Microsoft has released a whole slew of free e-book downloads, including Windows 8, Office 365, SharePoint, Lync, Azure, Powershell and more from Microsoft Developers Network. There is no need to be a developer - these resources include quick and easy user tips, too!

Here's the link to the blog site that provides a little more information on this annual giveaway.  Take a look to see what e-books might be of interest or use to you!

Behavioral advertising.  If you have visited a website in the last decade, or use any social media platforms, then you've been subjected to behavioral advertising.  The old saying goes, if an online service is free, then that means *you* are the commodity.  

We've all seen examples of this - visit Amazon, and see a list of recommended products based on your shopping or even browsing history.  The same applies to Facebook (friend recommendations, games and apps, linked ads related to commentary you may be making on the site); LinkedIn (based on your social activity), Twitter (based on your connections, tweet activity, and topic searches).  

All in all, this is not such a bad thing - some people may find it nice that the product they were thinking of just happened to be recommended to them on their next visit to that shopping website.  But in some cases, this type of advertising can not only be annoying and spammy, but downright aggravating. 

How to manage it, then?  Here are my tips:


If you want to have some control over your Facebook feed, install Social Fixer

1. It is a plug-in that operates through your browser (so it's not applicable to mobile devices).  
2. It is free.
3. It allows you to turn on or off elements of Facebook - in my case, I have turned off all of the targeted ads, suggested posts, hide all Games and Apps, default the news feed to Most Recent, hide the friend's activity ticker, and more. 
   

To eliminate pop-up ads, auto-play ads, sidebar ads, etc - install AdBlockPlus 

1. It is a plug-in that operates through your browser (so it's not applicable to mobile devices).  
2. It's available for Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Opera, and Safari browsers. 
3. It's customizable, so for websites that depend on advertisers to remain free, for example, you can "whitelist" them to allow their ads to display. 

Check and update your permissions on most of your platforms.  

1. In some cases, you don't have much control over permissions - if you sign up for a Facebook account, for example, you agree to their Terms of Service.  
2. Most platforms allow you some control over advertising - check your Settings or Permissions, take a look around, and make sure you're comfortable with how the website or platform is sharing your information. If you aren't, change the settings or consider an alternate platform.
3. Check on sharing settings as well.  Ever notice how sometimes after reading an article on Time's website, you'll see that a Facebook friend of yours has commented on it?  Check your social media permissions to understand what might be shared where. 
4. Create a calendar item to review this information annually - say, on your birthday, or on Daylight Savings Time change, for example. Remember, your online behavior and information is valuable to the Internet. 

Finally, Opt Out of online behavioral advertising.  

1. This effort is part of a transparent movement by over 100 advertisers to allow netizens to opt-out of behavioral, targeted advertising. The Opt-Out webpage will show you which of its self-reporting advertisers are targeting ads to you, and give you the option to opt-out.
   
2. This program seems to be effective, even though it is still in "beta" phase.  That means with the more information, users, and applicability it gets, it will become more effective.  

Do you have any additional tips to share?