Facebook prepares to bolster its stalking abilities with new ad tools

SOURCE: PANDO DAILY

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Facebook wants to stalk you around the Web, and soon you won’t be able to throw it off your digital trail even if you switch between your smartphone, tablet, and desktop computer.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the company is set to announce a new advertising platform called Atlas later this month, and its most important feature will be the ability to track Facebook users as they browse the Web, view advertisements, and purchase goods on any of their devices.

This advertising platform is meant to help Facebook compete with Google for ad revenues, one area where Google continues to dwarf the social network turned Internet juggernaut. (Google is said to have made some $14 billion in ad revenues last year; Facebook made around $2 billion.)

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Read More: Facebook prepares to bolster its stalking abilities with new ad tools | PandoDaily

I have a rooted LG. I have FB removed out of it and I am aware of FB notoriously tracking everywhere. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that it has liaisons with Google when using the browser in an Android phone. FB app is removed from this Android phone, though I'd be curious to know if even removing the app itself might still trigger tracking/sensing capabilities by this horrible social media giant via the browser.

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Originally Posted by SealLion

I'd be curious to know if even removing the app itself might still trigger tracking/sensing capabilities by this horrible social media giant via the browser.

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I'm afraid that if you're surfing the Web, they're already tracking you, doesn't matter if it's on an Android phone or a beige box running Windows 98.

Adding this line to your /etc/hosts could help...

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0.0.0.0 facebook.com www.facebook.com login.facebook.com connect.facebook.com touch.facebook.com m.facebook.com developers.facebook.com facebook.net www.facebook.net mirror.facebook.net fbcdn.net

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Sadly, that doesn't even come close to listing all the domains they own, so blocking by IP ranges may be a better idea. If you go here and scroll down to "BGP" (right below the map with the arrows), you can find most of their address blocks and then block them somehow. Android is based on Linux so you should have iptables; I don't know much more than that, but Sazzy can help here.

Facebook and Google are everywhere (including this forum, heh), today's Internet relies on them too much...

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Originally Posted by anon

Facebook and Google are everywhere (including this forum, heh), today's Internet relies on them too much...

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sad but true. as for google we should be able to get rid of it for the forum here.

the best way of blocking them still is not using scripts and of course only accept cookies where you actually need them. also if you should use facebook trash all cookies when you're done there. if you can also change your ip.

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Originally Posted by anon

Android is based on Linux so you should have iptables; I don't know much more than that, but Sazzy can help here.

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Android has a HOSTS file that you can edit if you have root. I personally use it to block ads from freemium apps with Adaway. It also allows you to open the HOSTS file in your favourite editor and add anons links to it.
As for ads and other stuff, you can use #NoChromo , which is a custom Chromium build that has an adblock integrated into it. (uBlock style)

Both can be found on XDA

The problem I see is that the hosts file doesn't accept wildcards. So my entries will block www . facebook . com but not en-gb . facebook . com, for example (and adding all subdomains would be a huge task). I think that if you're hardcore about this, you'll want wildcard DNS and IP blocking; I found some links that may be of interest.

[4.0+][ROOT][2.0.0-BETA] AFWall+ IPTables Fi… | Android Development and Hacking | XDA Forums
dnsmasq-android-ios - DNSMasq for Android, iOS developer ...
Wildcard DNS in your Ubuntu hosts file using dnsmasq - LeaseWeb Labs

On a sidenote, I use Acrylic for name resolution under Windows, which keeps its own hosts file allowing tricks like these:

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# Facebook
0.0.0.0 /(.*\.)?facebook\.com /(.*\.)?facebook\.net /(.*\.)?fbcdn\.net

# Google - search suggestions, captive portal detection and other things
0.0.0.0 /clients[0-9]\.google\.com

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Is that even possible?
What's next ? Penis hygiene inspection? Colonoscopy and rectal exams?

I sincerely hope your penis is clean either way.

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Originally Posted by koel

Is that even possible?
What's next ? Penis hygiene inspection? Colonoscopy and rectal exams?

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Originally Posted by Sazzy

I sincerely hope your penis is clean either way.

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from ip blocks to ... well ... this. what a change of topic :P

Two friends meet at a traffic light. One was standing on one leg to avoid falling from his bike, the other was riding a flamboyant Mercedes Benz.
- Hey, George! What's up with your life, it's been almost twenty years I haven't seen you. Stop here, dude, let's have a coffee.
So George parks his humble bicycle, and his friend (who was obviously doing very well) does the same with his Mercedes.
- Tell me, George, how are you doing?
- Well look, as you can see I'm here, nothing new, struggling with the economy. But you're obviously doing great, tell me how you made so much money, because you're wearing first-class clothes, driving an excellent car, a Rolex in your wrist... how did you manage it?
- Well, I'll tell you, this is no secret by now. You know I created a machine for public restrooms: when you insert a $0,50 coin in the slot, a little hand comes out of the machine, pulls your dick off, shakes it, puts it back inside, and closes your zipper. I put those machines everywhere and made money by the truckloads. I no longer need to work now.
- Awesome... do you happen to have one of those machines you could spare?
- Well, I do, but they're not really a novelty anymore.
- Doesn't matter, give me one, I'd like to test something.
- Okay, we're friends and I lose nothing giving you one.

Some years later, the same scenario occurs once more, in the parking lot of a five-star hotel. To his surprise, the second friend sees George getting off a luxurious limousine. Stunned by the tremendous change and unable to withhold his curiosity, he approaches him and asks:
- George, how did this huge change happen?
- Well, remember the machine you gave away to me? I enhanced it. Now it's better than yours.
- How did you do that?
- Remember yours would pull your zipper down, take your dick out, you'd pee, then get it shaken and put back in automatically?
- Yes.
- Uh, I did the same, but when you finish peeing, mine shakes your dick, and when it's about to put it back inside in your pants, another hand grabs your balls and says: IF YOU DON'T INSERT $1, I'LL RIP YOUR BALLS OFF.