Are you being tracked on internet? Know how to find out

By Aaditya Narayan, ECONOMICTIMES.COM|Updated: Sep 30, 2017, 12.07 PM IST  

NEW DELHI: Yes, you are being tracked on internet and several entities are keeping dossier on you. It is so common that you must have found that out yourself. Google does it all the time and so do your social media sites. While this kind of tracking is for commercial purposes such as showing you ads that you would be interested in, you can also be tracked by cyber criminals which can result in harm or serious breach of privacy. 

Google knows your every move on the web

Google knows a lot about you. Why? What does Google gain by tracking the activities of its users? Quite simply, Google earns money by doing so. A large part of Google's revenue is based on advertisements and the impressions they gain through users. So, the Google way of advertising is quite simply showing you advertisements that are tailored to your needs. 

So, your Google searches, voice searches, location changes, all are tracked and stored by Google so that the advertisements can be as tailored and accurate as they can be. 

But Google is not the only big corporate that does targeted advertising. Targeted advertising is the easiest way for a user to know that his movements in the web world are being tracked, but companies still do it because that is how integral the cyber space has become to human life. 

All get to know about you 

Another basic example of user activity being tracked on the internet is the inter-connectivity between different websites. Let's take the example of e-commerce and social media. It is easy to notice that as soon as one searches for a product on Amazon or Flipkart, various advertisements of similar products appear on your Facebook home page. 

It would make sense for a user to divulge such information for a tangible benefit or reward. But on the internet, allowing yourself to be tracked brings you only an advertisement, and you don't have a say in whether you want to see that ad or not. So it is important that users take control back and ensure that they are suitably protected on the web. 

Malicious tracking 

Google keeping a dossier on you is not as dangerous as a cyber criminal tracking your moves.It can happen through malware that get installed on your computer, your smart TV or even your webcam. Always keep your webcam covered. There is malware that can get into your computer or smart device and switch on cameras and recorders to access your private activities. 

While it's hard to protect your personal information on the internet with 100% effectiveness, there are a few easy steps you can take that will make you a lot safer. According to Kaspersky Lab, these are certain ways in which you can manage your privacy and ensure that you are not tracked on the internet. 

Monitoring your outgoing traffic 

1.Click the Windows Start button and type 'cmd' to launch the Command window, which will display as a black box with white text reading 'C:\Users\Your Username'. 

2.Type 'netstat' next to the prompt and press 'Enter' to generate a list of all outgoing data transmissions. The Netstat command works best when you have as few applications opened as possible, preferably just one Internet browser. The Netstat generates a list of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses that your computer is sending information to. Some of these IP address are legitimate and correspond to websites or services that you are using. 

3.Document each IP address reported by Netstat and launch a Web browser. Enter each IP address into your browser's address bar and press 'Enter' to attempt to locate where the information is being sent. 

Locating stealth apps 

1.Right-click your taskbar and select 'Start Task Manager' to launch your task manager, a list of all running processes on your computer. 

2.Close all programmes except for one Web browser. 

3.Select the 'Processes' tab, then select 'User Name' and browse through the list to view all processes running on your computer. Processes that do not include your username may be an indication of malicious software running on your computer. Processes that do not include your username may be an indication of malicious software running on your computer. 

Do not personalise Google Ad settings 

But possibly, the most interesting part of protecting yourself on the web comes through Google's ad settings page. Google creates a personal profile for each of its individual users based on the user's specific interests. It is based on this profile that various ads keep following you around the internet. Therefore, it important that your 'ad personalisation' option on your Google account is left unchecked. 

Such problems arise especially when you sign into a specific user account on Google Chrome, for ease of internet access across various platforms. But, in doing so, you put your own personal information at risk of being misused. 

Incognito mode will not help 

There is a myth that browsing in incognito/private mode on your browser would solve all these problems. But even this won't completely stop ads. There are further measures that must be put in place, including different browser add-ons, which let you customize what you're blocking. 

Hot Spot Shield hides IP addresses. IP addresses are generally used to link data and other information that a website knows about you. For instance, the website could get to know your country or city based on your registration details on the site. IP addresses are often what law enforcement authorities ask internet service providers for during various investigations. 

Just log out 

Don't remain logged into your social media accounts all the while. You are easy to track if you are always logged into your social media account because you are letting the social media company know whatever you do on internet. Once you are logged out, your surfing cannot by tracked by your social media company. Ditto for email. You can also use special special software that block tracking. 

In summary, your every move in the cyber space is being tracked by someone or the other. It is up to you to ensure that all you security measures are in place. Otherwise, it is as simple as you allowing your personal information to be misused by a third party. 

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A portrait of Aung San Suu Kyi has been removed by Oxford University, where she was previously awarded an honorary degree, amid criticism of her handling of the Rohingya crisis.

