I wrote a word (in an answer) that I know I never used , now my computer is bombarding me ?

Question

I wrote the word Zodiac as part of an answer in this forum, I know for a fact that I never used it before now Zodiac adds are all over my computer, why? Does this involve yahoo or my pc security?

Answer 1

It's not so much the word Zodiac, but most websites have a way of tracking your usage to display ads that are relevant to what you've searched for, looked at, etc. I just had an ad for a photo printer on the page before this. Guess what? I just answered a question about photo printers.

When my brother logs into myspace, he's bombarded with gay ads because, well he's gay and when I log in right after him, I'm hit with dating and sports ads and such. It's not a problem with security and there is no trackable info on your PC, but companies can focus ads toward your login.

If you clear your history, cookies, and temp files and then browse around answers without logging back in, you won't be hit with the zodiac stuff.

Answer 2

Its a combination of things...

Someone did a search on this site for Zodiac. They found that you are emailable... and began spamming you.

If the adds are ON your computer, the real issue is that your PC security is probably not up to date.

Update your anti spyware and antivirus - then run the puppies.

Also - disable pop ups in your browser.

Doing all three should get you back to normal.

-dh

Answer 3

probably your pc security. Did you know I was looking for a cell phone to buy. I googled some sites. Then I started getting bombarded with offers from everyone. Apparently the two sites, I visited, one of them sold my address. Maybe you looked at a zodiac site and that is how you are getting the ads. Also, run a virus sweep

Answer 4

Step back. Take a deep breath. Relax. You came up with a great idea, and now you are putting too much pressure on yourself to make it "perfect". There is no such thing as "perfection". That's not to say that you shouldn't strive to write the story to the best of your abilities. Of course you should. But as the old saying goes, the journey of 1000 miles begins with the first step. Take that first step and start writing. Your first draft will look like crap. That's all right. EVERY writers' first draft is crap. You will edit and rewrite, find a beta reader, edit and rewrite again, and what you end up with will not be perfection, but will probably be a decent story. Right now you are chasing chimeras that are not worth running after, such as character names. You are knocking yourself out over an issue that is not important. If this is a fantasy story, just do what many other fantasy writers do and take regular names, then add, remove or change a letter or two, and use that (such as "Mari" for Mary, or "Tohm" for Tom). That works just as well. Actually, you gave yourself the answer to your own question with the line "My old self would just ... write away with no worries of publication, as long as the only thing which matters is the fun you get from it". That is the best advice anyone can offer, and you gave it to yourself. Take the pressure off yourself, discard notions of "perfection", drop your worries over character names, and write. Everything else will take care of itself.

Answer 5

Try another word you never use in an answer and don't use it anywhere else--I will do the same with zodiac since I never use it or visit sites that do.

Answer 6

Sounds like spyware but I can't be sure. Have you tried a spy-ware remover?

Answer 7

Neither. A crawler got to you. It saw your email and your posting and ta da...you get spam. If you don't want spam, don't post your email.

Answer 8

The answer, my dear, can be found in the stars.

Answer 9

ok, that's just freaky



ZODIAC ATTACK!!!!!