Easier Internet Privacy

Thanks you A Big Fan Of for this info.



OK, this is the best I have found yet for personal (internet tracking) protection, as well as being the easiest! Go here, do this:


http://geekdrop.com/content/how-block-trackers

It uses 3 components,

• Firefox (I use this and prefer it).
• Adblock Plus (an add-on for Firefox).
• The little red button on the previously mentioned link/page.

The red button is an automatic subscription to a list of trackers to be blocked, it's pretty comprehensive, and it includes Feedjit, my personal nemesis of a tracker. 


All written text and audio podcast from this blog are copyrighted and owned by Wretha unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved, You may download or copy for your own personal enjoyment., but please do not distribute (text or audio) without written permission.

Wretha,
properly pronounced wreetha, (included for the text reader),

Thanks for visiting!

More Privacy Protection

More on privacy and those pesky Feedjit type sites.

I am still waging a battle against Feedjit and other sites such as Maploco, yes I do track my visitors, BUT the stats are not readily visible to everyone. I also have no problems with the owner of a site being able to privately track me while using their site. Public trackers are paramount to going into a store and over the door, for everyone to read it shows how you got to that store, the name of the town where you live, and where you went after you left the store. Not a pretty thought... I visit a LOT of blogs and other sites, I live in a very small community, I do not want the name of the town where I reside posted publicly on any website just because I visit the site, especially if it says where I came from and where I went after leaving. So I have tried many different ways to block these sites from being able to capture that information. Here is what I do now, and it seems to work.

I use Firefox as my browser, it allows me to use add-ons, one that is a favorite of mine is called "NoScript", this prevents active content from running on a site, if it's a site I trust, then I can click a button to allow active content to run, I can either choose individual content or allow everything to run. NoScript remembers what I have allowed and what I have blocked so I only have to mess with it the first time I visit a new site, after that it remembers. This has saved my butt from malicous or annoying content from messing with my computer. It's especially good when going to potentially "questionable" or high risk websites.

The next thing I added to my add-ons is called Adblock Plus, this also blocks things from running, though it's not proactive, you have to tell it what to block, and that's fine, I rely on NoScript to catch things first, then if something is particularly annoying (not necessarily an ad) then I run my cursor over it and if Adblock can block it, it shows a little tab that says "block", once I click on it, it's GONE, never to be seen again. I don't do this to block ads, as someone who uses advertising myself, I have no problem with ads, like I said, it works on more than just ads.

Next, I use a program called Avast, it's not part of the browser, it's an antivirus software and it's free. I have been using it for quite a while, when I noticed the other day a feature on it that allows you to block URLs. Well, I decided to try it out tonight, I put in *feedjit* and *maploco*, I was on a site that uses maploco, until now, nothing I did would block maploco from posting my town name. Until now... I put in those two URLs to be blocked, as soon as I refreshed the page, poof, the maploco icon was gone.

So, that is what I have so far, I will continue to look for problematic trackers that publicly show the name of my town when I visit and I will continue to look for ways to block them.



All written text and audio podcast from this blog are copyrighted and owned by Wretha unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved, You may download or copy for your own personal enjoyment., but please do not distribute (text or audio) without written permission.

Wretha,
properly pronounced wreetha (included for the text reader),

Thanks for visiting!

Feedjit-yet again

Each time I think I have that darned Feedjit licked, I run across another blog that uses it and there it is, listing my town name AGAIN! OK, so it seems that just blocking the cookies doesn't do it, I'm not giving up, my privacy is worth more than that to me.

I did more searches about blocking Feedjit hoping to find something new (besides my posts), and I found a little gem on Feedjit's own website, it seems that Feedjit users were having trouble getting Feedjit to show on their site if they used a particular ad blocker, and Feedjit was even kind enough to include the URL for this particular ad blocker. Here it is:

http://adblockplus.org/en/

This is an ad-on specific to Firefox, install it and tell it you want to block Feedjit by going to a site that uses Feedjit, rightclick on Feedjit and block it, or you can add the Feedjit URL directly into the filter in the tools tab on the top of the browser. The nice thing about this addon is it only blocks what you tell it to block, it doesn't block everything willynilly.

