Tracking through emails / Web beacons / TOKENS / index.dat files? WHAT ELSE?

**aspkin** · #**133** 08-10-2007

That'll work too.

imjustme · #**134** 08-10-2007

I would recommend a separate windows user account for each eBay account. That way you never mess up by accident.

Chris Hanson · #**135** 08-10-2007

AHHHH. very true. but what about the ip?

starfish · #**136** 08-15-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebayaintstupid

there are obviously things that EBAY is doing that are not covered here.

First of all, volume triggers alerts in EBAY. So if you start a new account and within three months you are doing heavy volume, EBAY will likely be looking real close. It has been recommended you limit yourself to one account at a time, but you really need to split accounts up if you plan on doing any volume at all without later suspension, at least in the first year or so. Plus you are planting seeds for later. You have to be careful as possible to not get the accounts linked.

IP Address is only one way that they can track you, and it isn't incredibly reliable. Why? Some ISPs have thousands of customers and for a given area may broadcast the same IP Address for thousands of folks. Many corporate IDs are the same. Company I work at now has thousands of computers. They all show up as a single IP Address to the outside world. I use whatsmyipaddress.com on my PC at work and then go look on one of the servers in the lab for the other floor on a different subnet in a different part of the building, bingo, both the same.

So EBAY can't link you solely based on IP Adress, they need something more. Yup cookies. Obvious, right? Now, you say, OK, I am real cookie careful. I clean up all the time. But one innocent miss is deadly. If a cookie is around when a hit on your IP Address happens and you are identified as a different EBAY user than the last time that cookie was seen, you are linked. It is possible for Ann and Dan to have the same IP Address and have no association whatsoever. But if Ann has Dan's cookies, well, there is almost no chance they aren't associated. If you got linked to a suspended account, you got suspended. Dead.

Aspkin says smartly to never log back into a suspended account. Of course, you really can, so long as you clean up your cookie trail and NEVER forget, but it is risky. You could get caught off guard.

Now, how could you get caught off guard? Beacons. If you don't know what a beacon is, go find out. They are an insidious invasion of privacy used by marketers. They are why GMAIL and some other mailers block all images unless you specifically allow them. You open an email with a beacon and you don't have them blocked, and guess what. Read about beacons and you will get it immediately.

Let's just say, EBAY is a marketer. Beacons are a way of life for all internet marketers. And Beacons combined with a cookie trail are deadly to anyone trying to hide from the EBAY monster. And I have spoken to well educated and very experienced internet engineers, and even many of them have no idea what a beacon is.

Beacons are a total invasion of privacy and should be banned and made illegal. But marketers are discussing now how to get you to open emails with beacons despite the new gmail and other mailers blocking them. How to make them beckon you to click "Allow Images" when you open your mail. And each time you do. Someone knows you are there.

If you have other suggestions or ideas for how to evade EBAY, or questions regarding beacons, post them here. I would love to see some more folks' thoughts.

Aspkin got me thinking. EBAY got me mad.

Well, I think the best thing to do is each time you get suspended, you need to back all your files up, I mean empty out your computer and star over, applying all the other do's and dont's found on this site. I have found that even when you clean out the cookies, and history, and etc, there are old tracking files that ebay places on your computer that are still there. Do a search on your computer for all ebay files, most will belong to you and there will be others that you don't even know how it got there from ebay. It will say when the file was created and when you last access your account on ebay. I was shocked. Just make sure that your computer is squeeky clean when login on and off ebay. Clear your cache before login on and after. Be peronoid when dealing with anything ebay. Peronoid is a good state of mind when dealing with ebay! It'll help you keep making money, just be good to your buyers and give them what you promise.

ebay100 · #**137** 10-21-2007

You clean them before you get into ebay ,but searching on your ebay the old name will pop up under cookies...Ebay looks for that ..

This is huge and can get you booted ...you are tied to an old email...

I use CC cleaner and clean after each page ..seems to work

Thoughts.

EB

penny · #**138** 10-31-2007

I have read this entire thread, but I am still confused...
I use yahoo for all of my ebay accounts.
I am using a computer with a suspended IP address, but I no longer log into ebay from it. I go to the library or kinkos to log into ebay and I use auctiva.
My question is: If I read the emails sent to me by ebay in yahoo from home (never clicking respond here or anything), they can tell that I am on a suspended IP just by them sending me an email and me opening it?

