Summary:
What never seems to amaze us is the shear arrogance of several software company's to suppose they know what is best for us. Our Mothers did. But for Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and others to mine our browsing and email use, we feel is a breach of privacy without asking specifically for our permission. It results in unsolicited ads turning up in the browser, emails and even, viruses- since just about anyone can buy this type of advertising with very few content regulations. The need to permanently delete traces of recent & old surfing activity (banking - purchases) and no longer relevant messages/ emails.
Problem:
Google is getting to know you a little better every time you use them for searching, Email (Chrome), Maps, etc. This is in order to send you custom-tailored ads vendors pay for. They gather information about the websites you visit using an individual web browser in order to target ads to their interests and match it with your location, age, gender, etc.
HOW TO?
So how can I clear Google History to help you protect yourself better against unsolicited ads and tracking of history? (Even if deleted, the fragments remain on your disk until written over but it is very unlikely to get everything)
In your Google GMAIL 1.- Click on the "little wrench" symbol in the top right hand corner. 2- Select Options then Under the Hood- Clear Browsing History- with items 1,2 and 4 selected which can be helpful. See below. Done, very helpful if you have done an on-line purchase or access your bank account lately.
"1- Use a web service to help resolve navigation errors. 2.- Use a prediction service to help complete searches and URLs typed in the address bar. 3.- Predict network actions to improve page load performance 4.- Enable phishing and malware protection. 5.- Automatically send usage statistics and crash reports to Google."
Use a Disk cleansing program to further eliminate traces of your Browsing history. We suggest Acronis True Image. Select " Tools & Options"- Then" System Clean-Up" before you do a backup.
For Commercial and through destruction use Acronis Drive Cleaner for Business
We use this program when handling Client files to assure them we have exercised due diligence in purging confidential records they may have shared, especially medical ones, to comply with regulations.
Google announced on its blog. "By making ads more relevant, and improving the connection between advertisers and our users, we can create more value for everyone," the company said. "Users get more useful ads, and these more relevant ads generate higher returns for advertisers and publishers."
"Interest-based" advertising was launched on third-party sites that carry Google ads, as well as the YouTube video site that Google owns. The wiliness for business and government to pay big bucks to get in your face has driven Google's profits to record levels. The blog entry called advertising "the lifeblood of the digital economy" and said Google's advertising and publishing partners have been asking it for a long time to offer interest-based advertising, which is already used by some other companies.
Google's system will be able to infer users' interests based on the sites they visit, which will be associated with their browsers using a tracking file called a "cookie." What is a cookie? A cookie is a text file that can collect and store information about you on the hard drive of your computer, such as what web pages you've visited, your custom user preferences for a given site or the items in your "shopping cart" for a particular online store.
Many sites use cookies as a way to track visitor information. Cookies are stored to help sites speed future access and customize information for you. Since a cookie "remembers" your preferences, it can save you time. But some people consider the use of cookies an invasion of privacy. For example, each time a user visits an adventure travel site that carries Google advertising, a cookie will be placed in the browser.
If the user visits many such sites, he or she will be flagged as someone with a strong interest in adventure travel and more ads for activities like hiking trips to Patagonia or African safaris will show up in the browser even when: The user is on a Google partner site that doesn't involve adventure travel. When someone else is using the browser. "This kind of tailored advertising does raise questions about user choice and privacy- questions the whole online ad industry has a responsibility to answer,"
Google acknowledged, adding that other companies that provide interest-based advertising deal with this in different ways. Won't add 'sensitive' interest categories However, the company promised that: It will not collect the user's name or any other personal information. It will not use sensitive interest categories such as those based on race, religion, sexual orientation, health or "sensitive financial categories."
Users will be able to view, delete and add interest categories associated with their browser. Users can opt not to accept advertising cookies from Google partners. In addition, users will be able to clear the cookies used by Google's targeted advertising the way they usually clear cookies from their browser.
Until now, Google's ads have been targeted based only on the site that the user is currently viewing. For example, the user would receive adventure travel ads only while on an adventure travel site or reading an email about adventure travel. However, other companies have been offering personalized online advertising for some time. For example, social networking sites MySpace and Facebook have targeted ads to individual users based on their profiles since 2007, and retail sites such as Amazon and iTunes regularly recommend books and music to their users based on their past purchases.
Why? Target advertising is cheaper, effective and more focused than newspaper, TV/ Radio, magazines, bill boards, etc. It is also felt the success rate of delivering their message or prompting a sale is higher.
"If it's more targeted, then they're going to increase their success rate," Google says. So far, it looks like Google has taken the right steps to be transparent and safeguard users' privacy. When people feel their privacy is being invaded, they get spooked,"they added. "What Google doesn't want is for people to think it's Big Brother." However, they said that companies who advertise with Google will want evidence that the more targeted approach is working and Google may change its approach in the future." It already has at all levels.
