CompuSaff Today!
Quick takes on software, tips, and 'net oddities
- 2010.01.27 - Are We Safe When Browsing?
General
So, you know all about tracking cookies from web advertisers, and you've switched to Firefox Browser with Adblock Plus to cut down on the ads, with Targeted Advertising Cookie Opt-Out (TACO) addon, too. Pretty safe, right?
But now you've got Flash LSO's leaving trackable scraps on your system. For that you can use the BetterPrivacy addon to get those removed every time you close your browser.
Whew!! Lots to protect from. But you're safe now, right? Not so fast, grasshopper! What if you could be more or less identified just by the uniqueness of your system? Like your combination of fonts, User Agent from your browser, and the browser plugins you are using. Stuff like your screen size, and color depth. Interesting theory, isn't it?
When you visit a website, you are allowing that site to access a lot of information about your computer. Combined, this information can create a kind of fingerprint — a signature that could be used to identify you and your computer. But how effective would this kind of online tracking be?The EFF is running an experiment on just that possibility right now. From my machine, Panopticlick reports:
Your browser fingerprint appears to be unique among the 60,715 tested so far. Currently, we estimate that your browser has a fingerprint that conveys at least 15.89 bits of identifying information.And it doesn't seem to make much difference if I'm using Firefox's Private Browsing mode or not. Hmmm..... You can read about the study at their Panopticlick web page. And, if you so choose, you can check to see how unique your web fingerprint is - or isn't!
What kind of results did you get? Let us know in the comments! 14873
Comments
KSaff wrote:
01/28/10 20:42:40
KSaff wrote:
A week later, here's the latest from my Firefox browser:
"Your browser fingerprint appears to be unique among the 573,447 tested so far."
Now that we're back up and running, post your results in the comments!
"Your browser fingerprint appears to be unique among the 573,447 tested so far."
Now that we're back up and running, post your results in the comments!
02/04/10 22:08:59
KSaff wrote:
6/3/2010 - The Panopticlick site is temporarily down for maintenance. However, you can download a PDF they have put together with initial results of their study. Math majors will find it very interesting. The rest of you will think the graphs are 'interesting'!
06/03/10 07:48:56
Your browser fingerprint appears to be unique among the 167,067 tested so far.
Wow!