Rosanna · #**139** 11-01-2007

Yes, I believe they can. Is it possible for you to change your ip?

vers0 · #**140** 11-01-2007

Penny, Going to send you a PM. Please read..

newebayerwannabe · #**141** 11-02-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by penny

I have read this entire thread, but I am still confused...
I use yahoo for all of my ebay accounts.
I am using a computer with a suspended IP address, but I no longer log into ebay from it. I go to the library or kinkos to log into ebay and I use auctiva.
My question is: If I read the emails sent to me by ebay in yahoo from home (never clicking respond here or anything), they can tell that I am on a suspended IP just by them sending me an email and me opening it?

I think that if your cleared your computer from cookies and change your ip address there shouldn't be any problems.
I so far have not encountered any since following aspkins rules.

leonid5000 · #**142** 03-03-2008

Internet Explorer gives you the ability to remove and clear some of the information that is has saved to your computer after visiting sites. But unfortunately it does not clean all of it, including the index.dat file. Therefore it is possible for someone with the right tools to see which sites have been visited and which files have been downloaded simply by viewing the contents of the index.dat file stored on your computer.

With the increasing threat of spyware and malicious web-sites redirecting you to illegal or pornographic material this lack-of privacy means that these sites will be stored and viewable in the index.dat even if they were visited unintentionally.

i use programs like Mil Shield, TuneUp Utilities 2008, PrivacyEraser, WinXP Manager or vista manager, Ad-Aware, Steganos Security Suite. They are the best of the best..

leonid5000 · #**143** 03-03-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Modee

If you read this thread carefully, you'll know that index.dat files are not an EWAY-linking issue. Again, if they were, all of us but the most paranoid would never have sustained an account for long.

yea i know it just index.dat file bothers be ;-)
another thing is that i know that if you are red flaged and they want to see you clowser.. They can see your registration number from windows, name of computer, your screen resolution, what windows and browser you use.. Staff like that. i REALLY DONT KNOW HOW THEY ARE USING THIS INFO.
1 one is not to get red flaged. If you get red flaged by computer it go to the real person. It probebly wont get you suspendet but if you use many ebay accounts and 20 people complane they culd mach info that way..

GreenBean · #**144** 03-04-2008

Was there any chance that the ex ebay employee told the whole truth or might
he/she not have been high enough in ebay to have all the info?

leonid5000 · #**145** 03-04-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Modee

I will admit - most anything's possible. But the EBAY employee we had on here for a while went into detail as to what they do, and do not, use to link accounts. And on his list there was nothing to do with index.dat files or web beacons.

i remember that but cannot find this link where employee talks about this. Can you find it? This forum got BBIIG ;-) cannot find anything

ebayhateluv · #**146** 03-04-2008

Modee:
Was that guy/girls name Techo or Tecko ? I do not even find any posts now, maybe they get deleted automatically after he's banned??

GreenBean · #**147** 03-04-2008

Modee, I worked out that his name was tcho as well. I looked over 5100 posts
give or take and could not find the info. It never occurred to me that he might
have pm'd you privately. LOL. I had dreams of index.dat and mac addresses for the night. This is nearly too much for me to understand.

imjustme · #**148** 03-04-2008

Its a myth. Bottom line is if you don't sign in, they can't track you. Sure, they can and will log the IP address but unless you sign in, they won't know who it is. Anyone can be assigned any IP.

jennybrace · #**149** 03-07-2008

What about using live help?

koalawash · #**150** 03-07-2008

Avoid live help like the plague.

Throb-n-Rod · #**151** 03-13-2008

I received an email today via aol and when i chose to open it in html via my browser i found it contained 2 web beacons i confirmed this by viewing the script of the 2each 1-px X 1-px clear gif immages in the lower left corrner

does anyone use gmail or text only email service to prevent web beacons from collecting cookies?

brokebackebay · #**152** 08-01-2008

I went in to change the computer and/or network and it warns me that is I do it may "affect access to network resources" Now please, you computer experts, tell me what I am possibly setting myself up for if I make this change?

brokebackebay · #**153** 08-01-2008

In addition, they give me choices to change three different things......computer description, full computer name, and workgroup. Do I need to change them all and what effect might this have on my "access to network resources"?! I'm scared to log out since I've changed it! Help!

brokebackebay · #**154** 08-01-2008

I'm not talking about logging in and out of different user accounts. That, even more me, is simple. I'm referring to something they were talking about earlier in the thread, about needing to change the name of your computer. Someone gave instructions, Go to Control Panel, left click performance/maintenance, left click system, left click computer name, and type in the change.