I came across a fascinating article in Wired’s online edition about two scammers who promote “scareware”: those inferior antivirus programs designed to rid users of fake viruses they tell you about through fake pop-ups. And once you install them, you get a virus. This paragraph struck a chord: But those troubles didn’t do much […]
Tag: advertising
Ad networks: you might have asked them not to track you, but they do
Looks like Google isn’t the only guilty party when it comes to advertising cookies. Andrew Carr-Smith sent me this link from Stanford University’s Center for Internet and Society (CIS), which has been tracking how the advertising networks track us. This is slightly different from my earlier situation, which did not involve the ‘Do […]
Read More… from Ad networks: you might have asked them not to track you, but they do
As News of the World closes, we might be getting better at making business accountable
So James Murdoch has announced the end of the News of the World. It’s no biggie: as others have discovered, a domain name for The Sun on Sunday has been registered, and if this is by an agent of News International, it simply makes sense for the Murdoch Press to consolidate its tabloid brands and […]
Wellington Airport flip-flops again, but pennies drop more quickly in Queensland
Today, those of us on the anti-‘Wellywood’ sign page got some welcome news: that Wellington Airport would reconsider. But, I had to point out, this is again déjà vu. Last time, the Airport flip-flopped as well, and said it would consult the public. Given that the resource consent for ‘Wellywood’ was for nine […]
Read More… from Wellington Airport flip-flops again, but pennies drop more quickly in Queensland
Google Ads Preferences Manager issue confirmed by NAI
I’ve now had confirmation from the Network Advertising Initiative that Google has, indeed, been dodgy about its Ads Preferences Manager. Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. We were able to reproduce the issues you saw and have been working with Google for the last week to address them. I am happy […]
Read More… from Google Ads Preferences Manager issue confirmed by NAI
It’s nice to be believed
The bug I wrote about a few days ago that’s emerging when I use Autocade is now filed with Telstra Clear—and it’s been escalated. For years I would report various faults, including with Telstra Clear, and I would not be believed. What a difference now that I am believed. For around two years, […]
Zeiger confronts the U-bahn ads
A while back, in Desktop, I wrote about subvertising. This video, found via Rock Rodgers’ Tumblr, destroys the ads altogether, by means of a mirrored contraption that turns the projected images from a Berlin U-bahn station into rather nice art. Of course it isn’t legal, but one has to hand it to these chaps […]
Someone’s doing something right inside Google
The troubles with Google that I’ve faced—privacy breaches, Ads Preferences Manager not honouring its claims, fighting for six months on behalf of a friend over a deleted Blogger blog, Chrome being buggy (but not nearly as badly as IE9), phantom entries in my Google dashboard, unanswered messages—would suggest, to anyone studying business or a graduate […]
Read More… from Someone’s doing something right inside Google
Cortina, outdoors
I was peering through Ford’s archive as it celebrates 100 years in Great Britain. This brought back a few memories: the Araldite glue campaign. Right next to it is an outdoor ad for the 1982 Cortina—Taunus 80 to those outside the Empah. The Araldite ad showed how commonplace the Cortina had become. And back […]
Three out of three: Google’s Ads Preferences Manager does not work
I know you’re sick of reading three of these blog entries on three consecutive days but here’s what my Google Ads Preferences Manager has shown me today. I’m sick of writing about it, but Google’s being so damned predictable. First, the cookie is back, though it hasn’t picked up preferences yet this morning: […]
Read More… from Three out of three: Google’s Ads Preferences Manager does not work