mutetiger
@safeclick.net | reply to cjhorh
Re: [HSI] Charter to monitor surfing, insert its own targeted ad
Would it be possible for anyone who received a letter from Charter to post the full text of the letter? Maybe it could be scanned in an OCRed? Thanks. |
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33591094
join:2002-11-19
Canada
| reply to markopoleo
said by markopoleo  :Not sure what the big deal, don't most people just use ad blockers anyways now? Wow.
Ignorance is bliss, eh? You must be a happy mofo, then. |
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BF69
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN
| said by 33591094 :said by markopoleo :Not sure what the big deal, don't most people just use ad blockers anyways now? Wow. Ignorance is bliss, eh? You must be a happy mofo, then. Hey as long as he doesn't see the ad the fact that charter is keeping tabs on him and basically letting 3rd party have his surfing info who cares? |
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clickie
join:2005-05-22
Monroe, MI
| reply to markopoleo
So you'd have no problem with your phone company listening into your telephone conversation to your spouse/friend complaining that you've been suffering a bout of constipation, and sending you marketing material for a laxative?
Right now, the Nebuads people say they exclude health issues. That is subject of course, to change at whenever they like.
The big deal for me is that it always starts small. "We're not going to correlate this information to your personal identity" is what they say now, but when? If you think they'll never do that, you're being naive. |
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skj
Welcome to the far side of reality
Premium,Mod
join:2002-04-04
Atlanta, GA
Host:
Charter HSI/CATV
Earthlink DSL
Embarq
ISP b2b etc
Cisco
| reply to cjhorh
Front page article regarding Charter's invasion of a user's privacy: »/shownews/Char···ry-94356
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The foundations of character are built not by lecture, but by bricks of good example, laid day by day. |
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markopoleo
join:2003-04-02
Bonne Terre, MO
 ·Charter Pipeline
| reply to clickie
said by clickie :So you'd have no problem with your phone company listening into your telephone conversation to your spouse/friend complaining that you've been suffering a bout of constipation, and sending you marketing material for a laxative? Right now, the Nebuads people say they exclude health issues. That is subject of course, to change at whenever they like. The big deal for me is that it always starts small. "We're not going to correlate this information to your personal identity" is what they say now, but when? If you think they'll never do that, you're being naive. No problem at all with it. They do it for Direct Mailing with snail mail already, they have for long as I can remember. Off the top of my head I can think of 4 places that do it already.
Heck even programs do it now, even MS messenger has it, it will put ads in bottom based on browsing habits. The internet is just playing catchup to what everything else in the world does. |
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DG6
join:2002-05-14
New Hartford, CT | reply to cjhorh
And I'll continue to use AdBlock Plus with Firefox to stop all these ads. |
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zed260
join:2007-09-30
Cleveland, TN | reply to cjhorh
i just called and apparently you can opt out for good for 10 dollors a month and dont have to use cookies |
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AnonCC
@mossadams.com
| said by zed260 :i just called and apparently you can opt out for good for 10 dollors a month and dont have to use cookies You can opt out for free for forever by changing your ISP. |
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raw
War Eagle
Premium
join:2001-01-17
Madison, AL
clubs:
| reply to markopoleo
said by markopoleo :You must be new here, they don't charge that much for internet anymore. You must live in a market where there is actual competition.
Here in Auburn, AL, I'm paying $120 a month for 1 HD box, the digital sports tier, the HD tier (no movie channels), and 5 Meg net.
If I had another option, believe me, I'd take it. I'm in an apartment with no wiring for a phone line and no legitimate shot at the southwestern sky.
As for the topic at hand, this calls for me to start using my university VPN connection for basically every task. This is on top of calling them and bitching. |
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amcro
@charter.com
|  reply to cjhorh
i came to this website, www.charter.com/onlineadvertising because i recieved the "enhancement" letter in the mail. I did not expect to find this forum. I'm not very savvy in the computer department and don't quite understand what is going on with this situation. Is there anyone out there that can explain the pros and cons of this 'enhancement' to me in simple terms. charter should be the one doing this. I'm not thrilled about "big brother" monitoring everything i and my family are doing on my pc. I prefer to have as little advertising as possible anyway. if i want something I can find it myself |
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scoosdad
join:2007-04-28
Worcester, MA
| reply to mutetiger
said by mutetiger :
Would it be possible for anyone who received a letter from Charter to post the full text of the letter? Here it is, complete:
Dear xxxxx,
I am writing to inform you of an enhancement coming soon to your web browsing experience via Charter's High-Speed Internet service. While continuing to deliver the same fast and reliable internet service you've always received, innovative new technology enables Charter to provide you with an enhanced online experience that is more customized to your interests and activities.
As a result, the advertising you typically see online will better reflect the interests you express through your web-surfing activity. You will not see more ads - just ads that are more relevant to you.
This service was designed to ensure that your privacy as a Charter customer will continue to be protected. Your personal information will remain confidential and your online activity will never be linked by anyone to your individual identity through this service. The service is completely anonymous and does not collect or use any information that identifies you or your family.
As your trusted communications provider, it is important to us that you continue to be in complete control of your online experience. If you would like to learn more about this exciting new service please visit www.charter.com/onlineadvertising. For information on Charter's privacy policy and how to opt out of this service, visit www.charter.com/onlineprivacy.
