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Re: "... the pervasive ad tracking that all smart TVs do..."

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 8:29 pm
by virtualmike
sysops wrote:If a phone or laptop share the same IP, you're tracked by all of these data brokers who have their trackers installed on a majority of the top 10,000 websites in the US.
But there are multiple people with multiple devices in the household, which throws a lot of noise into the equation. In addition, I have my browsers on my devices pretty locked down.

I'm sure there is some leakage, but it's significantly reduced. There's no way to go online without any risk, and even those "off the grid" are still tracked to some degree.

Re: "... the pervasive ad tracking that all smart TVs do..."

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 8:55 pm
by ankh
SO --- although ovpn.sonic.net sporadically disconnects and exposes my Sonic IP address from time to time --- is it correct that while the VPN is functioning, it will keep our household virtually private?


Friends of ours have a doormat that says "Come back when you have a warrant" which is about how feel about this privacy stuff.

Re: "... the pervasive ad tracking that all smart TVs do..."

Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2019 11:09 pm
by virtualmike
It would mask your IP address, yes, but that may or may not be effective, depending on many other factors.

OTOH, some of the streaming services refuse connections from VPNs, so that may backfire.

Re: "... the pervasive ad tracking that all smart TVs do..."

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2019 10:07 am
by ankh
Ah, thanks, I see that's a widely discussed situation:

https://www.google.com/search?client=fi ... +from+VPNs

found: https://www.bestvpn.com/guides/how-to-b ... pn-blocks/
It is becoming increasingly common for media streaming websites to block viewers who use VPNs bypass geo-restrictions placed on their services. Prime examples include Hulu, US Netflix, and BBC iPlayer ....