

Here's how you can opt out from 100 different online ad networks in one go - FSecurePal
http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp

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num1
What black magic does this website perform to read and modify cookies from
other domains? I thought this mass reading and editing of cookies was
explicitly not possible.

~~~
po
Looks like they don't delete any cookies. They set a bunch of new cookies in
your browser to indicate you want to opt-out.

From the FAQ: <http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/faqs.asp>

9\. How does the NAI Opt-out Tool work? The NAI Opt-out Tool replaces a
network advertiser's unique online preference marketing cookie on your browser
with a general opt-out cookie. It does not delete individual cookies nor does
it necessarily replace other cookies delivered by network advertisers, such as
those that are used for aggregate ad reporting or mere ad serving purposes.
Such cookies allow network advertisers to change the sequence of ad banners,
as well as track the aggregate number of ads delivered (impressions).

...

13\. Can my browser settings interfere with the use of the NAI "Opt-out" Tool?
Yes. Your browser must be set to accept 3rd party cookies in order for the NAI
"Opt-out" tool to work.

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jmhobbs
If you are a Firefox user, give Beef Taco a shot. Set's them and keeps them
loaded: <https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/180650/>

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jws
This doesn't stop the ads. It just stops the targeting system inputs based on
your past actions. The present is still fair game.

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hkuo
I'm all down for that though. Targetting me on past actions have been a huge
fail for the ad servers so far. One example, my wife was thinking about
applying for a job at Tom's shoes. I checked out the site to read about their
company. Ever since, their banner ads have been following me all over the
place, with no interest on my part to ever wear or purchase them. Example two,
I was watching a podcast interviewing the CEO of a wine making company. I
checked out their site, and again I got followed absolutely everywhere with
their banner ads. The problem with their targeting as far as I've experienced
is that they have no ability whatsoever to understand the context of my
actions, and context is the most valuable part of understanding what would be
relevant to me. Without that, all they can do is see that i visited X site, so
let's hammer X site's banner at me to perpetuity until I visit Y site, and the
cycle continues.

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eli
I don't get why this is so annoying. Would you prefer to get random,
untargeted banners for home mortgage refinancing or mesothelioma lawsuits?

At least if you allow them to target you, there's an outside chance that once
in a while an ad is exactly what you're looking for.

~~~
hkuo
As a matter of fact, yes, I would. I do get tired of seeing the same ad over
and over again. I don't use ad block, as I do want to give website owners
their rightful due, and I would rather see a variety of ads than one single
one over and over again.

Imagine watching television, and in each commercial slot, it's the same
commercial, all day, all week. I think you would get sick of that commercial
very quickly, and after a while, you would begin to have negative thoughts
about the company in the commercial.

The same thing happens when my wife watches her Korean dramas online. There
was a week or so, that there was this one single Virgin Mobile ad that played
before and during every episode, the one that has that scene of the woman
giving birth while screaming at her mobile phone. Even though I wasn't
watching the dramas, I was close enough to have to hear that ad 25 times over
the course of a night, and I began to harbor extremely violent thoughts
against Virgin Mobile.

Edit: not sure that answers your question directly actually, but what I really
mean is that I would like to see a variety of ads rather than the one or two
that seem to be stalking me everywhere and of which I have no interest. I'd
certainly rather see ads from more companies of higher quality than
mesotheleomia or mortagage financing, but in all honesty, having one or two of
those sprinkled in would at least lessen the badgering I get from the few ads
I constantly see.

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danfitch
The whole point of this is to self regulate. If they don't put forms of
regulation like this out on the internet then their will be many people who
are very angry with them for not making this available so they are jumping the
gun and trying to regulate themselves.

But really the people who will opt out are going to be a drop in the bucket
compared to the masses that have no clue that this is even there.

(EDIT)If you want to see what data they actually know about you visit this
site. <http://tags.bluekai.com/registry>

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FraaJad
How is it better than using a hosts file like this one?
<http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm>

~~~
Construct
It's better in the sense that it takes 10 seconds from start to finish.

If your goal is instead to block the ads completely, I still prefer to use
AdBlock Pro and let them manage the block list, rather than clutter up my
hosts file.

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robryan
Given I cleared cookies a couple of days ago amazing how many on the list it's
telling me I have active cookies for.

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privacychoice
For a more complete opt-out than the NAI tool (and a bookmark to remember and
update them) try <http://www.privacychoice.org>

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chaosmachine
You'll need to disable adblock to make this work properly, otherwise about
half of them fail.

~~~
wtn
And they all fail in Safari, because Safari blocks cookies from 3rd party
domains.

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raheemm
The next time you clear your cookies, you have to go back to this site and
opt-out again.

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jdp23
very useful, although the report after says it only worked on about half of
them.

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9ec4c12949a4f3
Yeah sure, just drop me a line.

"('--`good !$#&/?^ luck with your spam {$database}|)"@example.com

<http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5322>

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klync
I was expecting this to be about editing your hosts file or subscribing to an
alt dns service. Fail.