Aung Suu Kyi wouldn’t care even if her Nobel Prize is withdrawn 
She is the real leader of Burmese people 
She is not like Nehru or Gandhi to care about their own name and fame at the cost of lives of their people

What does this near extinct Oxford University aim to achieve with such an act ? Something like, Oh ! We made an error of judgment. The British should be reminded that the Rohingiya problem is their legacy. Their complicity cannot be overlooked by such knee jerk acts. No one is fooled !

Violence in Myanmar has seen more than 400,000 Rohingya Muslims flee to neighbouring Bangladesh.Myanmar's de facto leader has been criticised for failing to address UN allegations of ethnic cleansing.

St Hugh's College said her portrait had been replaced with a Japanese painting.

It swapped the painting earlier for one by Japanese artist Yoshihiro Takada. The reasons for the portrait's removal are not clear.Communications manager Benjamin Jones said the portrait had been moved to a "secure location" while Takada's piece was to be displayed "for a period".The new painting was presented to the college earlier this month and is currently displayed in the entrance of the college's main building.Ms Suu Kyi, a former political prisoner who has been Myanmar's de facto civilian leader since winning elections in 2015, is coming under growing international pressure to act.

IRREPARABLE LOSS TO CA PROFESSION.

CA Hilloni Dedhia died in Mumbai stampede. 

She passed CA in July 2016.

Irreparable loss to Profession,

May her soul rest in peace.

Admiring Sampling Techniques of Indian Ladies in General

Although I dislike eating outside due to adulteration in most of the foods and Sweets but sometimes I like observing people (while waiting for the service of my ordered dish) during  visit to any restaurant or Street food joints and specially popular Brands Like Haldiram-Bikaner wala-Dominos-BurgerKing-McDonald etc.etc.I observed many people and found that Indian ladies are very smart in getting the minimum Calories intake just free of cost by using Sampling techniques (Not Statistical).

How does it work fine with them?

A lady enters the food joint e.g.Haldiram with Husband  and start her Sampling Techniques.

1.First of all goes to ladies special Golgappa Stall  and asks for small bowl of its Spicy Water (Golgappa Pani) just to taste before she may decide to order.

2.Not satisfied much with just Golgappa Pani she moves to Sweets Counter and put her sharp eagle eyes on the best Burfi and asks for a sample of it.Counter man is gentle and polite in offering a big piece of Burfi on a plate in a  graceful manner. Lady enjoys  whole chunk of it (as one sample cost around Rs.30 a piece.)

3.But she still complains of Burfi being too sweet so she gets a mild dose of Coconut Burfi to her delight by the counter saleman.

4.Just hold on, as now she needs some respite from too sweet burfis although not looking to be a diabetic but she prefers moving on to south Indian Food counter to have a heartfelt taste of Hot spicy Saambar.

5.Now she feels a bit filled but she needs  some more sweet and moves onto Jalebi counter to have her mouth the taste of hot juicy Jalebi.

I observed she moved alone authoritatively with costly purse in her hand while her Husband was found busy in buying the small small stuffs getting packed for home without asking for any sample.

I could make that the poor guy called husband will be snubbed later on as why he too did not enjoy sampling technique.MEN are MEN.

I asked the counter boy about free samples policy and he was too happy to inform me that they are allowed so by management policy in this regard as most of them are their regular customers. 

Knife attack at French train station; 2 dead

October 01, 2017 18:52

Two people have died in a knife attack at the main train station in the southern French city of Marseille today.

The attacker has been shot dead by security forces.

Local prosecutor Xavier Tarabeux said the knifeman had been shot by soldiers, while Marseille police urged people in the city to avoid the area around Saint-Charles station. 

Further details are awaited.

*Ducks Quack, Eagles Soar*

Read somewhere, sharing with all of you...

*Ducks Quack, Eagles Soar*

I was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing I noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for me.

He handed me a laminated card and said: 'I'm Wasu, your driver. While I'm loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission statement.'

Taken aback, I read the card. It said: Wasu's Mission Statement:

To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment.

This blew me away. Especially when I noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean!

As he slid behind the wheel, Wasu said, 'Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.'

I said jokingly, 'No, I'd prefer a soft drink.'

Wasu smiled and said, 'No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, lassi, water and orange juice.'

Almost stuttering, I said, 'I'll take a Lassi.'

Handing me my drink, Wasu said, 'If you'd like something to read, I have The Hindu, Times of India, ET and India Today.'

As they were pulling away, Wasu handed me another laminated card, 'These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd like to listen to the radio.'

And as if that weren't enough, Wasu told me that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him.

Then he advised me of the best route to my destination for that time of day. He also let me know that he'd be happy to chat and tell me about some of the sights or, if I preferred, to leave me with my own thoughts.

'Tell me, Wasu,' I was amazed and asked him, 'have you always served customers like this?'

Wasu smiled into the rear view mirror. _No, not always. In fact, it's only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do_. *Then I heard about power of choice one day.'

'Power of choice is that you can be a duck or an eagle*.

'If you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself. Stop complaining!'