Unfortunately this will not work with IE, I haven't found an addon for IE that I like, if you know of one, please let me know here.

Wretha

Thanks for visiting!
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How To Block Feedjit - Final Edition-UPDATE

OK, when I wrote the post about blocking Feedjit, I was on my neighbor's computer, this morning I blocked Feedjit on my computer, I went to a site that uses Feedjit and sure enough it did not show my visit, but at the top it still showed my town name, GRRRR! The good news is, I believe that only shows on my computer, not on anyone elses, but that still wasn't good enough, but with a bit more digging, I figured out how to COMPLETELY prevent Feedjit from working, period, no matter if you are using Firefox or Internet Explorer.

Firefox users, click on
Tools
.....Options
.........Privacy
.............(cookie) Exceptions
In the box, type in the website you wish to block and click "block", here is the list of everything I added:
feedjit
feedjit.com
http://feedjit.com
*feedjit.com
*.feedjit.com

That might be overkill, but I didn't want any version of their site to get through.

Next I use an addon called NoScript, you can find it here
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/722
Besides being great for a multitude of things, you can tell it to always block certain sites, I went to the feedjit.com site, I clicked on the NoScript icon on my page and told it to block feedjit.com, next I told it that feedjit.com is an untrusted site. Now anytime I go to a website that uses the feedjit widget, their widget doesn't even appear on the page, it never loads, therefore it never shows anything about me!

I just found an even simplier Firefox addon called YesScript
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4922
If you want to use that instead of NoScript, then use it, I prefer NoScript, but YesScript may be easier to use.

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IE users, go to feedjit's website, then on your browser click on

Tools
.....Internet Options
..........Security
...............Restricted Sites
....................Sites

In the box, make sure it shows the feedjit website, if it doesn't, be sure to type it in, then click "add". You should see *.feedjit.com and http://*.feedjit.com, if you don't, type it in manully and click "add". Now when you go to any site that uses the feedjit widget, it will not even load, therefore it should never show you as a visitor.

If you are using any other browser, I can't give you detailed help, but there should be a way to block specific websites in the options.

Take THAT Feedjit!


Wretha

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How To Block Feedjit - Final Edition

If you have been following this blog, you know how I feel about Feedjit, I have been looking for a way to block Feedjit from seeing my browser. I have now found a way to block it and keep it from seeing my browser, even when I visit a new site that uses Feedjit.

Actually Feedjit is a good concept for most people, on both sides of the browser, the way Feedjit works is it shows your visitors, in real time, where they reside (which is my personal pet peeve), where they came from (to get to your site). My problem and many other peoples' problems with Feedjit is the fact that it displays your town name. Some people get a kick out of seeing their town name displayed on another person's website. But some people don't like it, especially if you live in a small town.

Feedjit did realize that not everyone enjoys seeing their town name plastered on every site that uses Feedjit, so they did make an attempt to protect your privacy, you CAN tell Feedjit to ignore your browser, the problem is, you have to do it AFTER you have visited the site and your town name is still showing on the list until it rolls off, and if you clear your cookies then you have to do it all over again. You have to do it for EVERY site you visit that uses Feedjit, and if you go to a new site that uses it, it will still show your location until you tell it not to...

I contacted Feedjit and explained the issue and asked if there was a way to prevent any site that uses Feedjit from seeing your browser BEFORE the fact, they never replied. So I found another way to trick Feedjit into not showing YOUR location, you go into Feedjit and tell it that you live in a different location, unfortunately you can't make up a name, fortunately there are some pretty creative town names out there to choose from. Until now, I had choses a name that expressed my opinion of Feedjit, you can read about it here. The only problem I had about doing this was I felt bad when I visited a nice, child friendly site and my "location" appeared on their blog until it rolled off the screen.

So now, I found a way to block Feedjit from showing my location, either my real location or my "alternative" location, and it's so simple I can't believe I didn't figure it out before.

