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Registered
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Lake Oswego, OR
Posts: 6,592
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Extra sneaky website(s)
Having been a user of the internet for a few decades, I just encountered something that was completely novel. I visited Hank's Belts to shop for a belt. Didn't enter any data. Didn't click anything indicated interest. I didn't buy anything. And? They started spamming the heck out of my email.
I have no idea how this was coupled to my search, but clearly Google or some other outfit let them have it? This seems like very much crossing a line to me. Are there some settings I need to lock down further? I have never experienced this prior. |
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07-21-2026, 01:08 PM
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Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 4,669
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So in trying to swipe through the headlines just like any other app, I find myself opening articles I have no interest in reading, which quickly locks me out of the stories I am interested in looking at. |
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07-22-2026, 04:09 AM
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Registered
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Adelaide South Australia
Posts: 40,788
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Did you accept "all cookies" when you first visited the site?
If yes, somehow your email address was sent back the the web site after accepting all cookies. I recently visited the Montblanc site and then shortly afterwards I got an email encouraging me to go back and buy the fountain pen I was looking at. - I'm guessing they're using AI to track my movements on their site.
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- Peter |
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07-22-2026, 04:17 AM
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Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 15,547
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I purchased a belt and wallet from Hank's. Can't remember ever getting any spam.
The belt buckle is VERY heavy. 
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Southwest Oklahoma |
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07-22-2026, 04:25 AM
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Registered
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Lake Oswego, OR
Posts: 6,592
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"all cookies." That could easily be it! (no idea if I did or did not. It was a 30 second webpage visit.)
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07-22-2026, 05:33 AM
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Registered
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Cambridge, MA
Posts: 46,035
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it's just cookies.
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Automotive • Fashion • Art |
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07-22-2026, 06:04 AM
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What?
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________________________________________ Eric Hahl 85 911 to 73RS backdate, a.k.a. "Gretchen" (SOLD) 2015 981 Cayman S (Sold) 23 Outback Wilderness & 23 BMW R1250GS |
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07-22-2026, 08:28 AM
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Back in the saddle again
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Central TX west of Houston
Posts: 58,624
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Quote:
Quote:
I believe, in most cases, if you click the "X" to close the cookie window, that's often considered the equivalent of "accept all". I've seen some pages that actually say that, but many don't.
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Steve '08 Boxster RS60 Spyder #0099/1960 - never named a car before, but this is Charlotte. '88 targa  SOLD 2004 - gone but not forgotten
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07-22-2026, 08:45 AM
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Registered
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: west michigan
Posts: 30,291
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Would having 'location services' on cause the same thing?
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78 SC Targa Black....gone 84 Carrera Targa White 98 Honda Prelude 26 Honda Civic Hybrid Hatch 25 John Deere X-590 |
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07-22-2026, 08:50 AM
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Back in the saddle again
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Central TX west of Houston
Posts: 58,624
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Quote:
That may allow the application to get the location, and that is probably something that is able to be mined via a cookie.
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Steve '08 Boxster RS60 Spyder #0099/1960 - never named a car before, but this is Charlotte. '88 targa SOLD 2004 - gone but not forgotten
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07-22-2026, 08:58 AM
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Make Bruins Great Again
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I block all location info and have my browser set to delete all cookies when I close the browser (unless I specifically setup a website to retain cookies).
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-------------------------------------- Joe See Porsche run. Run, Porsche, Run: `87 911 Carrera |
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07-22-2026, 11:33 AM
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Registered
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: west michigan
Posts: 30,291
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^^^ I should do the same.
Lately, every store I walk into, my phone starts showing an ad or commercial and some are hard to stop.
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78 SC Targa Black....gone 84 Carrera Targa White 98 Honda Prelude 26 Honda Civic Hybrid Hatch 25 John Deere X-590 |
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07-22-2026, 11:55 AM
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Leadfoot Geezer
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
Posts: 3,300
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All this for a fee, of course. But it's no wonder we're constantly bombarded with unwanted crap like this when there are pros who's business it is to insure there's no place to hide from spam 
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'67 912, '70 911T, '81 911SC, '89 3.2 Targa - all sold before prices went crazy '25 BMW 230i coupe - current DD '67 VW Karmann Ghia convt. & '63 VW Beetle ragtop - ongoing projects |
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07-22-2026, 11:59 AM
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Registered
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Dahlonega , Georgia
Posts: 15,866
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About a month ago I went on the Hanks Belts website . Looked around a little bit . Nice stuff . Exited the website and the spam emails started literally in 5 minutes . Modern society has its ups and downs
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2002 Boxster S . Arctic silver + black top/int. Jake Raby 3.6 SS engine " the beast ". GT3 front bumper, GT3 side skirts and GT3 TEK rear diffuser. 1999 996 C4 coupe black/grey with FSI 3.8 engine . Rear diffuser , front spoiler lip with ducktail spoiler . |
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07-22-2026, 01:12 PM
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Registered
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Lake Oswego, OR
Posts: 6,592
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^^^exactly! It was 5 minutes and they spammed the living crap out of me. 3 to 5 emails in less than 24 hours.
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07-22-2026, 01:36 PM
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Make Bruins Great Again
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Note to self: NEVER BUY A BELT FROM HANKS BELTS
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-------------------------------------- Joe See Porsche run. Run, Porsche, Run: `87 911 Carrera |
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07-22-2026, 03:54 PM
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Platinum Member
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.
Posts: 22,066
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Pop up ads bother me more.
As to vendor websites, sometimes if I put something in a cart then leave, in a few days I'll get emails with additional discounts and codes. I'm playing with an elegoo plastic printer right now, about $40 off normal price. I find facebook/Meta the sneakiest. I can verbally discuss something, no online search, and get targeted ads on facebook.
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"Life is full of temporary situations, ultimately ending in a permanent solution" - Rodney Dangerfield |
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07-22-2026, 04:03 PM
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Registered
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Northern California
Posts: 3,783
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"Remember Bill Gates was secretly dosing his wife with meds to hide venereal diseases he'd picked up from hookers. "
Really? I don't think this is verified. Its all about balance... algorithms, free enterprise, et cetera. These capabilities have been around for a while... likely more is coming. Much. More. "The fault is not in our screens, but in ourselves, that we are underlings." The Bard remarked on something like this, and the context was influence... take action!
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Mike PCA Golden Gate Region Porsche Racing Club #4 BMWCCA NASA |
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07-22-2026, 04:13 PM
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Registered
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Long Beach CA, the sewer by the sea.
Posts: 39,127
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My wife's phone is out of control. It's mostly her fault due to the the dementia and she's on it all day because it's the perfect baby sitter/companion. She brought up a new subject in a conversation with me about something tangible, a product or cure, not just some gossip (I get that constantly) about something not that unusual. Opened her phone and there was a ad for whatever it was. She had just hung up from a phone call so the phone should have been idle.
Bet me.
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Comment below and don't forget to like and subscribe. |
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07-23-2026, 10:53 AM
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Gretchen
Max
