Question about tracking on the internet

[inf1nity]

I just discovered something. I went to google and looked up the name of one of my friends. i was amazed. Google gave me her google+ profile, her twitter account too..!

Now i've been thinking, how did google know which person i was searching for? There must lots of people of her name, right?

I looked up her name on bing and Yahoo and she wasn't listed in their results. But then i use google for searching almost all the time.

So does this mean that google is watching my activity, even if i search without logging into my email?
Also, how do i avoid this from happening?

 

[inf1nity]

okay i just searched again from another computer with a different internet. the results were same. Am i getting worried about nothing?

 

[MrColin]

Probably this girl has lots of other cyberstalkers which pushes her social content up in the rankings.

 

[SecurityTheatre]

Google does extensive geographic localization.

I am assuming she lives in the same town as you do?

If you ask a friend from outside the country to search, I'd guess they would turn up someone else.

Just a thought...

 

[Crusty]

okay i just searched again from another computer with a different internet. the results were same. Am i getting worried about nothing?

That won't matter if at any point you've logged into your google account on that computer... they already know it's you.

 

[inf1nity]

Google does extensive geographic localization.

I am assuming she lives in the same town as you do?

If you ask a friend from outside the country to search, I'd guess they would turn up someone else.

Just a thought...

yes she does live in the same town.
i have no contacts outside the country..

 

[SecurityTheatre]

yes she does live in the same town.
i have no contacts outside the country..

You could even try a different city or region. The localization is very specific to town/city.

 

[inf1nity]

okay guys i just searched for three of my friends. First from my own IP, then from a Russian proxy and then an Indonesian one. Each time the results were same.

To check whether Google was able to detect the proxy, i looked up "What is my IP" but Google did not give me the "proxy detected" message, it just gave me the IP of the proxy.

What does this mean. Are all my fears just the product of my imagination?

 

[lxskllr]

You're definitely being tracked. It isn't your imagination. If you don't like it, don't use services that track you.

How are they doing it in your case? I'm guessing cookies.

 

[Paperlantern]

I would imagine that if you are still "logged in" to Google while you are performing the searches, it wont matter what part of the world from which you perform the search.

 

[HeXen]

Some people I search for result in very little if anything, including myself. Often no more than what's listed in the phone directory. Maybe some people just put themselves all over the internet.
I use as much do not track type features as I can. I have an accelerator for IE that supposedly prevents Google tracking.

 

[inf1nity]

I would imagine that if you are still "logged in" to Google while you are performing the searches, it wont matter what part of the world from which you perform the search.

but i am not logged in to my e mail
also i searched first from my PC, and then from my laptop(using the same wireless card). Results were same.
Then went to an internet cafe, searched again ,the result were same.
used proxies, results were same.

Can someone among you guys search google for these people and tell me your search result? If anyone is interested in helping me out with this then please tell me, i'll PM you the names.

 

[inf1nity]

You're definitely being tracked. It isn't your imagination. If you don't like it, don't use services that track you.

How are they doing it in your case? I'm guessing cookies.

but i was doing it in private browsing mode.

 

[John Connor]

Why are you surprised? Google will craw anything and indexes it. If you use your real name on the Internet it will be indexed. Many sites have your info. from public records. I searched my name and my damn home address and telephone is listed thanks to a public record and I don't list myself in the phone book. Phone books and phone companies like to sell your info. to third parties. In order for me to get rid of my info. I need to get a subpoena.

 

[FLegman]

Hopefully these steps will help mitigate the issue your a facing:

Remove your Google Search History or Second method (using your dashboard)

Use this Add-on to opt out from Analytics gathering

Good luck

 

[John Connor]

I would never install a Google addon. Just use Firefox and install Noscript, adblock and do not track me.

 

[colonelciller]

That won't matter if at any point you've logged into your google account on that computer... they already know it's you.

this is true. Google has no trouble knowing how many users are using a particular device (or IP address).