Charter is committed to offering the highest quality service to our customers, and we thank you for the trust you have placed in us to deliver it to you.
Sincerely yours,
Joe Stackhouse
Senior Vice President, Customer Operations
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Worcester MA
Charter Pipeline 5M/Verizon DSL 3M
Charter digital cable with HD
Vonage VOIP phone
ICIA CTS-D
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anony1
@charter.com | reply to cjhorh
I will be ditching Charter for DSL, which is also cheaper, if they start doing this in my area. Charter has already been having troubles, I can't imagine ticking off customers by spying on them for targeted ads will do them much good. |
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WhiteKenny
join:2003-05-04
Trumbull, CT
1 edit | reply to cjhorh
i just got the letter in the mail today here in CT also.
i have to agree that the opt-out process is pathetic at best, and it should definitely be opt-in! as a previous poster mentioned, i am also thinking about sending this thread over to the consumerist. maybe if we get enough people to do so then they will run a nice little story about it and get charters attention.
how will this work for people who use routers? if i visit mostly gaming sites and somebody else in the house visits mostly news sites will i get ONLY the gaming ads and they get ONLY the news ads? if this is tied to the modem MAC i don't see how it's gonna be able to tell multiple PCs apart.
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»www.myspace.com/white_kenny |
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clickie
join:2005-05-22
Monroe, MI
| It'll tell them apart by the HTTP headers the browser sends. Unless of course you set them all to be the same.
This pisses me off, but the truth is that I think all ISPs are doing this to some degree. The ones that Wired Magazine contacted, Verizon, Comcast and AT&T didn't respond to any questions as to whether or not they were doing the same thing. If they were not doing it or didn't have plans to do the same thing, they would have simply said "no". If Charter starts making money at this, they all will. And the truth is, according to past articles on this site, sharing clickstream data results in as much as a $5 boost per subscriber.
I think they all do it. It doesn't make it right.
My kids are the ones who need 10 megabits with their Xboxes, Playstations and downloading movies and music from iTunes and Amazon. If Charter thinks they'll display compelling and targeted ads, I wish them luck. My kid doesn't see a damned ad on his computer. |
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scoosdad
join:2007-04-28
Worcester, MA
2 edits | reply to WhiteKenny
said by WhiteKenny :i am also thinking about sending this thread over to the consumerist. maybe if we get enough people to do so then they will run a nice little story about it and get charters attention. Too late, it's been running on The Consumerist since Monday night:
»consumerist.com/5008801/charter-···eted-ads
See the transcript there of an online chat which one poster had with Charter, for Charter's explanation to him as to how it works:
»consumerist.com/5008801/charter-···c5674488
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Worcester MA
Charter Pipeline 5M/Verizon DSL 3M
Charter digital cable with HD
Vonage VOIP phone
ICIA CTS-D
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markopoleo
join:2003-04-02
Bonne Terre, MO
·Charter Pipeline
| reply to raw
said by raw :said by markopoleo :You must be new here, they don't charge that much for internet anymore. You must live in a market where there is actual competition. Charter only game in town, price for 16meg internet is $55 a month. Cheap for me. |
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haplo2112
join:2003-05-12
Charlton, MA
| reply to cjhorh
Allow me to be clear just on the off chance that anyone at Charter corporate pays any god damned attention.
I do not want my browsing habits tracked, not now not ever in any way. I have numerous installs already that ad block, and stop cookies from being set and clean up cookies specifically so that my habits are not tracked. I DON'T want the whole GOD DAMNED world especially you corporate types to know the private inner most workings of MY mind.
Then have you take those habits and turn them to ADS that is really bad.
For example say that I get it in my head that I want to purchase some sort of racy, and exciting lingerie for my wife for some special day. Now you have that in the browsing habits for that computer. 20 minutes later my child needs to do some research for school. I'd like to think that they might be able to browse the net without seeing semi-porno images from my wanting to buy my wife a somewhat private and personal gift. |
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haplo2112
join:2003-05-12
Charlton, MA | reply to cjhorh
For those of a technical mind, for your consideration perhaps this might be of help.
»tor.eff.org |
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BF69
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN
| reply to haplo2112
said by haplo2112 :I do not want my browsing habits tracked, not now not ever in any way. I have numerous installs already that ad block, While I'm 100% against what Charter is wanting to do. I do ot think you shouldin gerneal be blocking ads. peole put uo website for you that you use for FREE to be informed or entertained. This is NOT free to them. They have a right to be compensated for their work. They have 2 ways of doing this. Charge a subscriptions, which I'm sure you would like or want to pay for. Or place advertisements, in which you get the content for free. I think putting up with some ads is a very small price to pay. You like to be compensated for your work don't you?
if website operators can't get paid because people block ads they will either close shop or charge subsciptions. It's going to suck if all the ad-blockers lead ot much les content on the net or make the ent look like cable tv. Even at only $5 a month that's a lot of money to pay for every website you visit.
For example say that I get it in my head that I want to purchase some sort of racy, and exciting lingerie for my wife for some special day. Now you have that in the browsing habits for that computer. 20 minutes later my child needs to do some research for school. I'd like to think that they might be able to browse the net without seeing semi-porno images from my wanting to buy my wife a somewhat private and personal gift. Your child should have thier own user account in the first place. |
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