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LKL
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12 May 2011, 11:05 pm

I've been getting notices from yahoo that the 'new' email service will include data-mining the content of my emails 'to better tailor my internet experience to my interests,' or some such BS.
Does anyone know of a free email service that still doesn't do this? I'd pay for a local provider, but all of the local servers were bought out a couple of years ago.



zer0netgain
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13 May 2011, 8:25 am

You could do as I've done for some time now....open a "free" e-mail account under an assumed identity. At least then their tracking profile won't reflect on your real identity. Save a lesser e-mail account for truly "personal" matters.



MCalavera
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13 May 2011, 8:48 am

LKL wrote:
I've been getting notices from yahoo that the 'new' email service will include data-mining the content of my emails 'to better tailor my internet experience to my interests,' or some such BS.
Does anyone know of a free email service that still doesn't do this? I'd pay for a local provider, but all of the local servers were bought out a couple of years ago.


Does Hotmail do it too? Gmail?

I don't look into this much so wouldn't know.



Nim
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13 May 2011, 9:43 am

Well, all their saying is they are going to see the word "chimichanga" so you'll ad banners for Mexican cuisine.

Everyone does it, welcome to the web. If your surfing the net but never clear your browser/have all your favorite links saved, etc.. Then every site you go to is tracking your interests.

You like soap? WE DO TO!... Try our soaps, click here!! ! Plus if your running windows/aren't an advanced user per say you probably have programs installed tracking your movements and interests....

Facebook also does this. If you have interests selected it will tailor ad's that fit that interest... Gmail does it but less obstructively, their ad's are smaller and less noticeable.



hartzofspace
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13 May 2011, 10:33 am

I use a program called Agent. It collects all my email from Yahoo and allows me to read it offline. I don't know if that stops them from spying, but I like this program a lot. You can get a free trial, and then decide whether or not to buy it.

http://www.forteinc.com/agent/


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pezar
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13 May 2011, 12:24 pm

hartzofspace wrote:
I use a program called Agent. It collects all my email from Yahoo and allows me to read it offline. I don't know if that stops them from spying, but I like this program a lot. You can get a free trial, and then decide whether or not to buy it.

http://www.forteinc.com/agent/


Forte Agent has been around for a LONG TIME-around 1997 it was a program that allowed you to read Usenet newsgroup posts offline, whereas other programs would crash if you happened to get kicked off your ISP's modems for "line camping". In the days of dial up net, people would dial in and not log off, so ISPs would have to kick off anybody who had been online too long without an action, usually 30 min. So you'd be reading Usenet and suddenly the line would go dead, and your program would crash, and you'd lose what you were reading/writing (especially frustrating for slow typists like me). I'm surprised that Forte Inc is still around-when technology moves on most companies are out of luck, and die.



LKL
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13 May 2011, 2:51 pm

Nim wrote:
Well, all their saying is they are going to see the word "chimichanga" so you'll ad banners for Mexican cuisine.

Everyone does it, welcome to the web. If your surfing the net but never clear your browser/have all your favorite links saved, etc.. Then every site you go to is tracking your interests.

You like soap? WE DO TO!... Try our soaps, click here!! ! Plus if your running windows/aren't an advanced user per say you probably have programs installed tracking your movements and interests....

Facebook also does this. If you have interests selected it will tailor ad's that fit that interest... Gmail does it but less obstructively, their ad's are smaller and less noticeable.

I'm aware that my movements are being tracked, but having the content of my private email mined seems an order of magnitude more invasive. A P.I. can follow you around, but they can't legally open your mail.



WorldsEdge
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13 May 2011, 3:09 pm

zer0netgain wrote:
You could do as I've done for some time now....open a "free" e-mail account under an assumed identity. At least then their tracking profile won't reflect on your real identity. Save a lesser e-mail account for truly "personal" matters.


I don't think this would do much if you use both accounts under the same IP Code. Might make a difference simply due to the volume of data they're tracking, but I can't see most ISPs having trouble connecting the dots between two e-mail accounts/one IP code.


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hartzofspace
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13 May 2011, 3:18 pm

pezar wrote:
hartzofspace wrote:
I use a program called Agent. It collects all my email from Yahoo and allows me to read it offline. I don't know if that stops them from spying, but I like this program a lot. You can get a free trial, and then decide whether or not to buy it.

http://www.forteinc.com/agent/


pezar wrote:
I'm surprised that Forte Inc is still around-when technology moves on most companies are out of luck, and die.

Yes, they are still alive and kicking! My SO told me about this program; he uses it too.


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13 May 2011, 5:00 pm

LKL wrote:
I'm aware that my movements are being tracked, but having the content of my private email mined seems an order of magnitude more invasive.
Flat-out illegal to do this in the UK without first seeking a specific 'op-in' from the user.
Email is private.


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LKL
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13 May 2011, 7:09 pm

yahoo email is free, and I guess that the 'opt-in' is in signing up for the 'new' version. They've simply decided that they will no longer offer truly 'free' email, which I suppose is their right - but it is my right to try to find some other provider, as well.



qwerty108109
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14 May 2011, 2:56 am

I currently have Yahoo and because of this I'm switching to Google mail.
Google seems to have a lot of better ways of making money and data mining and e-mails.



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14 May 2011, 3:41 am

qwerty108109 wrote:
I currently have Yahoo and because of this I'm switching to Google mail.
Google seems to have a lot of better ways of making money and data mining and e-mails.


I was under the impression that Google were the first to launch an email system WITH data mining of emails! This was several years ago when they launched Gmail. Have they stopped the practice now? I was under the impression they mined Gmail emails to target adverts related to the contents of those emails.


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Titangeek
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14 May 2011, 11:38 am

TallyMan wrote:
qwerty108109 wrote:
I currently have Yahoo and because of this I'm switching to Google mail.
Google seems to have a lot of better ways of making money and data mining and e-mails.


I was under the impression that Google were the first to launch an email system WITH data mining of emails! This was several years ago when they launched Gmail. Have they stopped the practice now? I was under the impression they mined Gmail emails to target adverts related to the contents of those emails.


they do, it dose a keyword search of the email when you open it so that if the email has the word Guitar you will have a banner ad of websites selling guitars, or guitar lessons.


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zer0netgain
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14 May 2011, 6:19 pm

WorldsEdge wrote:
zer0netgain wrote:
You could do as I've done for some time now....open a "free" e-mail account under an assumed identity. At least then their tracking profile won't reflect on your real identity. Save a lesser e-mail account for truly "personal" matters.


I don't think this would do much if you use both accounts under the same IP Code. Might make a difference simply due to the volume of data they're tracking, but I can't see most ISPs having trouble connecting the dots between two e-mail accounts/one IP code.


IP is irrelevant. So long as you use a browser that lets you set whether cookies are accepted all the time, rejected or only for the session, the e-mail service won't know jack about who you are. Many people access e-mail services from the same IP on public terminals. The server is mining the content of the e-mail, not where it's being accessed from...other than inserting location-relevant advertising.