Jan 3, 2016

STOP Those Annoying Advertisments & Friend Suggestions

 Make Your Computer Safer!

Here is a list of ways to Opt-Out of many different types of "Interest Based Ads". I suggest opting out of all of them for every browser (chrome, Firefox, etc), and on every computer and/or iOS/Android device.

Ever go shopping online for something, for example let's say "shoes", only to then see ads for shoes pop up everywhere online afterward?
Yep. Those are called Interest Based Ads. Companies track your data (age, location, online history, your online likes and interests etc etc) and they use this data to send you advertisements customized to YOU and your computer's Advertising ID/IP address

Lame, right?


While this feature may seem harmless to someone who doesn't care to see innocent shoe ads, sadly this feature can be very dangerous to unsuspecting victims when there is someone viewing pornography in the home. No one wants their kids to get online and see those dang inappropriate sex/dating ads all because a family member was surfing porn an hour earlier ha, ok? No bueno :)

While using these steps to protect your computer won't completely remove the threat of unwanted exposure (Don't get me started the havoc pornography viewing has on the nasty spam emails that can get sent to everyone who uses the computer and the computer viruses pornography causes), these will definitely help reduce accidental exposure.



After you are done Opting-Out, download the Tools listed at the bottom.

Opt-Out Of:

1. Android Interest Based Ads – Open the Google Settings app on your Android phone, tap Ads and enable Opt out of interest based ads.

2. iOS
Interest Based Ads– On your iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > Privacy > Advertising and turn on Limit Ad Track to opt-out of interest based ads from iAd, Apple’s advertising network.

3. Non-Google Interest Based Ads from your web browser from over a 100 different advertising companies.
http://www.aboutads.info/choices-mobile/#/

4. Another Non-Google Interest Based Ads
http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/

5. Phone App Interest Based Ads from your phone's apps by downloading this app (iphone & Android) :
http://www.aboutads.info/appchoices

6. Google Shared Endorsements - Prevent your interests from being advertised to your friends. Make sure the box at the bottom is UN-checked
https://plus.google.com/settings/endorsements?hl=en

7. Google Signed ON Interest Based Ads:
http://www.google.com/settings/ads/authenticated

8. Google Signed OFF Interest Based Ads & Opting Out of Websites Beyond Google
http://www.google.com/settings/ads/anonymous

9. Microsoft Interest Based Ads – Go to Microsoft and turn off the “Personalized ads in this browser” setting to only allow generic ads. Windows users can click the “Start” button, click Settings – Privacy and then turn off “Let apps use my advertising ID for experiences across apps” to disable personalized ads that appear inside apps.
https://choice.microsoft.com/en-us/opt-out

10. Amazon Interest Based Ads – Like Google, Amazon too delivers interest-based ads on its own websites as well as external websites. Go to  Amazon and enable the setting that says “Do Not Personalize Ads from Amazon for this Internet Browser.” This is a cookies based setting, not linked to your Amazon account, and thus if you clear the cookies, your setting will be erased too.
amazon.com/gp/dra/info

11. Yahoo Interest Based Ads - Yahoo offers an Ad Interest Manager (AIM) allowing you to opt-out of interest-based ads with one click. Go to  Yahoo and click the blue ‘Opt Out’ button to register your preference.
http://privacy.yahoo.com/aim

12. Twitter Interest Based Ads – Go to Twitter settings on the web and uncheck “Tailor ads based on information shared by ad partners” to disable interest based ads. Similarly, on the Twitter app, go to Settings > Select Privacy > Select Advertising > Enable the “Limit Ad Tracking” setting.
https://twitter.com/settings/security

13. Facebook Interest Based Ads – Go to Facebook Settings, click Edit against the setting ‘Ads based on my use of websites and apps’ and select ‘Off’ for Show online interest-based ads.
https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=ads

14. Ebay Interest Based Ads. Opt out of both links below:
https://www.turn.com/trust/consumer-opt-out

15. Google+ Opt Out of Strangers Emailing You - If you don't want Google+ users contacting you, opt out by by visiting your Gmail settings page and click the General tab. Unless you opt out, this means you can start receiving messages from strangers who follow you on Google+. You can choose to receive email from anyone on Google+ (the automatic setting), extended circles, circles, or no one.
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#settings/general

16. YouTube Messages And Video Sharing - YouTube automatically makes the videos and playlists you've liked (and your subscriptions) private by default. But if you don't want strangers sending you messages and sharing videos with you, there's a setting you need to change. To start, navigate to your YouTube account settings page and click the Privacy tab from the menu on the left. Under the second option, "Search and contacts," click the box next to "Allow only my contacts to send me messages and share videos." Then click Save on the top right of the page.
https://www.youtube.com/account_privacy


What Opting Out DOESN'T Do


 There are some things that opting out dont do. Here are some of the most common scenarios and what you can do to address them.

1. Stop Ads Altogether - When you opt out, you'll still see ads by Google – they just won't be based on your interests, your visits to advertiser websites, or demographics. Instead, they'll be based on factors such as the content of the page, your general location, or your recent searches.

2. Opt out across multiple computers or browsers at once. - Do you use a few different browsers on your computer? Even if you opt out of interest-based ads by Google on one browser (like Chrome), you may still see interest-based ads by Google on your other browsers (like Internet Explorer and Safari). The same applies if you use multiple computers or devices. Opt out of interest-based ads on all browsers and devices that you use.

3. ***Important*** Keep you opted out after you clear browser cookies - Do you delete or clear your browser’s cache and cookies? If you’ve cleared your cookies after opting out you may have undone your opt out for that browser and will need to Opt-Out of interest based ads again for that browser.



TOOLS To Download:


1. Fbpurity
F.B. Purity lets you hide the Suggested Posts / Related Posts / Sponsored Posts / Sponsored Stories / Upcoming Events / Games your Friends are playing / Games You May Like / Similar To / Related Articles / More Like / More From / Trending Topics / Hide Posts With Specific Keywords/Phrases / Notification When A Friend Unfriends You / Disable Auto Play Videos / Hide All Photos And Videos From Newsfeed / Change the Font, Font Size, Background Image and Background Colors.
Fbpurity.com

2. Adblock & Adblock Plus blocks annoying ads while browsing online. You can use either of these or both
http://getadblock.com
https://adblockplus.org

3. YouTube Video Blocker for Chrome, Firefox & Safari - Ever get those awful inappropriate video recommendations or suggestions while on YouTube despite having Safety Mode on???? It's FREAKING ANNOYING (especially when Iam trying to show my husband a video and there happens to be a video on the side of a woman in a bikini ha...awwkward). This is by far the best tool I have used to EASILY remove those videos with a simple click:
 - Google Chrome:
 - Mozilla Firefox:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/video-blocker/
 - Opera
https://addons.opera.com/en/extensions/details/video-blocker/?display=en

4. Remove Unwanted Ads
https://support.google.com/ads/answer/answer.py?answer=2662850


If anyone else has more helpful ideas to combat annoying advertisements, please comment below! Sharing is caring :)