Just go into your browser settings, find the place where you control cookies, and tell your browser to block feedjit.com, after I did this, I searched for cookies that contain the name Feedjit and I deleted them. Now when I go to a website that uses Feedjit, it shows my visit, BUT it doesn't show my LOCATION, it merely says I'm from the United States, it does show my browser and OS and how I got to that site. I don't mind that information being public, just DON'T SHOW MY TOWN NAME!

Why is that a problem for me? It's simple, I live in a very, VERY tiny town, I also blog about my off grid life, many people are reading about my life, I also list a lot of like minded sites on my blog that I visit on a daily basis, I frequently comment on these blogs. On my blog, I am very discrete about my exact location, I do not list any town names or anything that would pinpoint where I live. A dedicated stalker (and yes, they do exist) in theory, could figure out where I live by doing a bit of research, I will not say how this could be done for the same reasons it's not good to tell people how to build a bomb, some idiot would actually try it. So, no, I don't want my town name plastered on the sites where I visit. Now I know how to remedy the situation, and I hope this helps other people too.

Wretha

Thanks for visiting!
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Feedjit Update - Still No Response

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St Patrick's day and still no response from Feedjit, they still haven't posted my comments on their blog, I don't know if this link will work for anyone, but give it a try, this shows my "pending comment", you can read what I wrote to them. Let me know if this works or not, thanks! :0

http://feedjit.com/blog/2009/feedjit-is-now-on-twitter/#comment-1328

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To read all of my messages on Off-Grid.net, click here:
http://www.off-grid.net/section/wretha/

To read all of my messages on Earth Power News, click here:
http://www.earthpowernews.com/

Wretha

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Privacy and Feedjit, Rant and Request (UPDATED)

I like blogging, I read and follow many blogs, I don't always agree with what all of these other blogs have to say, but that is OK, we all have our own opinions and it's perfectly wonderful that we are all able to freely write what we want to.

I do have issues though, something I have seen more and more on blogs is a little box called Feedjit, specifically their "Live Traffic Feed". I still remember the first time I saw this widget, I was shocked and appalled, it was a slap in the face. What was it that hit me so hard? Simple, the name of my town was emblazoned right there for EVERYONE to see, not just on my browser, but for each and every person who visited that blog after that until my location rolled off the bottom of the widget.

That is a huge issue for me, I live in a very small community, and I try my best to keep my location private. And yet, there it was, listed in this box along with the last 10 or so visitors to that site, complete with their town/city names and the website where they came from. My location is there for everyone to see until enough other people visit that site and my location rolls off the bottom.

I am not blaming the bloggers who use this, it is exciting to see your visitors and where they are coming from, heck even knowing their location is cool, but it's not cool to have your visitor's locations plastered on the front page, let's make it to where you have to at least click on something to get that information.

In this companies defense, very tiny defense though, they do allow you opt out and make THAT site ignore you, but damnit, the next site you visit that uses the Feedjit widget lists your town/city/location again, and you have to tell THAT site to ignore your browser, meanwhile the damage is done. If you clean out your cookies, then all of those sites you previously told to ignore your browser will list your location again until you tell it, again, to ignore your browser. On top of all of this, they don't make it all that easy to FIND the place on the widget to tell it to ignore your browser, you have to click on "options" at the very bottom of the widget, then and only then can you tell it to ignore your browser, AFTER THE FACT that your location is listed there for the whole world to see. This is beyond annoying, it an invasion of privacy and should not be allowed.

Yes, there are many different trackers out there, they use your IP address to figure out your location, I use a tracker on my blog, the difference is most of these other trackers do not post your location on the first page, you have to click through a few pages to get to the page that lists your location, it's not so invasive.

There is a simple fix, if Feedjit would only do it, they need to make it possible to click IGNORE once and only once and have it ignore your browser on ALL OTHER sites that use the Feedjit widget. I have contacted Feedjit via email and asked them about this, I did this a month ago, I told them that I would be writing an article on privacy invasion in the near future and would be writing about their product/service, it was up to them whether I wrote about their widget being an invasion of privacy or a thoughtful widget that protected the privacy of those who don't want to see their location plastered on a website just because they visited.

As of this date, I have received no response from them.

I tell you it's like a slap in the face, I don't appreciate it, I don't expect it, at least give us the illusion of privacy, at least give us the OPTION to opt out forever, not after the fact on each and every site that uses that widget.

