liveaboard

It started with spam in Portuguese soon after I arrived. I though that was odd; but ok, my email address got on some list or other.

But I keep getting spam very closely targeted to my interests.

Recently, I was looking for information on heat exchangers; within 2 days, email touting heat exchangers.
Now I really doubt a lot of you have searched for heat exchangers lately, so how many have received heat exchanger spam???

How are these robots connecting my browsing habits with my email address, and is my entire security compromised?

EMR

Basically yes, just buy the best security package you can afford and hope for the best.
I changed all my passwords last year as a result of a warning of " unusual " behaviour.
Tne number of spam and unusual emails immediately dropped to a fraction.

algarveandroid

Probably cookie related - too late now to make a difference with daily cleaning , other than to prevent more.

Apps on phones are full of it also.

RichardHenshall

I can't speak for the emails but the ads we see do seem to relate to the websites we visit, which I think is down to Google Ads.

Are the emails you're getting from people who specialise in heat exchangers or are they (like Amazon) suppliers of everything? If the latter, are the emails just a wrapper for Google ads? If you forward the email to someone else who hasn't been researching heat exchngers, does the content change?

liveaboard

I don't read the spam, and would never forward it to any friend of mine; spontaneously mutating email? Never heard of that.

Other than phishing attempts, I mostly get spam touting engineering or construction items, which mirrors my search and web use other than news.

There was just 1 heat exchanger spam, 2 days after searching for that quite specific and odd piece of gear. I had a look [still in the deleted folder] and it appears to be from a company that only sells that line of goods.
Appears; but I do not assume that to necessarily be the case.
That particular spam email [unusually] contains no graphics or active links.

Google ads, cookies, etc. are not even needed for websites to gather ip addresses. But at least some of those websites must be passing the ip's to spambots who can link them to known email addresses.
Or, my computer is compromised and my browser history is being uploaded to the spambots. This would seem more likely, but that would mean a huge data/ security breach inflicted for very small gain to them.
I already have very expensive mcafee security.
I know sometimes it's said they're no good, use another, before fashion changes back.

macliam

If you are actually getting emails addressed to your account, then this is no part of Google Ads, which uses cookies to promote pop-ups and can be stopped by clearing browsing data. If a company has your email address it is a permanent entry point....

However, I don't see how a company would get your email address unless it is made available to them - this is not the outpourings of a "random" spam generator, but something more serious. Either you have supplied your address to an associated company, or a third party has linked you ip-address and email and made it available...... all of which sounds terribly complicated from a company selling heat exchangers!

My email allows me to set up (and drop) linked accounts so I an set up one specifically for any enquiries to a new company ..... then if I get spam on that account I know! Equally I use Ccleaner regularly to clear my browsing data and reset my IP-address fairly regularly too. I get no targeted emails, just the random spam that hits anyone.

liveaboard

It was the heat exchanger spam that really caught my attention; I was on several websites looking for info but definitely did not fill any forms or willingly submit my address.
Yet the spam email arrives from a mystery source.
So yes, a spam mailer or address list seller has my email and ip address linked, along with some method or receiving my search and/ or browser history. or they could have infiltrated various website servers and be mining the information from there.

I have a couple of websites and one was utterly hacked twice, so that anyone who logged into my site was instead presented with targeted spam; except me.
I saw my website.
Devious, very devious.
And I was mysteriously unable to delete some of the files they'd placed in my directories. I had to get the server admin to do it.

liveaboard

Yesterday I was looking at a webpage about how to build noise reducing electronic filters.
Today I got spam selling components for electronic noise reducing filters.

BEVS

This might do better in The Lab forum where more folk will see it & who could possibly help or give some insight.
Would you like me to move it there?

liveaboard

sure, let's see if anyone has some insight.

shantii

Google 'Criteo Dynamic e-mails'.. but in short: 'Criteo’s Universal Match technology pairs anonymous data with third party permission-based email addresses from Criteo’s publisher network to reach new consumers who have demonstrated interest in a brand and its products.'