 

[colonelciller]

another step... STOP USING GOOGLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

if you like google's results you can just use startpage instead for every search:
https://www.startpage.com/

pasted below is text about protecting your privacy from startpage's website:

• StartPage does not store any user data: We make this perfectly clear to everyone, including any governmental agencies. We do not record the IP addresses of our users and we don't use tracking cookies, so there is literally no data about you on our servers to access. Since we don't even know who our customers are, we can't share anything with Big Brother. In fact, we've never gotten even a single request from a governmental authority to supply user data in the fourteen years we've been in business.

• StartPage uses encryption (HTTPS) by default. Encryption prevents snooping. Your searches are encrypted, so others can't "tap" the Internet connection to snoop what you're searching for. This combination of not storing data together with using strong encryption for the connections is key in protecting your Privacy.

• Our company is based in The Netherlands, Europe. US jurisdiction does not apply to us, at least not directly. Any request or demand from ANY government (including the US) to deliver user data, will be thoroughly checked by our lawyers, and we will not comply unless the law which actually applies to us would undeniably require it from us. And even in that hypothetical situation, we refer to our first point; we don't even have any user data to give. We will never cooperate with voluntary spying programs like PRISM.

• StartPage cannot be forced to start spying. Given the strong protection of the Right to Privacy in Europe, European governments cannot just start forcing service providers like us to implement a blanket spying program on their users. And if that ever changed, we would fight this to the end.

 

[colonelciller]

but i was doing it in private browsing mode.

if you dislike the idea of being tracked and spied in principle (and I think everyone should), then just use TOR all the time... you will sacrifice speed but gain privacy and anonymity and give your ISP, Corporations and Big Brother a big 'FU'.

when Tor doesn't work for the task at hand... fire up firefox, do you that task... and then return to TOR.

• Tor wikipedia
• Tor official site

 

[colonelciller]

I would never install a Google addon. Just use Firefox and install Noscript, adblock and do not track me.

I think you're missing a few critical addons for firefox:

• Ghostery
• Better Privacy (destroys flash cookies... different than standard cookies)
• Self destructing Cookies
• NoScript
• AdBlock Plus
• Do Not Track Me

Then to change the default "search behavior" for the URL Address bar in firefox: Google paid big $$$ to Mozilla to hardwire google as the default provider... let's undo that

1. type the following in the URL BAR ---> about:config
2. 'click' the button saying ---> "I'll be careful, I Promise"
3. type the following in the "search box" that appears in the upper left of the window ---> keyword.url
4. 'left click' on the "keyworld.URL" search result listed under the colum title "Preference Name" to select the keyword.URL item
5. 'right click' on that same "keyworld.URL" item... this brings up a popup menu
6. 'left click' on the "modify" option in the popup menu
7. copy and paste the following into the box that appears ---> https://www.startpage.com/do/search?q=
8. click "OK"

now you can search from your URL address bar without sacrificing your right to privacy and anonymity (not as good as Tor but still pretty good)


you can also replace the content of step 6 with an alternative search provider with some tweaking, although I'm not sure which provider you'd want to use because very few don't spy.

 

[John Connor]

I already mentioned several of the addons you gave links to and I do use Betterprivacy. My keyword.url is set to openDNS since I use keyword shortcuts.

 

[lxskllr]

if you dislike the idea of being tracked and spied in principle (and I think everyone should), then just use TOR all the time... you will sacrifice speed but gain privacy and anonymity and give your ISP, Corporations and Big Brother a big 'FU'.

when Tor doesn't work for the task at hand... fire up firefox, do you that task... and then return to TOR.

• Tor wikipedia
• Tor official site

You could get hosed by a hostile exit node if you login to an unsecured site. Your AT account getting compromised may not be a big deal, but it can still be a PITA, and if you've reused the password somewhere else(you're not supposed to, but many people do), it could cause more trouble.

 

[inf1nity]

Jesus christ, i just searched using start page and the results were radically different from what google gave me.. Its confimed then. google IS watching me.

Anyone knows how i can remove what info they have about me?

 

[inf1nity]

I am right now using a combination of noscript and ghostery on my palemoon 20.1.
Thanks for that tip about flash cookies, colonelciller, i just installed Better privacy addon.

BTW guys i used ghostery and do not track. Both of them show no trackers found on Google. Why??

Another question-out of Ghostery and DNT+, which is better??

 

[inf1nity]

Another question can you guys recommend me some good email services apart from gmail or ymail?