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General Security Discussions
Is Tracking Protection really useful? [Discussion]
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<blockquote data-quote="oldschool" data-source="post: 879736" data-attributes="member: 71262"><p>Some of the info I found recently that I thought I'd share since I've had <em>a little</em> CoronaTime on my hands. First is this article:</p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong>Thought your canvas fingerprint blocker made you incognito? Think again.</strong></span></p><p></p><p>As many know, canvas fingerprinting is the most recent development in web tracking. In the past, the easiest way to prevent web tracking was to block out the method of tracking entirely. For example, to prevent cookie tracking, you simply disable cookies in your browser.</p><p>But when it comes to canvas fingerprinting, things are not so cut-and-dry. Believe it or not, using a canvas fingerprint blocker can make you more trackable than if you weren’t using one. That statement defies common sense, but it’s true.</p><p>To understand why it is so, we must, first, explore canvas fingerprinting as a whole and how it works. Then we tackle canvas fingerprint blockers and why they don’t work. To conclude, we’ll cover the only modern and viable method that does work to stop canvas fingerprint tracking.</p><p>If you value your privacy and are currently using a canvas fingerprint blocker, this is must-know information for 2016.</p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong>Canvas fingerprint blocking tactics – and why they don’t work</strong></span></p><p>There are two primary ways to block canvas fingerprinting. Each one is equally ineffective.</p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong>Preventing canvas fingerprinting entirely</strong></span></p><p>Your first instinct is probably to grab a browser extension that prevents the canvas image from loading. If it doesn’t load, they can’t track you – right?</p><p>Wrong. Preventing the canvas image from loading is an identifier in itself. Although the canvas fingerprint will not be sent, the fact that you did not load the canvas image will be. So, you will be sorted into a very small group of tech-savvy users who are also blocking fingerprints. From there, sometimes your ordinary fingerprints will be enough to identify you completely.</p><p>To visualize how this works, imagine you are standing in a crowd. Not caring about canvas fingerprinting is like you’re just standing there smiling. Having a canvas fingerprint blocker is like you’re standing there with a mask. No one is sure who you are exactly, but you’re the only one wearing a mask so you can be identified like that. Even if a few other people are wearing masks, you all are simply grouped as “the people wearing masks”.</p><p>If everyone were to use canvas fingerprint blockers (or wear masks, as in our example), they would be effective. But as it stands, almost no one uses canvas fingerprint blockers. Heck, it’s estimated that only 5% to 10% of web users utilize an ad blocker. The percentage of canvas fingerprint blockers must be a small fraction of that, and that’s not a big enough group to blend into – far from it.</p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong>Submitting random canvas fingerprints</strong></span></p><p>Using different fingerprints for every request doesn’t work for the same reason as submitting no fingerprint at all. Any regular visitor will not change his fingerprint during a session. So, if you change your fingerprint during a session, that behavior is unusual, and it’s enough to categorize you into an irregular group.</p><p>In our example, submitting random canvas fingerprint is like changing the outfit you wear every 10 seconds. On the first request, you look normal. But if you change your outfit 10 seconds later on the second request, even though you’re not wearing a mask, you still make yourself stand out. Normal people don’t change their outfits throughout the day or use different canvas fingerprint identities in a single session.</p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong>The only viable solution that exists</strong></span></p><p>Most web users don’t want or need to go to the trouble of blocking canvas fingerprinting technology. If you are an experienced web user who values his or her privacy above all, there is a way. Here’s how:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Make the canvas fingerprinting function available on the websites you visit. (So it’s not clear you are wearing a mask.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Use a canvas identity with consistency. (So it’s not clear you are trying to avoid detection.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Switch up the identity when necessary. (To erase your tracks.)</li> </ul><p>You are still being tracked – that’s unavoidable. But you control the tracking. When you change your fingerprint, you destroy any evidence of your browsing history on the other fingerprint. You wipe the slate clean. And because you used the old fingerprint with consistency, you have not been sorted into an irregular group and tracked like that. No one can recognize that you wiped the slate clean in the first place.</p><p>Whew! We hope you stuck with us through that lengthy explanation. Canvas fingerprinting is on the rise, and “blockers” or “random submitters” will not keep you safe – in fact, they will make you more easily trackable. And now you know why.</p><p></p><p><em>Note: Source for the above is <a href="https://multilogin.com/how-canvas-fingerprint-blockers-make-you-easily-trackable/" target="_blank">How Canvas Fingerprint Blockers Make You Easily Trackable - Multilogin</a></em></p><p></p><p>A couple of other useful links for the tracki,ng curious user:</p><p><a href="http://ubercookie.robinlinus.com/faq.html" target="_blank">Are You Trackable?