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>Saying that google's anti malware blacklist (used by all browsers out there aside of IE) is a secret plan to de-anonymize people by using a microtime of a requ

>Saying that google's anti malware blacklist (used by all browsers out there aside of IE) is a secret plan to de-anonymize people by using a microtime of a request timestamp seems... far fetched. Uh, not really. Tracking users is at the heart of their business model.

blfr 12y ago
How so? I thought they mostly make money from the information you provide: search keywords. Do they actually manage to make significant profit on retargeting or some other ad technique that requires tracking? What can they do beyond tracking?
- vidarh 12y ago
  It's not about knowing who you are, but knowing that you're the same user that searched for "villas in france" when you're later browsing another site and they have an ad that fits. I actually worked on a vacation rental site for some time, and as a result of queries I did for research, I ended up "only" seeing ads for one of the major companies in the sector for weeks on end. But there is of course potential for abuse if someone gets hold of that data.
  - blfr 12y ago
    I have a general idea of how it works or could work, which is why I gave the example of retargeting. But is there proof they actually do it and it's "at the heart of their business model"? There was recently an article on using HSTS as a sort of super cookie. Yet it doesn't seem to actually be in use[1]. There is a lot of rumour around Google. For example that they use Google Analytics data for ranking. Yet it rarely comes with any proof. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8831148 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8831148
- rgbrenner 12y ago
  retargeting or some other ad technique Google makes a significant portion of revenue from their content network, which are ads that are displayed on other websites. They also offer remarketing, which allows an advertiser to display their ads across the content network to people who have visited the advertiser's website. At the very least, remarketing requires tracking.
pilif 12y ago
Because they have ample means of tracking users aside of sneakily and under false pretences trying to deanonymize requests to a malware protection service they provide. Furthermore, the API in question (https://developers.google.com/safe-browsing/developers_guide_v2 https://developers.google.com/safe-browsing/developers_guide...) has been deprecated and superseded by a new one that doesn't contain any user specific data (https://developers.google.com/safe-browsing/developers_guide_v3 https://developers.google.com/safe-browsing/developers_guide...)
- crdoconnor 12y ago
  >Because they have ample means of tracking users aside of sneakily and under false pretences eyeroll If they were above being sneaky and operating under false pretences they wouldn't have blatantly ignored "do not track". I'm sure they will never feel like they have enough means of tracking users, either. Every means they develop helps improve their targeting, puts them ahead of their competition and has a direct impact on their bottom line.

blfr 12y ago

How so? I thought they mostly make money from the information you provide: search keywords. Do they actually manage to make significant profit on retargeting or some other ad technique that requires tracking? What can they do beyond tracking?

vidarh 12y ago
It's not about knowing who you are, but knowing that you're the same user that searched for "villas in france" when you're later browsing another site and they have an ad that fits. I actually worked on a vacation rental site for some time, and as a result of queries I did for research, I ended up "only" seeing ads for one of the major companies in the sector for weeks on end. But there is of course potential for abuse if someone gets hold of that data.
- blfr 12y ago
  I have a general idea of how it works or could work, which is why I gave the example of retargeting. But is there proof they actually do it and it's "at the heart of their business model"? There was recently an article on using HSTS as a sort of super cookie. Yet it doesn't seem to actually be in use[1]. There is a lot of rumour around Google. For example that they use Google Analytics data for ranking. Yet it rarely comes with any proof. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8831148 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8831148
rgbrenner 12y ago
retargeting or some other ad technique Google makes a significant portion of revenue from their content network, which are ads that are displayed on other websites. They also offer remarketing, which allows an advertiser to display their ads across the content network to people who have visited the advertiser's website. At the very least, remarketing requires tracking.

pilif 12y ago

Because they have ample means of tracking users aside of sneakily and under false pretences trying to deanonymize requests to a malware protection service they provide. Furthermore, the API in question (https://developers.google.com/safe-browsing/developers_guide_v2 https://developers.google.com/safe-browsing/developers_guide...) has been deprecated and superseded by a new one that doesn't contain any user specific data (https://developers.google.com/safe-browsing/developers_guide_v3 https://developers.google.com/safe-browsing/developers_guide...)

crdoconnor 12y ago
>Because they have ample means of tracking users aside of sneakily and under false pretences eyeroll If they were above being sneaky and operating under false pretences they wouldn't have blatantly ignored "do not track". I'm sure they will never feel like they have enough means of tracking users, either. Every means they develop helps improve their targeting, puts them ahead of their competition and has a direct impact on their bottom line.