'Don't be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.'

'That hit me right,' said Wasu.

'It is about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were

unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.'

'I take it that has paid off for you,' I said.

'It sure has,' Wasu replied. 'My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I'll probably quadruple it. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on it.'

Wasu made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles.

Have an eagle week..next week... And next...And.... 

😃

A great Thought..

"You don't die if you fall in water, you die only if you don't swim.

Contributed by Dhananjay Shukla FB Post

STRANGE INTERVIEW BUT FULL OF WISDOM

This post is about what happened in a typical middle-class household.
The son didn’t like living in his house.
“You are leaving the room without switching off the fan”
“The TV on in the room where there is no one. Switch it off!”
“Keep the pen in the stand; it is fallen down”

The son didn’t like his father nagging him for these minor things.
He had to tolerate these things till yesterday since he was with them in the same house.

But today, however, he has an invitation for a job interview.
“As soon as I get the job, I should leave this town. There won’t be any nagging from my father” were his thoughts.

He left for the interview.

“Answer the questions put to you without any hesitation. Even if you don’t know the answer, mention that confidently.” Father gave him more money than he actually needed to attend the interview.

The son reached the interview centre.

There was no security outside near the gate. Even though the door was open, the latch was protruding out probably hitting the people entering through the door. He put the latch properly, closed the door and entered the office.

On both sides of the pathway he could see beautiful flower plants. The gardener had kept the water running in the hose-pipe and was not to be seen anywhere. The water was overflowing on the pathway. He kept the hosepipe near the plant and went further.

There was no one in the reception area. However, there was a notice saying that the interview was in the first floor. He slowly climbed the stairs.

The light that was switched on last night was still burning at 10 am in the morning. He remembered his father’s admonition, “Why are you leaving the room without switching off the light?” and thought he could still hear that now. Even though he felt irritated by that thought, he sought the switch and switched off the light.

Upstairs in a large hall he could see many aspirants sitting waiting for their turn. He looked at the number of people and wondered if he had any chance of getting the job.

He entered the hall with some trepidation and stepped on the “Welcome” mat placed near the door. He noticed that the mat was upside down. He straightened out the mat with some irritation. Habits die hard.

He saw that in a few rows in the front there were many people waiting for their turn, whereas the back rows were empty, but a number of fans were running over those rows of seats.

He heard his father’s voice again, “Why are the fans running in the room where there is no one?” He switched off the fans that were not needed and sat at one of the empty chairs.

He could see many men entering the interview room and immediately leave from another door. There was thus no way anyone could guess what was being asked in the interview.

He went and stood before the interviewer with some trepidation and concern.

The officer took the certificates from him and without looking at them asked, “When can you join work?”

He thought ,”is this a trick question being asked in the interview, or is this a signal that I have been offered the job?” He was confused.

“What are you thinking?” asked the boss. “We didn’t ask anyone any question here. By asking a few questions we won’t be able to assess the skills of anyone. So our test was to assess the attitude of the person. We kept certain tests based on the behaviour of the candidates and we observed everyone through CCTV. No one who came today did anything to set right the hose pipe, the welcome mat, the uselessly running fans or lights. You were the only one who did that. That’s why we have decided to select you for the job”, said the boss.

He always used to get irritated at his father’s discipline and remonstrations. Now he realized that it is only the discipline that has got him his job. His irritation and anger at his father vanished completely.

He decided that he would bring his father too to his workplace and left for home happily.

Whatever our father tells us is only for our bright future!

A rock doesn’t become a beautiful sculpture if it resists the pain of the chisel chipping it away.

For us to become a beautiful sculpture and a human being we need to chisel out the bad habits and behaviour from ourselves. Those are what our father does when he disciplines us.

The mother lifts the child up on her waist to feed her, to cuddle her, and to put her to sleep. But the father is not like that. He lifts the child up on his shoulders to make her see the world that he couldn’t see.

We can realize the pain the mother undergoes by listening to her; but the father’s pain can be realized only when others tell us about it.

Our father is our teacher when we are five years old; a villain when we are twenty, but a guidepost when he is no more in our midst.

The mother can go to her daughter’s or son’s home when she is old; but the father doesn’t know how to do that. He is always independent and alone.

Hence there is no use in hurting our parents when they are alive and remembering about them when they have passed away.

Almost died laughing

...😂😂😂😂

Letter from a man in Birmingham to his friend in London:

"I was fed up with being burgled and robbed every other day in my neighbourhood. The alarm system was no use so I tore it out and deregistered from our ineffective local Neighbourhood Watch...

Instead, I've planted a Pakistani flag in each corner of my front garden.

Now, the city police, the National Security Bureau, Scotland Yard, MI-5, MI-6, the CIA and every other intelligence service in Europe are all keeping watch on my house 24x7x365...

I'm followed to and from work every day and my wife too when she goes out shopping.

So no one bothers us at all...

I've never felt safer... All thanks to "Pakistan." 😂😂