On Thursday October 6 2016 15:17, in
Post by b***@hotmail.comOK, so I went to a shopping site, and was browsing a particular item. The
next time I go to my mail site to check my email, it's showing me banner ads
not just from that shopping site, but *the actual items I was looking at* -
what the HELL is going on here?
Lemme guess... you use a web-mail provider like Google, Yahoo or Microsoft.
AmIright?
Post by b***@hotmail.comThis couldn't happen unless Mr. shopping was
*sharing info* with Google Ads or whatever bloody ad network it was on my
mail site....??!!
More likely "shopping site" purchases ad space from ad network that your "mail
site" uses.
"Shopping site" seeds your browser with an ad network cookie specific to
the "shopping site". Shopping site records cookie value and items browsed to
it's own database.
Other web sites also provide ad network with iframe access to your web
browser. Your "mail site" looks to be one of them.
Your web browser requests a page from the "mail site", passing along all
cookies eligible for that site. This includes the "shopping site" cookie for
the ad network.
Ad network passes cookie info to "shopping site", which feeds back ads based
on the cookie values. Just happens that the "shopping site" has a database of
cookies and products, so you get back ads for the products you looked at.
Post by b***@hotmail.comAnd how come no one's done anything about it?
That's what ad blocker browser plugins are for.
Post by b***@hotmail.comSurely this HAS to be illegal??!!!
Not at all. It is a straight business deal between "Ad network site" and
both "Shopping site" and "Webmail site". You get a "free" service from
webmail site, paid for by "Ad network site". "Ad network site" gets money
from "Shopping site" to relentlessly remind you of the things you looked at.
--
Lew Pitcher
"In Skills, We Trust"
PGP public key available upon request