ISP's tracking traffic (for advertising)

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bds1904

Gawd
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Aug 10, 2011
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After reading my ISP's TOS I am starting to feel a little violated. Part of the TOS specifically states that they are allowed to use data gathered from surfing the web for "targeted advertising" for ads on TV and the internet. Obviously this is a provider that also serves IPTV.

What really concerns me is that means they have the ability and wish to change what you receive on your web browser.

After spending a couple days thinking about how one would track and alter such data efficiently, the only thing I can come up with is utilizing DNS. Easy bypass to that is to use another DNS server, unless of course the gather all DNS requests that are initiated from within their network (routed VPN with dns server on other end would solve that).

Are there any more common methods of tracking that ISP's would/could/do use?
 
Packet inspection, replace known advertising banners with their own. They can track your searches by looking at your packets going to google or any search engine, or by using third party cookies.
 
Cookies, like Google. If you're paranoid about having targeted advertising, Google is king--they even "read" your emails to do so. Do you have cable TV? Some of them may be using sound and visual tracking inside your home in the near future for targeted advertising. Some argue they already do.

Personally, I hate ads and block them all at the border. That works about best.
 
Packet inspection. DNS sniffing. Planting cookies on your pc to track your site visits. Toolbars in your browsers. Having open login sessions to social media sites (Facebook/twitter/pintrist/etc). All that and more is tracking who you are, what sites you visit, what you click on while you are there, etc. And the analytics behind it allow them to know pretty much everything about you - right up to how you wipe your a$$.

Frankly your ISP is probably a rank amateur at it and the least of your worries...

I you didn't know that this was what the Internet was all about - how a company like google could give their service away 'free' and yet out earn all of the tv networks combined through their advertising - then you've been living with your head in the sand. Facebook isn't worth many billion$$$ just because they make their (also free) members happy. They collect anything and everything about you, collate it, analyze it, cross reference it, and figure out how to sell stuff to you.

BTW, when you start seeing ads for pre-natal vitamins and diapers on your teenage daughters computer you should worry...they will know she is pregnant long before you do.
 
Oh those good ole fashioned TOS and EULA's. Apparently you can sign away your rights to third-parties, but not with regards to the government. It's absolutely unbelievable the crap they put in there to not only cover their own ass, but to have every reason to sue you for whatever reason.

In all honesty, unless you're a billionaire who could seriously fight this bullshit, you're probably stuck like the rest of us sucking it up until a serious opportunity comes along to change the way things are. Stopping it from your ISP? VPN and alternative DNS's is about as far as you can go. We really are in a gridlock position under the heels of ISP's and the Media Conglomerates who are practically all merged with them. They control the Internet.
 
HTTPS over VPN only solves part of it. That will stop your ISP from looking, but doesn't stop cookie-based monitoring, doesn't stop "active session" based monitoring (ala Facebook/Twitter) and it doesn't stop "toolbar" monitoring.

Get used to it. If you use the Internet people are going to track you, analyze your usage and try to target advertising to you. And - for the most part - this is actually a good thing. If they weren't doing this you couldn't afford what the service providers and web-based businesses would have to charge you to stay in business.
 
It's really terrible what things have become. :( This shit needs to be illegal, but why would it be, the government does it too. ISPs really need to be common carriers and not touch the data.
 
Red Squirrel said:
It's really terrible what things have become. :( This shit needs to be illegal, but why would it be, the government does it too. ISPs really need to be common carriers and not touch the data.
Click to expand...

ISPs more or less have a monopoly over their given market and they fight to keep it that way. The profit from the status quo is huge. Now they can add a little more profit at virtually no cost, so why shouldn't they try? I'm not saying I like it, it's just that it is what they do and until there's a disruptive technology or event, that's the way it will stay.
 
What I find interesting is what they are trying to set as a "double standard". Back when the groups like RIAA were looking at going after ISPs for what their users were downloading, they said "you can't blame us, we're just a provider!"

Now recently they had a court ruling (I believe initiated by the cable companies) that says if they want to charge on a per-site access, they can. They can throttle connections, reduce access, etc. They want to be able to charge extra for going to certain sites (like Netflix because they'd rather you pay for their service). Some already accuse them of purposely throttling whole connections to hinder online streaming.

So, can they be "just a provider" while they control every aspect of delivery? I think not, but they'll be immune anyway.
 
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