|
Unh? I don't think so.
Is this the way things are going?
Puzzled and dismayed.
|
|
|
|
|
Slow Eddie wrote: Is this the way things are going?
I really hope not, because I'm super cheap & I'm accustomed to hardware prices always going down, not up.
Plus, I would never need that kind of graphics solution.
|
|
|
|
|
Anything > 500 from asus I'd be suspect. I'm looking at my wife's lightly used laptop. The entire touchpad has delaminated from the top part of the laptop. The original install of the OS was so bad, well... but 10k? Insanity. Oh, don't buy Samsung appliances or laptops either.
Charlie Gilley
<italic>Stuck in a dysfunctional matrix from which I must escape...
"Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
|
|
|
|
|
I am no expert on tracking pixels, but it seems to me these little pests are placed somewhere in the white background of web pages or emails. Because the background is white, these pixels are white so they would blend into the background and be virtually invisible.
But I like to run a dark theme on my browser and Outlook. Suddenly the bright white pixel sparkles like a little diamond against the dark background. Has anybody else noticed this? I find it a little annoying that good companies resort to this kind of spying!
It seems to be very prevalent. I get it in the emails from my chemist and on websites like the company that maintains our air conditioner.
I would love comments from members who know more about the topic than I do.
Get me coffee and no one gets hurt!
|
|
|
|
|
- I don't know if any internet-based email readers support this, but Outlook (the office suite version) allows you to NOT download pictures as a default.
- If the people you do business with allow it, change your profile so that they send you mail in text format, rather than HTML format. You may miss out on the fancy graphics, but you will also miss out on the tracking pixels.
- If all else fails, you can always install a HOSTS file like the one provided here. This redirects all requests to download from known adware / tracking sites to 0.0.0.0, which effectively disables them. The problem is that you need to keep this updated on a fairly regular basis for it to do any good; the ad / tracking guys are like cancer - they metastasise all the time.
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
|
|
|
|
|
DNS sinkhole like Pi-hole or similar is another way to cover your whole network, and makes updates to block lists easier, as well as custom allow/block list entries if needed.
I run mine inside a docker container on a Raspberry Pi 4 along with a few other containers, works a treat!
|
|
|
|
|
Thunderbird also supports that (image blocking) and javascript/cookie blocking which you should also activate.
Same thing goes for the browser.
Personally, I only activate some cookies/javascript for sites I (maybe naively) trust.
On some sites, having javascript blocked is even an improvement since you can read all the text, although unformatted, while with it active you get a lot of images/videos/advertising that, besides slowing everything down to a crawl, prevent you from reading until you accept their cookies or sign up.
|
|
|
|
|
As Daniel suggested simply set your email client to show plain text and just ignore the HTML gibberish that pops up.
|
|
|
|
|
all your pixels belong to us!
|
|
|
|
|
It only works because the senders are using white tracking pixels.
Do an invisible tracking pixel (aka a png with zero alpha channel) I strongly suspect light or dark mode, you won't see the tracking pixel.
The safest way is to simply block all images from downloading without permission, and then assume that if you give the images permission to download, then the other side knows you've read the email.
|
|
|
|
|
That would only work if the pixels are not transparent. A transparent 1 pixel gif or png would not be noticeable against any background regardless of its color.
|
|
|
|
|
One of my keytops has fallen off and I can't find it. I've lost control of my computer ...
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
|
|
|
|
|
U had better shift into high gear, like they do in F1, and find it.
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
"I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sounds like you need to take it to the ICU!
The less you need, the more you have.
Even a blind squirrel gets a nut...occasionally.
JaxCoder.com
|
|
|
|
|
And there is no ESCaping the consequences.
"Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana."
|
|
|
|
|
Your computer... is that really Alt you can talk about!
Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant Anonymous
- The problem with quotes on the internet is that you can never tell if they're genuine Winston Churchill, 1944
- Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference. Mark Twain
|
|
|
|
|
Can we have an image link in QA please? Just the one ... this one: UserFriendly Tech Support[^]
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
|
|
|
|
|
Are you kidding?! If all stupid people were barred from using computers, the world's cat video industry would collapse!
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
|
|
|
|
|
You are a hopeless optimist if you think it will do any good...
"The only place where Success comes before Work is in the dictionary." Vidal Sassoon, 1928 - 2012
|
|
|
|
|
Since you cannot cure stupid, I do not there is a point in banning stupid people for a finite amount of time.
|
|
|
|
|
Thanks for the link That site is new to me I had a laugh at the punch line but was unhappy and bit offended by the support's insult to the caller IMHO he should simply have looked dumb-founded I didn't bother creating an account to post this comment since I waste enough time here - Cheerio
|
|
|
|
|
Punctuation. It does wonders.
|
|
|
|
|
As does not getting upset about insults to fictitious characters in a cartoon ...
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
|
|
|
|
|
PaltryProgrammer wrote: I waste enough time here Your choice.
|
|
|
|