So my surfing recently has been typical stuff, bike pages, CRC etc, facebook, STW, local forums, holiday cottages, trains and banking.

I'm getting ads for loans and credit. I can only guess from me accessing my banking online. This isn't on – what else is google farming from me to inform and select the ads???

shhhhh dont type that, google will find out!!!

seriously though….. good are pretty spot on with their ads… but also there's quite a bit that's well off the mark and i can only assume just random advertising… i get a few adverts for loans etc and i'm in a fortunate enough position at the moment not to need a loan.

hope that helps the paranoia dude…. other than that i'd say lay off the green and put some blu-tack over your webcam.. you know… just incase they're watching 😯

I'm getting ads for loans and credit. I can only guess from me accessing my banking online. This isn't on – what else is google farming from me to inform and select the ads???

What does it matter? They're only adverts, just don't click on them. It is on, it's entirely on. You're on the internet, it's a public space. If you sit "talking" all day about what you want to do and how you want to spend cash with a friend (google) he might make a few suggestions.

Seriously though people, google provide a service, one that's not cheap to run. In return for that service they look at what you're doing and with their service adn try to sell you stuff related to it. You don't honestly expect a very efficient, very fast search service for free do you? And you are aware that many of the adverts actually track page content, not your search history, so on a site about bikes and buying bits they might put an advert for a loan….

Come on, you don't moan about them putting adverts for sweets in the trailers before a film do you? They're reading my mind man, pass me a tinfoil hat….

just don't look at them?

simonfbarnes – Member
just don't look at them?

How would he know if they were there?

If a stwer doesn't look at an ad, is it still there? 😉

If a stwer doesn't look at an ad, is it still there?

actually, unless you droidishly click all the available ads you are robbing STW blind by stealing their content for free 🙁

Missing the point entirely. I'm not bothered by the ads. I'm bothered at the content of the ads being driven by my browsing, specifically my financials.

Seems unlikely that it's from your banking unless your banking websites are also hooked up to google ads which I would have thought was unlikely…

That's what i hoped.

I'll just put my tinfoil hat away.

Missing the point entirely. I'm not bothered by the ads. I'm bothered at the content of the ads being driven by my browsing, specifically my financials.

Not missing the point entirely, you're just missing the understanding of how they work.

You can read about Google's ads here: http://www.google.com/privacy_ads.html

perhaps they've just figured out you're rich and want some of it ?

if google had access to my bank account all the internet would show me would be adverts for crc and wiggle….. oh hang on….!!

In addition to the Firefox recommendation above you can also use No Script. It's amazing how much Google stuff there is on almost every wensite you visit for instance this website has Google Analytics, Google Ad services, Google Syndication and Google APIs all running in the background.

Google analytics is quite interesting

Also I recently read in PcPro magazine that it's wise to block Flash as this is a prime vector for malware. Given its exclusion from the iPhone/Pad etc advertisers will have to come up with an alternative dynamic image presentation method pronto (HTML5 ?) so you need not be overly concerned with ad revenue issues – that is the advertisers' responsibility…

Given that I can see all of the ads on here on my iPhone it seems advertisers are dropping Flash like a zombie off a carpark and going over to HTML5.

They are watching you!

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/08/letter-from-the-uk-secrets-of-the-ads-that-stalk-you/

As coffeeking says, it's all about the quid pro quo. If you don't want to play ball then there are plenty of plugins etc. to opt out with, but there will always be enough people who either don't mind or don't know for the business model to work.