To discuss anything which relates to the FLYER Airportal or the magazine
By Colonel Panic
#1576421
At the risk of appearing to be paranoid, I cleared all cookies stored within macOS Safari; I re-started Safari and checked the list again and it was empty.

I then logged in to the Flyer Forums and checked which websites had been tracking me and there is a long list...

Question: is it the Forum software that is doing this, and if so why? I am not logged in to Facebook (nor do I want to be) nor Twitter (ditto), nor Google (ditto), and am more than happy for them not to be tracking me... :shock: Or am I misunderstanding the difference between cookies and cache? :oops:

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By johnm
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1576423
Cookies and cache are not the same thing.
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By rikur_
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1576427
all looks like normal stuff

- bootstrapcdn - this is a set of code libraries used to make responsive websites
- cloudflare - looks like it is used to host one of the scripts on the page
- facebook/fbcdn are there because there is a Facebook widget on the page
- font.googleapis.com - where one or more of the fonts used on the page is hosted
- google analytics/tag services - used by flyer to track visits/visitors to the pages
- twitter/twimg - used by the twitter feed at the bottom right of the page

both cookies and cache are ways that things are stored on your computer ... simplistically:
- cache is something generic (e.g. a font, image, or script) cached locally so that it doesn't have to be fetched every time the page loads
- cookie is a bit of personalised data - usually an identity code, which gets sent with requests to load the website and hence to recognise repeat visits from the same browser
By Colonel Panic
#1576428
rikur_ wrote:- facebook/fbcdn are there because there is a Facebook widget on the page
- twitter/twimg - used by the twitter feed at the bottom right of the page


Thanks - that is all reassuring.

JAAMOI, does it make any difference whether I am signed in to Facebook or Twitter when visiting the Flyer Forums? Would different data be collected? Or is it that as they are only cache entries and not cookies no data is collected anyway?
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By rikur_
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1576432
Colonel Panic wrote:
rikur_ wrote:- facebook/fbcdn are there because there is a Facebook widget on the page
- twitter/twimg - used by the twitter feed at the bottom right of the page


Thanks - that is all reassuring.

JAAMOI, does it make any difference whether I am signed in to Facebook or Twitter when visiting the Flyer Forums? Would different data be collected? Or is it that as they are only cache entries and not cookies no data is collected anyway?

Generally, whilst you are not signed in to FB you with be a uniquely identified but unknown individual. If at some point you login to FB, they will be able to join that previous browsing history to your known user profile.
However in your case it looks like you have third party cookies blocked, and therefore it doesn't look like FB is setting a cookie and therefore not tracking you as an individual (albeit each visit to the page will still be tracked as a visit ... just with nothing linking it to previous visits)
By Colonel Panic
#1576477
rikur_ wrote:Generally, whilst you are not signed in to FB you with be a uniquely identified but unknown individual. If at some point you login to FB, they will be able to join that previous browsing history to your known user profile.

Based on what? My IP address or something else?
However in your case it looks like you have third party cookies blocked, and therefore it doesn't look like FB is setting a cookie and therefore not tracking you as an individual (albeit each visit to the page will still be tracked as a visit ... just with nothing linking it to previous visits)

Not blocked per se as to do so makes life a bit of a chore having to re-sign in to everything every visit (other than those that I choose to log out of, such as Facebook, Twitter, Google and LinkedIn).

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By rikur_
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1576480
Colonel Panic wrote: Based on what? My IP address or something else?

A cookie
Colonel Panic wrote:
Not blocked per se as to do so makes life a bit of a chore having to re-sign in to everything every visit (other than those that I choose to log out of, such as Facebook, Twitter, Google and LinkedIn).

The Prevent cross-site tracking option is basically the same as having third party cookies blocked - i.e. Cookies are not allowed from scripts within a page, unless they are hosted in the same domain as the page itself. So in your example only flyer.co.uk can create cookies.
Last edited by rikur_ on Sat Dec 09, 2017 7:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
By Colonel Panic
#1576483
Thanks rikur_

PS: What a fabulous resource this place can be. A huge Hat Tip to all those who share their skills & knowledge so generously !

PPS: We need the like button back ASAP :D
By johnm
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1576484
We were saying at lunchtime at Gloucester we owe a great debt of gratitude to Bossman for supporting this facility with unfailing good humour and tolerance :thumleft:
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By Dodo
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1576534
Colonel Panic wrote...PPS: We need the like button back ASAP


I have the like button visible. Could its absence on your screen be something to do with your security settings?
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By GolfHotel
#1576537
johnm wrote:We were saying at lunchtime at Gloucester we owe a great debt of gratitude to Bossman for supporting this facility with unfailing good humour and tolerance :thumleft:


He and the admin team are also quite reasonable about what they allow. There is a bit of admin control but to my mind it’s reasonable and proportional. (Obviously my view on this will change if they ever mess with my posts. :D :oops: )
By Colonel Panic
#1576546
Dodo wrote:I have the like button visible. Could its absence on your screen be something to do with your security settings?

No - the button is there but it just doesn't work. From other threads on the subject I don't think that I am alone.

I didn't delete a "we_are_spying_on_you_through_our_like_button" cookie in Prefs, so am relaxed it isn't just me :D
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By Dodo
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1576567
Colonel Panic wrote:No - the button is there but it just doesn't work. From other threads on the subject I don't think that I am alone.

I didn't delete a "we_are_spying_on_you_through_our_like_button" cookie in Prefs, so am relaxed it isn't just me :D


Oh I see. I hadn't tried to like any posts for a while, and hadn't realised it wasn't working. I must be turning into a miserable so-and so in my old age!