A few minutes ago I purged my Internet files and cleared my History on I.E., then ran my typical weekly Ad-Aware version 6.0 to check for spyware/adware. On a hunch, I then visited the Fodors message boards without logging back in, closed out I.E., and ran Ad-Aware again and found no less than six data mining tracking cookies had been placed on my drive.

I know they've got to make money off this site somehow (and I am probably quite naive about the underbelly of internet advertisement, purchaser rights, etc.) but... ugh.
Is this really necessary? Am I just naive?

Since installing a new "spysweep" that cleans often, the amount of my travel related spam has dwindled significantly.

That's why I try not to log in from home hoping at work they've installed all necessary anti-whatever.

Faina,

Are you concerned about your employer tracking your internet activity? Our company does, and it's kinda scary

You really didn't think Fodors is doing this out of the goodness of their hearts did you? They know every computer address that logs on..worth its weight in revenue-generation gold alone, much less the content of the posts in terms of what is and is not popular, where people are traveling, where they stay, what their travel needs are, etc., etc.

Vespertine, 1/2 of my work is through Internet. Clocking in and out, loading cash daily, printing reports off the intranet... besides, there must be a warning first

Not to mention that whenever the site is slow-to-no loading, it's almost always the popups that are the culprit - watch the screen load dialogue if your browser allows.

One of the (many, excellent) reasons I've shifted to Mozilla from IE is that you have greater flexibility over cookie acceptance - in my case I only allow cookies from the "originating" site, in this case Fodors, and not from referred or blind sites. That way you're not saying yes/no/just this once all the time. Not perfect but every little bit helps.

I'd really rather Fodors charge those lazy travel writers and journalists who post something here and then make a Sunday supplement article out of the answers than be chased around my screen by car-rental and hotel-booking pop-ups.