Many of my readers are very private people, if you have run across this yourself, and are bothered by this, here is the email address for Feedjit, send them an email to tell them what you think about their widget, now be nice, rudeness gets your nowhere but deleted :) be sure to include a request for them to enable those who wish to OPT OUT from ALL Feedjit widgets, and NOT after the fact on each and every site that uses it.

support@feedjit.com

Here is their blog, I already posted a comment letting them know what I think, so if this bothers you, go to their blog and post a comment letting them know that you want your privacy back, allow us to opt out 100% of the time. They moderate the comments, I hope they have the balls to post my comment, even if they don't, they do have to read it before they delete it, let's give them more to read and think about. Before visiting their blog, be sure to read the bottom of this message first, you might want to "change your location" before going to their blog. ;-)

http://feedjit.com/blog/

For those of you who use the Feedjit widget on your blog, well, it's your blog and you can put what you want to on it, but I'm here to tell you that I will not be quick to return to your site, and I guarantee there are lots of other people who feel the same way, why take the chance of alienating your readers?

I'm posting this on my personal blog instead of on the other sites (below) what I write for, this is completely my idea and I don't want to cause any trouble for the other sites I write for just in case Feedjit decides to get nasty with me.

I sincerely hope that Feedjit gets it, they have a good product/service, they just need to take care of this one little, no make that huge problem/issue. There are lots of people who like seeing their location listed on a site where they visit, it makes them feel important, it makes them feel like a part of that blog, but there are many many people who don't want their location announced on a blog just because they visited there. Give us the OPTION to OPT OUT, permenantly, don't force me to have to do this on each and every site that happens to use Feedjit, and worse, make me do it AFTER THE FACT.

Here is Feedjit's website, http://feedjit.com/join/

Wanna see something really scary? Go here http://feedjit.com/ and you will see your town listed (scary if you live in a small community) with the most popular sites visited from your location, if you live in a small community, chances are those blogs listed there are mostly the ones that you visited. I did this and there is a trail of many of the blogs I read, it's no one elses business which blogs I have visited unless I CHOOSE to give out that information.

Let's give Feedjit a virtual spanking for this invasion of privacy and give them the chance to rectify their mistake.

What do you think about this? Do you feel like I'm right? Do you think I'm being too soft on them? Do you think I'm blowing this out of proportion? Let me know by leaving a comment here.

You know what I would like to see? If Feedjit chooses not change their ways, someone needs to come up with an add on for FireFox and IE to block Feedjit from working, I did a search for this sort of thing, usually I'm pretty good at finding things with search engines, but I couldn't find what I wanted, I did find other sites complaining about the privacy issue, if anyone finds something that will work to block Feedjit from working, please post a link in the comments. If I find anything, I'll be sure to post an update on this matter.


UPDATE

I found a "feature" on their widget where you can change your location, I figure that's the next best thing to do until Feedjit fixes their problem, so what town to choose? I did a search for "Odd town names" on Google, I found a treasure trove of names, I chose one that means the same thing as "f*ck", so now when I visit a site that uses this widget, at the top of the widget it says "Top Intercourse Blogs" that's all I'll say about my new location, just choose a town name that represents how you feel about Feedjit and put that in the box to change your location, this way each time you visit a new site that lists your location, it will not be your real location and just maybe, if you choose an interesting enough name, it will be making a statement until you can tell the widget on that site to ignore your browser.

http://feedjit.com/changeLocation/

Let me know your creative town names you chose, LMAO

Some of the town names I found that you can enter there:

intercourse
balls
goat neck
horsegall
flea
bug
buggytown
bush patch
kill devil hills
deadmans crossing
dead horse
deadmans corner
dies
ho
ho-ho-kus
stinking
hide-a-way acres
hide (lots of fodder there)
pusey (lots of slightly misspelled fodder there too)
dirtdauber
satans kingdom

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To read all of my messages on Off-Grid.net, click here:
http://www.off-grid.net/section/wretha/

To read all of my messages on Earth Power News, click here:
http://www.earthpowernews.com/

Wretha

Thanks for visiting!
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