</a></p><p><a href="https://www.aloodo.org/" target="_blank">Aloodo: help people get protection from web tracking</a></p><p></p><p>Remember: Keep it light, keep it right and enjoy! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite130" alt="(y)" title="Thumbs up (y)" loading="lazy" data-shortname="(y)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite130" alt="(y)" title="Thumbs up (y)" loading="lazy" data-shortname="(y)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="oldschool, post: 879736, member: 71262"] Some of the info I found recently that I thought I'd share since I've had [I]a little[/I] CoronaTime on my hands. First is this article: [SIZE=4][B]Thought your canvas fingerprint blocker made you incognito? Think again.[/B][/SIZE] As many know, canvas fingerprinting is the most recent development in web tracking. In the past, the easiest way to prevent web tracking was to block out the method of tracking entirely. For example, to prevent cookie tracking, you simply disable cookies in your browser. But when it comes to canvas fingerprinting, things are not so cut-and-dry. Believe it or not, using a canvas fingerprint blocker can make you more trackable than if you weren’t using one. That statement defies common sense, but it’s true. To understand why it is so, we must, first, explore canvas fingerprinting as a whole and how it works. Then we tackle canvas fingerprint blockers and why they don’t work. To conclude, we’ll cover the only modern and viable method that does work to stop canvas fingerprint tracking. If you value your privacy and are currently using a canvas fingerprint blocker, this is must-know information for 2016. [SIZE=4][B]Canvas fingerprint blocking tactics – and why they don’t work[/B][/SIZE] There are two primary ways to block canvas fingerprinting. Each one is equally ineffective. [SIZE=4][B]Preventing canvas fingerprinting entirely[/B][/SIZE] Your first instinct is probably to grab a browser extension that prevents the canvas image from loading. If it doesn’t load, they can’t track you – right? Wrong. Preventing the canvas image from loading is an identifier in itself. Although the canvas fingerprint will not be sent, the fact that you did not load the canvas image will be. So, you will be sorted into a very small group of tech-savvy users who are also blocking fingerprints. From there, sometimes your ordinary fingerprints will be enough to identify you completely. To visualize how this works, imagine you are standing in a crowd. Not caring about canvas fingerprinting is like you’re just standing there smiling. Having a canvas fingerprint blocker is like you’re standing there with a mask. No one is sure who you are exactly, but you’re the only one wearing a mask so you can be identified like that. Even if a few other people are wearing masks, you all are simply grouped as “the people wearing masks”. If everyone were to use canvas fingerprint blockers (or wear masks, as in our example), they would be effective. But as it stands, almost no one uses canvas fingerprint blockers. Heck, it’s estimated that only 5% to 10% of web users utilize an ad blocker. The percentage of canvas fingerprint blockers must be a small fraction of that, and that’s not a big enough group to blend into – far from it. [SIZE=4][B]Submitting random canvas fingerprints[/B][/SIZE] Using different fingerprints for every request doesn’t work for the same reason as submitting no fingerprint at all. Any regular visitor will not change his fingerprint during a session. So, if you change your fingerprint during a session, that behavior is unusual, and it’s enough to categorize you into an irregular group. In our example, submitting random canvas fingerprint is like changing the outfit you wear every 10 seconds. On the first request, you look normal. But if you change your outfit 10 seconds later on the second request, even though you’re not wearing a mask, you still make yourself stand out. Normal people don’t change their outfits throughout the day or use different canvas fingerprint identities in a single session. [SIZE=4][B]The only viable solution that exists[/B][/SIZE] Most web users don’t want or need to go to the trouble of blocking canvas fingerprinting technology. If you are an experienced web user who values his or her privacy above all, there is a way. Here’s how: [LIST] [*]Make the canvas fingerprinting function available on the websites you visit. (So it’s not clear you are wearing a mask.) [*]Use a canvas identity with consistency. (So it’s not clear you are trying to avoid detection.) [*]Switch up the identity when necessary. (To erase your tracks.) [/LIST] You are still being tracked – that’s unavoidable. But you control the tracking. When you change your fingerprint, you destroy any evidence of your browsing history on the other fingerprint. You wipe the slate clean. And because you used the old fingerprint with consistency, you have not been sorted into an irregular group and tracked like that. No one can recognize that you wiped the slate clean in the first place. Whew! We hope you stuck with us through that lengthy explanation. Canvas fingerprinting is on the rise, and “blockers” or “random submitters” will not keep you safe – in fact, they will make you more easily trackable. And now you know why. [I]Note: Source for the above is [URL="https://multilogin.com/how-canvas-fingerprint-blockers-make-you-easily-trackable/"]How Canvas Fingerprint Blockers Make You Easily Trackable - Multilogin[/URL][/I] A couple of other useful links for the tracki,ng curious user: [URL="http://ubercookie.robinlinus.com/faq.html"]Are You Trackable?[/URL] [URL="https://www.aloodo.org/"]Aloodo: help people get protection from web tracking[/URL] Remember: Keep it light, keep it right and enjoy! (y)(y) [/QUOTE]
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