Category Archives: Privacy

Facebook is pumping out a lot of spin these days. They’re trying to make us forget they ran (and continue to run) a massive, unregulated surveillance operation. They’re trying to distance themselves from Cambridge Analytica in any way possible, before … Continue reading →

Posted on Friday, 23 March 2018 8:42 am by markpilip | Comments Off on Were You the Same in 2014?

Attacking You With Retargeting

Posted on Wednesday, 21 March 2018 9:06 am by markpilip

WebKit recently updated WebKit to address “An attacker seeking to track site visitors can take advantage of the user’s HSTS cache to store one bit of information on that user’s device.” in an interesting and understandable technical blog post by … Continue reading →

Posted in digital marketing, fraud, Leadership, Privacy, Security | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Attacking You With Retargeting

The Finish Line in the Race to the Bottom

Posted on Thursday, 11 January 2018 8:48 am by markpilip

Last night, I was doing some analysis of a premium publisher’s site. I encountered RPM optimization in all its glory. And it made me sad and sick. The malvertising at left attempts to: Hijack browser settings Encourage installation of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, digital marketing, Media, Privacy, Rants, Security, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Ad Blockers: Common Sense

Posted on Monday, 8 January 2018 9:18 am by markpilip

With the recent news of the Spectre and Meltdown CPU flaws, it’s more important than ever that you do a few things: Install ad blockers (do your homework first* [update: see how-to below]!) Turn on DNT (for whatever that’s worth) … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, digital marketing, fraud, Media, Privacy, Security | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Happy 2018! AdTech Surveillance Edition

Posted on Thursday, 4 January 2018 8:53 am by markpilip

How would you like it if somebody was standing over your shoulder jotting down your user ID (and who knows what else) as you were logging into sites, and then sharing the information with–well, it could be anybody? Thought so. … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, digital marketing, Marketing, Media, Privacy, Security | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Happy 2018! AdTech Surveillance Edition

Let’s Market to Humans in 2018

Posted on Friday, 29 December 2017 9:36 am by markpilip

Market only to humans. If you only change one thing about how you undertake your marketing in 2018, let it be this one. According to the U.S. Census bureau, there were about 252.8 million adult (18+) humans in the U.S. … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavioral economics, Data, digital marketing, Direct Response, fraud, Leadership, Media, Philosophy, Predictions, Privacy, Strategy | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Let’s Market to Humans in 2018

Next week, as you’re doing your annual IT work for parents, in-laws, aunts and uncles, take a few minutes and talk about protecting privacy and improving their cybersecurity. This Motherboard article, recommended by Bruce Schneier, is a great place to … Continue reading →

Posted on Thursday, 16 November 2017 8:38 am by markpilip | Comments Off on Thanksgiving Project: Security and Privacy

How Many Tracking Pixels to Screw in a Light Bulb?

Posted on Friday, 4 August 2017 11:59 am by markpilip

I turned on WordPress’s WordAds on this blog a couple of days ago. It takes a couple of days for the ad tech ecosystem to smell the fresh blood, but as of this morning, there are 66 tracking pixels firing … Continue reading →

Posted in Analysis, digital marketing, Marketing, Media, Privacy | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on How Many Tracking Pixels to Screw in a Light Bulb?

Building Blockchains of Trust

Posted on Wednesday, 31 December 2014 10:50 am by markpilip

I recommend this good article on how the concept of the blockchain (the root of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin) works as a distributed database, improving trust and removing cost by eliminating the need for third parties. I can imagine using this … Continue reading →

Posted in Organization, Privacy, Security | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Building Blockchains of Trust

We Need Action, Not Strategy, Said No Security Expert Ever

Posted on Tuesday, 20 May 2014 9:30 am by markpilip

Bruce Schneier’s recent post on Al Qaeda’s efforts to create their own encryption software had me shaking my head. They were making a very fundamental error that a lot of companies also make, even though Al Qaeda isn’t organized in … Continue reading →

Posted in Marketing, Privacy, Security, Strategy | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on We Need Action, Not Strategy, Said No Security Expert Ever