didn’t have a clue what it was or what it did, but he knew his kooky sister would get a kick out of it, and I did. It came with a disk to PC Link and the door to Pandora’s box was swung wide open.

What I hate about the tracking is that it handicaps your search efforts. It doesn't provide you with the result that is most relevant anymore. You once could do a search for anything, and almost everything you were looking for would show up on the first page. Now the first 3 pages are filled with paid advertising and filled with items related to words used in your most recent search or most recent web site visited.

They call it customized search results, but these targeted results don’t help me. They make may job extremely more difficult, it narrows my internet experience. It stifles learning, and narrows one’s potential outreach. I accept that when you dance with the devil you have to pay the fiddler, but don’t I at least get to choose the song?

So whoever is doing this tracking, will think I am a russian male, living on the south coast of the uk, suffering from "womens" troubles, with a fascination for diy, hemophilia with many houses (given my purchasing history)? I am fine with that! I do a lot of research for various subjects and hope it confuses them to the point their eyes are going around in circles